Duane Carrow, of Minnesota West Community and Technical College’s (MN West) Renewable Energy Education Program, has been awarded an Academic and Student Affairs Award for Excellence in Curriculum Programming by Chancellor James McCormick and the Board of Trustees for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
The Renewable Energy Education Program at MN West couples a curriculum derived from lectures by visiting industry experts with the NovaTech Ethanol Training Simulator (NETS) to provide students with comprehensive, hands-on understanding of the biology, chemistry, and process control aspects of ethanol production. Students graduating the course have to date achieved 100% employment. MN West is working with NovaTech to bring the courseware and simulator to other colleges in the ethanol belt.