Apply by 3/23 for 2022 Energy Week Co-Chair positions!

Are you a passionate energy student motivated to lead? Apply now to serve as a 2022 Energy Week Co-Chair!

Energy Week at Duke is an annual program to bring students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals together for a week of energy events to promote collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and professional networking. As Duke University ramps up its efforts to advance climate solutions, Energy Week is poised for increased impact, building on its six-year history of successfully engaging the university-wide energy community.  While numerous Duke University entitles play a substantive role in Energy Week, it is a student-led event—and relies on student volunteers to step up and produce a memorable and high-quality program for and with their peers that showcases Duke as a leading energy school.  

The Energy Week Co-Chair role is an opportunity for two students to step into major leadership roles and oversee the end-to-end production of Energy Week. This is a great position for students looking to grow their leadership experience and engage deeply with the energy community at Duke and beyond.  Applications are due by Wednesday, March 23!

Energy Week Co-Chair Job Description

As an Energy Week Co-Chair, you will be responsible for: 

1. Setting an Overarching Vision/Theme for Energy Week. Working in partnership with the Energy Conference Co-Chairs, EDGE, the Energy Initiative, and the Nicholas Institute, co-chairs will identify an overarching theme for the week, and set goals for what the program will achieve for target audiences (students, alumni, faculty, industry leaders) this year. 
2. Recruiting Event Leadership and Student Volunteers. Co-chairs will recruit undergraduate and graduate students from different schools across the University to propose and run events during Energy Week that fit within the overarching theme (note MBA Energy Club responsible for Energy Conference Leadership). They will also recruit students to work closely with EDGE and the Energy Initiative/Nicholas Institute to design and implement an effective marketing strategy.  
3. Project Managing Event Production and Energy Week Execution. Co-chairs will:  
   1. Coordinate with EDGE and the Energy Initiative/Nicholas Institute on marketing Energy Week and documenting its impact;  
   2. Host regular check-in meetings with event teams to ensure that they are on-track and on-schedule; 
   3. Organize communications to all EW leaders and volunteers to ensure a "one team" feeling across different events;  
   4. Collaborate with the Energy Conference and the MBA Energy Club to ensure the programs are complementary and well-coordinated;  
   5. Ensure coordination among event leads, Energy Conference leads, Edge/Energy Institute/Nicholas Institute on external speakers, judges, sponsorship, etc. 
   6. Provide regular updates to EDGE/Energy Initiative/Nicholas Institute staff about the status of event production (specifically, relaying information on confirmed speakers, judges, etc.); 
   7. Coordinate with EDGE/Energy Initiative/Nicholas Institute staff to ensure that logistical details (budget requests, food, room reservations, etc.) are handled for each event; 
   8. Coordinate and oversee smooth execution of Energy Week. 
4. Inspiring and Motivating Student Leaders and Volunteers. Perhaps most importantly, Co-Chairs will encourage their peers and motivate them to follow through with their commitments to Energy Week during a busy summer and fall semester.

Qualifications and Skills 

Successful Energy Week Co-Chairs should be able to: 

• Collaborate and share leadership and decision-making with their Co-Chair 
• Translate high level goals and objectives into tangible project plans 
• Communicate their vision effectively and get others excited by what they have to say 
• Lead effective meetings and facilitate collaboration amongst students 
• Delegate work and responsibilities to others 
• Manage different personalities and provide constructive feedback to their peers 
• Provide structure to student leaders, including communication routines, timelines, and regular meetings 
• Communicate effectively with EI/NI/EDGE staff as well as external stakeholders in a clear and timely manner 

Co-Chairs should expect Energy Week to be a substantial commitment in the summer and fall semester and should plan other leadership opportunities accordingly.  

Timeline of Engagement

Spring 2022: 

• Join Energy Week team as Co-Chair 
• Set vision/theme/goals for Energy Week 2022 
• Recruit event leaders from schools across the University 

Summer 2022: 

• Check in monthly with event leads to assess progress and EDGE/EI/NI to provide updates 

Fall 2022: 

• Host more regular meetings with event leads and EDGE/Energy Initiative/Nicholas Institute staff 
• Produce Energy Week in early November!

Winter 2023: 

• Collect videos, blogs, event participation numbers 
• Debrief program and distill best practices in inform future Energy Week Leaders 
• Update planning materials for next year's leads 
• Recruit next year's leads