Professional and Continuing Education
through the Building Performance Lab
About our courses:
BPL offers two courses which satisfy the BOC Level I Certification. Students must complete both courses to achieve the certification. The first course is Building Systems, and the second course is Principles of Energy Management.
The courses are oriented toward working building operators who need training in high performance operating and energy management. Course participants are generally seeking job enrichment or skills enhancement in those areas. The courses may also be useful to people with limited work experience in the field as an introduction to how energy is used in building systems. The Lab's educational objective is to develop a workforce in NYC with the requisite knowledge and skills to implement energy-efficient building operations on a permanent basis.
These courses are available through several different organizations.
- The CUNY School of Professional Studies offers the courses on an intermittent basis.
- DCAS, the NYC Department of Citywide Administrated Services, offers it to city employees on a regular basis.
- Local 94 of the IUOE, International Union of Operating Engineers, offers the class to its members on a regular basis.
Persons interested in taking these courses who are not part of DCAS or the IUOE can contact Michael Bobker for more information.
A brief history of our program:
In Spring 2007, Lab Director Michael Bobker was the lead instructor of a well-received course at CUNY's Murphy Center for Labor Education titled "Introduction to High-Performance Buildings." It was offered to over 20 working professionals from a variety of labor unions under funding from the US EPA.
In 2007, the Lab partnered with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to provide opportunity for skills development for professionals working with building systems. The partnership represents a first step in CUNY's growing leadership in the city's drive to develop a workforce equipped for a marketplace that is beginning to demand higher performance from its buildings.
In Spring 2009, the Lab partnered with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94 to offer a class for union members at its Training Center. The curriculum introduces the concepts of energy management and green building practices at the facilities level; students will have the option of pursuing the Building Operator Certification. The program has the strong support of Vornado Realty Trust and NYSERDA, a major local supporter of certification programs.
The Lab's Education Programs
The Lab's educational objective is to develop a workforce in NYC with the requisite knowledge and skills to implement energy-efficient building operations on a permanent basis. This workforce encompasses active building operators through their union, practicing professional engineers through several professional associations, service contractor technicians, property managers, and students prospectively entering these lines of work.
Intern Energy Program
In Lab-sponsored internships, CUNY undergraduate and graduate students take part in “living lab” opportunities for practical work and applied research that will prepare them to enter a specialized workforce with valuable skills. Many interns gain experience with the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool, perform energy analysis, and troubleshoot for retrocommissioning projects in a variety of real-world environments, including the CUNY Office of Design, Construction and Management, as well as property management and engineering firms, such as Time Equities and Bright Power. Read more about our program here.