As of June, 179 students had enrolled in the Biorefinery Training program, which is a Michigan State University (MSU) alternative energy program sponsored by the Mid-Michigan Innovation Team (MMIT) and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The program aims to develop the area’s alternative energy sector, including preparing workers for jobs in a bio-based economy. The week-long training sessions have been held at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) in Edwardsville, Illinois, but the Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville is now hosting the training.
Michigan Brewing Company uses cooking oil to make diesel. Students learn about this process, observe the process and then work through the process themselves. Paul Hunt, MSU’s associate vice president for research, says the majority of the students in the classes have a manufacturing background and are looking for ways to carry their manufacturing background into the new economy.
“That group certainly exists,” Hunt says. “Some folks are individuals who are interested in biodiesel as a personal entrepreneurial activity, and some folks are those who are thinking about investing in biodiesel and want to understand the process.”
Hunt notes that this course is the result of organizations, such as Prima Civitas and Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), that are trying to creating collaborations between higher education and the private sector to keep the state’s workforce in the area.
Source: Paul Hunt, MSU
Ivy Hughes, development and news editor, can be reached here.
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