Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy has joined the MIT Energy Initiative in supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s efforts to promote women’s leadership roles in clean energy through the implementation of the Clean Energy Education & Empowerment program (C3E).

The Precourt Institute’s involvement in C3E will contribute to the the program’s major goal: bringing women into the male-dominated energy field. Moreover, the Precourt Institute will bring the C3E program to the West Coast, raising awareness for the program and the possibility for women’s leadership in the energy sector.

The C3E program, which was founded in 2010, consists of two major aspects: C3E Ambassadors that advocate for women in the energy field, while also acting as role models, and the creation of an online support system for women in the field — C3Enet.org.

Additionally, C3E holds a C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium every year in the U.S. Along with MIT, the Precourt Institute will now share part of the responsibility of hosting the symposium. The event will now take place at Stanford on a rotating basis, starting with the fifth annual symposium in May 2016.

The symposium allows women in the energy field to network and often inspires them to advance their careers. It also honors women in the midst of their careers who are working hard to advance clean energy. Awards fall into eight different categories: Advocacy, Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Government, International, Law & Finance and Research.

Contact Andrea Villa at acvilla ‘at’ stanford.edu.