Mission of Energy Management and Innovation Center

Developed and emerging economies around the globe need reliable and sustainable energy sources at predictable prices with low environmental costs. With the nation’s energy hub just miles down the road and an established group of business faculty conducting energy research, the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is uniquely situated to serve as a catalyst for energy-related research and teaching that will satisfy the world’s need for innovative energy solutions.  The McCombs School seeks to play a large role in creating the intellectual capital needed by industry leaders and policy-makers to construct a secure and clean energy future.

The mission of the Energy Management and Innovation Center (EMIC) is to create intellectual capital of use to industry and policy-makers, to educate our students in energy management and innovation, and to link McCombs’ energy and sustainability activities to The University’s energy initiatives and other sources of knowledge and information about the world’s energy future.  The Center’s focus will be equally devoted to three areas: management of existing energy sources, hydrocarbons and nuclear power, that will continue to play a role in US energy needs in the future; conservation and energy efficiency, including exploring consumer demand and marketing of sustainable products; and the development and commercialization of new, sustainable, energy sources as global warming, dependence on foreign oil, and greenhouse gases move to the forefront of government policy. The ultimate goal is to inform energy policy and provide the insight necessary to identify the right innovative technologies for inclusion in US energy policy and manage their use effectively.

The vision of the Energy Management and Innovation Center is to serve as the touch point for access to business faculty and expertise for all University of Texas energy management and innovation endeavors.  To accomplish this goal we will leverage the McCombs School’s existing capabilities, but also work closely with other energy oriented centers and individuals across the University of Texas campus.   The McCombs School will be uniquely positioned to provide intellectual capacity on how to commercialize the new alternate energy technologies being developed by faculty at the Cockrell School of Engineering, Jackson School of Geosciences and College of Natural Sciences.

The McCombs School intends to use this energy platform to train the next generation of business leaders in traditional and alternative energy firms.  As such, the school’s goal is to attract 20 MBA and 20 undergraduate students to our energy programs by 2011 and to increase this candidate pool to 50 MBAs and 50 undergrads by 2013.

Activities of the Energy Management and Innovation Center

In order to execute the vision of the center, developments will take place in the following areas:

• Broad energy curriculum: The McCombs School will expand and broaden our existing energy curriculum to prepare the next generation of business leaders to understand and manage complex energy issues.   Energy-related case examples will be employed where relevant in core MBA and undergraduate curriculum. While the McCombs School has housed an MBA and BBA energy finance concentration since 1999, a clean technology concentration is being launched in 2009-2010 to prepare students for careers in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and emissions abatement.   The Center will also encourage the expansion and development of energy management and innovation content in courses.  Among courses proposed in the near term are: Energy Policy, Marketing Sustainable Products, and The Economics & Technology of Crude Oil, Natural Gas and the LNG Value Chain.
  
  
• Faculty “Energy Management Briefs”: To encourage and facilitate knowledge partnerships between McCombs faculty and our industry partners, EMIC will publish periodic Energy Management Briefs.  These 1 to 2-page briefs will provide analysis and insight about energy industry topics, including energy markets, industry trends, new technologies and strategies. These briefs will range from interviews with prominent industry executives to analysis of current energy challenges. 
  
  
• Student Workshops: To supplement the curriculum, EMIC will create a series of “Energy 101” workshops.  Taught in collaboration with industry and university partners, these workshops will be designed to provide students with a general understanding of energy issues that affect energy management and innovation.  Fall 2009 workshops will likely include topics such as: Future of Hydrocarbon Market, Power 101, Energy Technology 101, and Alternative Energy 101.
  
• Energy Management and Innovation Conference: Each spring we will host a conference designed to facilitate the exchange of insights on the latest energy management issues.  Industry partners will help determine the annual topic on a pressing issue, giving Center members, faculty and students the opportunity for knowledge sharing.   
  
  
• Faculty Research:  The interaction of energy management briefs, the energy conference, student workshops and curriculum will lead to innovative, interdisciplinary research in the McCombs School.  EMIC will provide funding to encourage and promote these projects in the form of summer support, research grants or travel funding.  In addition, we will work with EMIC members to gain access to data for research projects.
  
  
• Website Development: EMIC will develop a website to provide information to current students, industry and faculty on the energy expertise at the McCombs School.  The technology will facilitate the exchange of research ideas for faculty in the economics, accounting, supply chain management, entrepreneurship, marketing and finance disciplines.  This site will also eventually host a threaded discussion group so that industry members can share information on the latest industry trends.
  
  
• Student Involvement: We will work with our existing student organizations to create a new energy interest group that will include students from all majors.   The Center will facilitate interactions between student groups focused on energy issues and include possible student activities such as a sustainable business plan competition, energy finance case competition, and energy trading competition.
  
  
• New Faculty and Visiting Scholars:  As the McCombs School expands its curriculum and research foci, new faculty lines will be added.  Additionally, we will look for practitioners and faculty to assume a visiting scholar position at the McCombs School for a semester or year to provide research and teaching expertise.

Investment in EMIC

The Energy Management and Innovation Center consists of an active community of McCombs School of Business faculty and companies that share a common goal of seeking to develop the future business leadership of the energy industry and advance research into competitive advantage.  The success of EMIC ultimately rests on the partnership between the McCombs faculty and our industry partners.

To help guide our energy program, curriculum and research and to make it relevant and valuable to the companies who are facing the challenges we are examining, corporate partners will be asked to make an investment in the Center through annual membership as well as the dedication of time and industry expertise.