Six higher ed institutions join forces to train students for offshore wind jobs – SouthCoastToday.com

NEW BEDFORD Six regional higher education institutions have joined forces for the future of offshore wind education and training.

CONNECT, a Southeastern Massachusetts public higher education partnership, has turned its attention to offshore wind development. On Tuesday,Bridgewater State University, Cape Cod Community College and Massasoit Community College signedthe CONNECT4Wind Memorandum of Understandingto join three existing institutionsthat support the development of the SouthCoast's offshore wind sector. The signing coincided with Massachusetts STEM Week, running from Oct.18 to Oct. 22.

In 2018, Bristol Community College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth signed the CONNECT4Wind MOUcelebrating their long-term commitment to sharing resources and collaborating on the development of curriculum and programs centered on the offshore wind energy sector, according to Bristol CC. At that time, it was the first time three institutions had entered a cross-collaborative agreement of its kind. Now, three other regional institutions have joined them.

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Bristol CC's National Offshore Wind Institute (NOWI), located on Herman Melville Boulevard, will provide health and safety training, such as Global Wind Organization training, customized training for developers, original equipment manufacturers and supply chain, and a virtual training program, all supporting the needs of theoffshore wind sector, according to Bristol CC President Dr. Laura L Douglas.

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Equipment such as a deep water training pool for sea survival and climbing towers will simulate a "real world environment" preparing workers for challenging and dynamic environments.

In addition, Bristol CC's NOWI and MaerskTraining support career and edu pathways complemented by itsoffshore wind technician program give students the proper training for the emerging workforce.

"We're joined by higher education to collaborate on development of curriculum and programs that will ensure the level of a vibrant and sustainable regional industry," Douglas said. "The signing of MOU between CONNECT will be the first time all sixinstitutions have entered into a cross-collaborative agreement of this kind."

Ray DiPasquale, president of Massasoit Community College, noted that sixinstitutions coming together over a shared agreement is rare.

"All of us working together, the way we are, it doesn't happen this way, it just doesn't," DiPasquale said. "[This program is] bringing together presidents from very different colleges, not to compete against each other, but to work together to make our state and our region stronger."

DiPasquale, who is starting his presidency, said hecan't think of any better way than to bring new jobs and new energy.

Frederick Clark Jr., president ofBridgewater State University, compared the union of institutions to the Boston Red Sox's success.

"We win as a team because no one institution can solve the issues in Southeastern Massachusetts," Clark said. "Thanks to our playercoach, Laura Douglas, today we hit a grand slam of impact in addressing the needs of the wind industry."

Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, president ofMassachusetts Maritime Academy, was pleased to have three other institutions join them in working toward a more offshore wind-focused future.

"We have done that maritime thing for well over a 100 years, but we've also done that energy thing, producing ship engineers first and then power plant and energy engineers," McDonald said."This offshore wind is really the nexus of those two industries, and we feel like we are well-positioned to really serve the commonwealth in that regard."

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McDonald added that while higher education serves recent high school graduates, it will exposestudents in grades Kindergarten through 12 to the field, specifically those from the gateway cities of Fall River and New Bedford. He pointed out that generally, the maritime industry is mostly white males. By joining forces with other institutions, it can dig deeper into communities and expose the opportunity to other demographics.

"This will act as an engine of social mobility, that's really where the rubber meets the road," he said.

Dr. Mark Fuller, chancellor ofUMass Dartmouth, said that a complex industry like offshore windneeds "thoughtful, sustained efforts and close partnerships across academia, businesses and government to be successful."

To date, UMass Dartmouthhas received $8.1M in research funding in relation to offshore windand will continue to build on this momentum.

In the near future, Cape Cod CC will be expanding its power plant education and aviation maintenance tech program to include increased turbine focus. In Fall 2022, the institution will be opening its doors as the center of STEM education on the Cape.

"We're meeting our region's workforce education needs, supporting offshore wind, the blue economy and STEM while creating a trajectory for career success and growth within our region," saidJohn Cox, president of Cape Cod Community College of creating equity and access to economic opportunities.

Clark added that with this newly developed team of presidents, "whatever we do together, we're working open doors of opportunity for the students that we are so privileged to serve. The future of higher education is collaboration."

Representative Patricia A. Haddad, along with speakers Senator Marc R. Pacheco and Representative Antonio F. D. Cabral, shared their stories of how they have been pushing for legislation and any movement in support of offshore wind development during their political campaigns.

Standard-Times staff writer Kerri Tallmancan be reached at ktallman@s-t.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kerri_tallmanfor links to recent articles.

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Six higher ed institutions join forces to train students for offshore wind jobs - SouthCoastToday.com