Project 4: Learning & Engagement

July ’24 Updates

Project lead: Jennifer Ramos-Chavez, University of Texas at El Paso

Key Accomplishments for this Quarter:

  • Utah tabling for information dissemination regarding USU pilot projects 
    • Intermountain Sustainability Summit 
    • One Utah Summit  
    • Westside Coalition Annual Meeting 
    • Salt Lake County Climate & Health Symposium 
  • IRB approval received for Purdue community research; pilot testing of the survey instrument in progress. 
  • Participation in Neighborhood House STEAM Fair, Westside SLC 
  • Liaised a relationship between Westside Neighborhood House and Utah Women in Trades for exploration of a pre-apprenticeship program, to include childcare 

Industry and Innovation Highlights:

  • The Cohort Travel program serves to provide networking and mentoring opportunities for our students (SLC/ASA). The recent trip to Detroit allowed students to visit and network with EV and transportation industry experts at the Ford Automotive Plant, Stellantis, Cummins, and the Michigan State Battery Lab.

Advancements in Alleviating Barriers or Challenges to Widespread EV Adoption:

  • General community outreach in underserved areas helps build literacy and understanding of ETS so that people, particularly those from under-resourced communities can make educated choices about their choice of vehicles.

Advancements of Interest to Marginalized or Underserved Communities:

  • Project 4 leads the Center in providing access to educational resources and materials that bridge the disparity in electrified transportation systems literacy and culturally sensitive outreach within such communities to better understand adoption barriers, public perceptions/understanding, and needs. 
  • Preliminary work in ETS career pathways, certificates, badging, etc., will provide a framework for community members to understand and explore possibiltities within ETS careers and training. 
  • Education initiatives in the school space provides the opportunity to build capacity within educators to confidently teach EV-related curriculum, which in turn increases ETS literacy.  
  • Students in the ETS class gained valuable knowledge and skills to address equity barriers to widespread EV adoption.