University of Nevada, Las Vegas & College of Southern Nevada

The University of Nevada Las Vegas is excited to partner with the College of Southern Nevada in the first-ever Battery Workforce Challenge. For year two of the competition, the Nevada-based team is made up of 19 university and four vocational students, encompassing a wide variety of disciplines including electrical, mechanical, and entertainment engineering and design; computer science; advanced manufacturing; and electrical utilities.

The team's working diligently to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver a custom-designed battery pack to successfully integrate it within a fully electric vehicle system. This process will include gaining hands-on experience in current areas of the design, testing and manufacturing processes, and it will include working to innovate in potential areas — from form factor, structural integration, rechargeability, energy density, cost, durability, safety and modularity.

Through this competition, students are eager to attain new skills that will be utilized as part of the future electric vehicle workforce. The UNLV & CSN team's vision is for these two institutions to play a critical role in the future of Nevada's battery development. As the team proceeds through this challenge, it aims to further establish Las Vegas as a technology hub, utilizing its rich battery-related resources and attracting more connections to the corporate world through sponsorships and internships. 

The UNLV & CSN Battery Workforce Challenge team’s mission is to build a welcoming, challenging and empowering partnership to prepare the future battery workforce needed for the expansion of electric vehicle demand. In support of making Nevada a leader for EV battery manufacturing and cleaning energy supply chains, this crew aims to take a critical role in training a knowledgeable, motivated and diverse workforce. These institutions aim to create an authentic sense of partnership and community, with a focus on accountability, teamwork and inclusion, and support student growth through hands-on experience with battery pack design, testing, manufacturing and integration.

The UNLV & CSN BattChallenge team strives to accomplish the following goals in year two of the BattChallenge:

1. Fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for new members: We recognize the steep learning curve associated with battery design, architecture and maintenance, and we aim to alleviate this challenge by providing accessible onboarding information. By streamlining the onboarding process, we empower swimlane leads to offer meaningful learning opportunities to all members, ensuring that their time is spent productively and contributes to their overall growth and development. We believe that by fostering a supportive and informative environment, we can inspire and equip our members to excel in the field of battery technology.
   
2. Prioritizing team-building activities: We stressed the importance of team retention last semester as we saw various members come and go. Last year, we faced challenges in retaining team members due to the intense technical demands of the competition, particularly during the spring semester. To address this, we're prioritizing team-building activities for year two. These activities will not only strengthen our team bonds, but they will also provide a platform for members to connect on a personal level, sharing hobbies and interests beyond academics. By fostering a supportive and enjoyable team environment, we aim to increase member satisfaction and retention. Our Secret Santa gift exchange is a step in this direction, as it encourages camaraderie and reduces the sole focus on the competition.
3. Involve our vocational partner more: We aim to involve our vocational partner, College of Southern Nevada, to be more involved and share opportunities with them. During our first year of the competition, our partnership with them was limited, hindering our members' opportunities for growth and experience. Many missed out on valuable experiences like travel and internships, especially from CSN’s side. Additionally, we faced challenges in securing adequate workspace. For year two, we aim to strengthen our relationship with CSN. We plan to actively involve CSN in our team's activities, offering opportunities for their students to participate in travel and internship programs that were previously unavailable. By fostering a stronger connection with CSN faculty, we hope to create a more collaborative and mutually beneficial partnership.