The ultimate objective of the class is to provide a strong foundation in energy/cleantech and new product commercialization. This is accomplished through hands-on experience, complemented by in-class lectures and discussion. This course offers a unique blend of theoretical and practical experiences, as they relate to emerging energy and cleantech businesses.
The energy and cleantech industry is a massive $6.1 trillion industry that is being disrupted by technology, with new companies appearing every day. However, like most entrepreneurial organizations new energy and cleantech companies are often small, quick growing and working in an evolving landscape. Therefore, the toolset required to be successful in this arena is different than traditional corporate management. Teams composed of 3-5 students will work with a local high-growth energy or cleantech company, helping them to develop a commercialize plan for a new technology or business model. Key milestones will include:
- Analyzing multiple commercialization opportunities to determine the path forward (i.e. which approach has best financial benefits and lowest risk)
- Building a business plan or VC pitch deck for the new business
Actual experience with an emerging energy or cleantech company will be augmented with classroom instruction. Classroom lectures and discussions will focus on:
- Issues faced by entrepreneurial organizations as they work to commercialize a technology.
- Core principals and technologies that are shaping the energy and cleantech industry, including the structure of the energy markets and overviews of many major and minor technologies.
- Building a toolset to be able to effectively and efficiently develop commercialize plan, solve complex problems, and provide high impact advice.
- In-class expertise will be augmented by guest lecturers (for examples Click Here).
To view projects prior projects Click Here.
Prior to the first class: Students will receive an e-mail with a description of each client and proposed projects and be asked to submit their top three choices of companies to work with and their resumes to the instructor. The professor will compose the teams by balancing student preferences and their knowledge and skills.
Please note: students who elect to register for this course should consider this a commitment. Dropping this class after the first week is strongly discouraged. Part-time students are welcome but this class requires substantial schedule flexibility. Students report spending approximately 7 - 10 hours per week on the projects and must be able to schedule frequent meetings with the client, often during business hours.