Training Students, Faculty, and Creating Partnerships: College of the Desert
The $191,920 awarded to College of the Desert (COD) is very timely, especially in light of policies that will soon require a 50% reduction in emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks, off-road mobile equipment, cars and other vehicles.
Public school districts in the region are also adopting clean fuel alternatives in their school bus fleets. And five separate incentive and grant funding programs will be administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in the region to encourage the transition to lower emission engines in medium to heavy-duty vehicles.
All of this activity contributes to the demand for appropriately skilled technicians.
With the new funding, COD will equip and improve its Advanced Transportation AS degree program and related certificates by incorporating the most current clean vehicle technologies that will prepare students for diagnostic, service, and maintenance work in the region’s public and private alternative fuel fleets.
Already a hub for training future and current workers in this industry sector, COD will continue this leadership in a number of effective ways throughout the year.
For starters, a new fuel cell electric vehicle will be purchased which will allow faculty to teach applications for light-duty vehicles. COD will also purchase a low NOx/near zero heavy-duty natural gas engine training module with diagnostic tools to address heavy-duty applications.
Douglas Redman, COD Automotive/Advanced Transportation Department Chair, is looking forward to the impact these funds will have on both students and faculty.
“The Automotive/Advanced Transportation Program is excited about the opportunities this grant will provide our students and our regional faculty,” he said. “With this funding we will be purchasing a Toyota Mira (hydrogen vehicle), a Cummins near-zero emissions CNG training module and we will be offering regional faculty Train-the-Trainer Workshops on this technology.”
Plans are also in place to partner with Coachella Valley’s SunLine Transit to expose students to fuel cell electric, battery electric and natural gas engine systems in public transit.
“This funding also allows us to provide our students with training on state-of-the-art vehicles and equipment which will better prepare them for entry level jobs and help those with jobs move up the ladder,” said Redman. “We will be expanding our curriculum and create an 18+ unit, Hybrid/hydrogen Certificate with introductory to advanced level training on this exciting technology!”
