Clean Energy Connections conference is Nov. 10
Representatives of more than 50 area businesses, agencies and higher education programs are expected to attend the campus’s second annual Clean Energy Connections conference on Tuesday, Nov. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Springfield’s MassMutual Center.
Loren Walker, associate director of Research Liaison, says attendance is expected to top 600, so exhibitors can “expect a lot of traffic” at the conference and opportunity fair, this year titled, “Pathways to Economic Growth and Good Careers through Clean Energy.” He adds, “UMass Amherst is contributing to the region’s economic development in an area in which we have considerable strength. We offer education and training programs and have significant depth in clean energy research that will influence new businesses and help keep our planet green.”
Job seekers and those considering a new green career should know that exhibitors will include at least 10 UMass higher education programs, centers and departments as well as representatives of high-tech startups Qteros — a campus spinoff company — and FloDesign of Wilbraham. A number of large environmental companies, including Environmental Compliance Services and RISE Engineering, are also expected to attend. In total at least 25 companies and 20 green energy career and business development organizations are committed, Walker says, and many of them are recruiting.
The networking event is designed to be immediately useful to a wide variety of people interested in taking their own or their organization’s next steps in the clean energy economy. It will provide information on what skills are going to be in demand, for example, and what areas are expected to be ripe for new business development.
Two keynote speakers will open the day with brief discussions of green business and job training programs under way in New England and the region. They are Economics professor Robert Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, whose talk is “Green Recovery since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).” Pollin’s research has helped to shape the Obama administration’s policy toward the green economy. Truman Semans, partner of Green Order, consultants for strategic sustainability in business, will speak on “Sustainability as a Critical Driver of Profitable Growth.” Semans brings his policy experience to bear on green business development.
Breakout sessions and panels will include:
• Careers in energy efficiency; Workforce trends and opportunities
• Energy efficiency as a growth sector; Business opportunities in energy efficiency
• Preparing for a clean energy career; Training and educational opportunities
• Starting and financing a clean energy business; Harnessing ideas and accessing resources
• Growing the Clean Energy Community
Other sponsors of the conference and opportunity fair include WGBY, GreenSpringfield, MassLive.com, Western Massachusetts Electric, Peoples Bank and MassMutual Financial Group.
More Information
Conference website
November 1, 2009.
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