This is the most exciting time in the history of the energy industry. If you can imagine a century ago, people like Edison, and Tesla, and others built the electric grid that we're still using today. But a lot is now changing. The biggest change is the advance of clean, renewable energy. We're bringing on more solar, and wind, and renewable gas onto our electric system than ever before, and that requires new skills and provides new opportunities for students into the future. It really creates a program that allows students to learn about renewable energy, to learn about Greening the Grid, to learning about the challenges of ensuring that we always provide safe, and reliable, and affordable energy, but more and more that it's clean and green, and good for our local communities. These introductory courses were designed for anyone interested in understanding and possibly entering the evolving and emerging energy industry. Whether you're a high school graduate trying to figure out your career interests, or professional contemplating a job change, or perhaps a small to medium size business owner seeking insight, please join us on a journey about the 21st century energy revolution. The biggest challenge we have in our industry right now is attracting the workforce of the future, hopefully many of you. We are going through so many changes between technology, renewable energy, and the changing demands of our customers and communities that we need a new workforce. A workforce that is well-trained, that understands the dynamics of our electric system, that understands the flow of our gas system, and that really wants to work closely with the customers and the local communities that we provide such vital service to. So, now is a wonderful time to learn about energy, to develop your skills, and to join us as we prepare for the energy challenge of the future. In these courses, collectively called a specialization, we will provide you with core concepts of the energy industry. By applying the knowledge you obtained from these courses, you will plan and implement a road map to take your first progressive step in your energy industry career path. We're very confident that you will find it rewarding and exciting. Most important of all, this specialization will give you the confidence you need to have an intelligent fact-based dialogue with your friends, your colleagues, and perhaps your own organization's management team, either in a nice and formal setting or in a formal job interview. The energy industry fundamentals specialization is a collaboration between National Grid, the University at Buffalo Center for Industrial Effectiveness, and Stony Brook University's Advanced Energy Training Institute. University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University are the two largest university research centers within the State University of New York, which is known as SUNY for short. UB Center for Industrial Effectiveness is an outreach center that supports the business community by delivering operational, excellent services, training an average of 1,000 people per year through its professional development offerings, and building massive open online courses which are known as MOOCs for the Coursera platform. UB is a premier research intensive public university and is the largest institution in the SUNY system and home to the most comprehensive public school of engineering in all of New York State. Stony Brook University's Advanced Energy Training Institute, which is part of the Center for Corporate Education has conducted numerous clean energy programs and labor market studies directly with the Department of Labor, Nicida, SUNY, and others. Over 2,000 professionals participate in these programs annually. Stony Brook is one of America's most dynamic public universities, a center of academic excellence, and an internationally recognized research institution. Keep in mind that this specialization is not intended to make you an expert, but really it was created to help you understand the foundational elements of the energy industry. We welcome you to this specialization and we're confident that you will enjoy learning about the industry and being a major part of the future of energy.
