FARGO — A new NDSU program is connecting students with the energy industry in western North Dakota.
It’s called Bison to the Bakken, bringing them out to the oilfields to get first-hand experience and help them find their future careers.
The idea for it started with a visit to the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in May, where demand for students was high.
“I heard from hundreds of energy producers, energy related firms, and they are looking for students. They would like to hire students, they would like to show students what’s happening in western North Dakota,” Kathryn Birkeland, the Ronald & Kaye Olson Endowed Dean at the College of Business at NDSU, said.
It’s a nearly two-week program for up to a total of 45 students in Agriculture, Business and Engineering that will take place in May 2025.
Students will earn credits and get a chance to see all aspects of the energy industry first hand.
“Students will be able to visit an oil site, they’ll be able to visit some of the sustainable fuel production, we’ll visit some of the soybean processing, we’ll talk about carbon sequestration. They’ll get to visit some of the producers that are mining and using lignite coal to produce energy,” Birkeland said.
The students will spend time in Bismarck learning about how the state regulates energy.
The program will also get students familiar with the culture in the western part of the state to give them a comprehensive idea of what living there would be like.
“Students will be able to visit Medora, we’ll head to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, they’ll be able to experience some of the very fun things that are happening in western North Dakota,” Birkeland said.
While a main goal is directly connecting students with potential internships and jobs, the hope is the program will get the word out beyond just those who go on the trip.
“Our students are very good at conveying information to their other friends, to their classmates about what life would be like, and so the more students that we can get to see western North Dakota, the more understanding we have of what it would be like to work there,” Birkeland said.
Registration for the program will open Feb. 19. Travel expenses are covered, but students still need to pay for the credits.
Interested students can find more information
.
