Oct. 7, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billions of people throughout the world rely on energy to power their daily lives. But behind the simple flip of a switch, there is a complex system of science, people and policy that keeps energy flowing. In an increasingly energy-driven world, there is a growing need for industry leaders who can deal with energy demands efficiently, intelligently and responsibly. This fall, Northern Arizona University is hosting Leaders United for Positive Energy (LUPE), a program that arms students with knowledge of ethical science and social responsibility in the energy sector\u2014helping shape tomorrow\u2019s leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Oct. 16-23, students and educators from mining\ncommunities in Latin America and Arizona will learn together in a seven-day\nprogram at NAU\u2019s Flagstaff Mountain Campus and throughout Arizona. The LUPE program\nexamines the science, policy, social and industry processes behind the energy\nsector and emphasizes building partnerships to tackle this global issue. The\nprogram is designed to allow students to look at the mining and energy process\nfrom the time a resource comes out of the ground to the time it is being used\nin their homes, running electricity and powering utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for students to be aware of consumption at the\ncommunity, state, national and global level,\u201d said Kristin Allen<\/strong>, program manager of Latin American Initiatives in the\nCenter for International Education<\/a> (CIE).\n\u201cLUPE will, even if on a small scale, help students understand the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allen sits at LUPE\u2019s helm along with Melissa Armstrong<\/strong>, CIE\u2019s associate director and director of\ninterdisciplinary programs. Together, the two wrote and submitted a proposal to\nthe 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, an initiative built through\nPartners of the Americas, the U.S. State Department and NAFSA, an association\nof international educators. The LUPE proposal was one of 11 winning proposal\nteams; the grant will allow NAU to bring the program cohort to Flagstaff, host\nthem on campus and provide access to local learning opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt has been my passion to help show students that the world\nis so much bigger than what lies immediately in front of them,\u201d Allen said. \u201cBeing\nable to work here at CIE and to open up different kinds of opportunities\u2014especially\nopportunities that we get to create\u2014is really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The seed was planted last summer, when Allen and School of Earth and Sustainability<\/a> professor Michael Ort<\/strong> traveled to Buenos Aires,\nArgentina, to witness the 2018 Partners of the Americas Innovation Fund\nAnnouncement. The pair learned of Argentina\u2019s need for a skilled labor force in\nmining, and Allen saw an opportunity to pursue partners who could collaborate\non a multinational program to teach students about various aspects of the\nenergy sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Acting as the connective thread, Allen and Armstrong brought\ntogether a number of institutions already partnered with NAU on other projects\nincluding the National University of Tucum\u00e1n<\/a>\n(UNT) and The Austral Center for\nScientific Investigation<\/a> (CADIC) in Ushuaia, Argentina. While in Argentina,\nAllen also visited The National University of\nTierra del Fuego<\/a> (UNTDF), which sits in close proximity to CADIC and is\nacademically connected. With knowledge of NAU\u2019s connection to Sonora, Mexico,\nthrough its existing partnership with the Technological University of Hermosillo\n(UTH<\/a>), skilled specifically in mining, the National University of Tucuman\n(UNT) expressed interest in seeking a connection with UTH. The addition of UTH\nrounded out engaging representation from three countries of the Americas\u2013Argentina,\nMexico and the United States\u2014to focus on global energy issues that transcend\nborders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were trying to figure out how we could possibly connect\nall these dots, how we could bring all of these partners in on one project and\nwe thought, what if we could bring everyone together to one place where we\nwould all learn from each another about our geology, regional landscape, local\ncommunities and national issues?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With five institutions on board, Allen, Armstrong and Ort continued\ncollaborating with partners to design the program curriculum. Throughout the\nfour segments, students will learn in English and Spanish from professors of\neach institution as well as the physical and cultural backdrop of northern\nArizona. Students in areas of environmental science, environmental engineering,\nbiology, renewable energies and industrial processes and mining from NAU,\nArgentina and Mexico will together explore sustainable practices for the future\nof the energy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe primary goal is to get the students and professors\nthinking about the whole picture related to energy supplies,\u201d Ort said. \u201cThis\nincludes the geology and how the resources are formed, but also the mining and\nits environmental and societal effects, as well as the possibilities to have\nmore societal benefits of the resource exploitation beyond just the paychecks. Each\nof the three countries has a different sociopolitical context, and it will be\ngood to share ideas from each place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The students will work in \u201cmulti-locational\u201d teams comprised\nof representatives from different institutions. Teams will be assigned and meet\nvirtually prior to the cohort\u2019s arrival at NAU and will work as a group\nthroughout the LUPE program. They will attend faculty-led workshops, lectures\nand seminars on policy issues and tackle assignments that encourage\ncollaboration and discourse on how each region handles energy policy and what\nbest practices might be applied cross-nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kicking things off in the science segment, Ort and UNTDF\nprofessor Monica Escayola will provide content on geology that produces a\nnumber of different energy sources and the effects that mining has on the\nenvironment. In the policy segment, School of Earth and Sustainability\nprofessor Erik Nielsen<\/strong> will discuss\nenvironmental policy and the political contexts that impact the mining industry\nin the Americas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To explore issues of social justice, students will spend the\nthird segment traveling to the Navajo Nation to discuss taking care of and\nprotecting the land belonging to each country as well as the land of Indigenous\npeoples in the area. The cohort will interact with and share information about\ntheir home countries with K-16 students in the Navajo Nation. They also plan to\nmeet with Navajo Nation councilmembers to participate in thoughtful discussion\non alternative energy solutions for local communities. During this segment, UNT\nprofessor Roberto Lencina and UTH professor Gladys Reyes Maldonado will lead\ndiscussions on the impact mining has on local communities from the time of\nexploration to closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rounding out the week is real-world experience in the\nindustry segment. Students will travel to Phoenix for visits that include\npresentations and sit-downs with leaders in the energy sector to network, build\nindustry connections and acquire a new perspective on how private-public\npartnerships function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter everything we will have seen, from the science to policy\nto social justice, we\u2019ll then take the conversation to the corporations,\u201d Allen\nsaid. \u201cStudents will learn about industry best practices and corporate social\nresponsibility. They also will think about what kind of questions we should\npose to industry and government leaders in terms of how we can do things better\nor what already is being done that should continue or be used as an example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of LUPE\u2019s tangible results will be Letters for Positive\nEnergy. In their multi-locational teams, students will draft letters with\nthoughtful and impactful suggestions to policymakers in each of their\ncountries. The idea is that students will take the knowledge they learned from\nthe program and translate it into action for positive change in the energy\nsector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The interdisciplinary nature of the program speaks to Allen\nand Armstrong\u2019s belief in the power of cooperation and communication. Allen said\nthat in addition to arming students with knowledge of the energy sector that\nthey can take back to their communities, the program aims to create a larger\npartner network within the Americas to help facilitate and be a part of\nprojects like LUPE that mobilize students and faculty toward positive global\nsolutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are a lot of different layers involved, but what it comes down to is that\u2019s how world problems need to be looked at: through different layers, through different lenses,\u201d Allen said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Featured image, from left: Allen holding the winning\nproposal; Kimberly Breier, assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of\nWestern Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. Dept. of State; Sergio Espinosa Delgado,\nDirector General of International Exchanges and Affairs in the Sonoran\nDepartment of Education and Culture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"