Energy Science and Technology Institute

The energy industry has some of the fastest rates of technological change and engineering innovation in the marketplace. A better technical understanding of energy science, engineering and technology provides teachers with the foundation to better instruct, inspire and mentor their students for potential opportunities in an industry that consistently provides hundreds of thousands of direct jobs to Texans.

What to Expect

The five-day summer institute is led by numerous faculty from the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. The program includes hands-on activities and labs, discussion sessions, breakout sessions and online coursework that bring a focus to energy activities in Texas.

Participants have the opportunity to meet faculty and discuss technology, engineering, careers, and other topics in an informal setting. A variety of energy themes are covered during each workshop, such as the global energy marketplace, petroleum engineering, water-energy connection, energy portfolio mix, geothermal energy, carbon storage and hydrogen storage.

Each teacher receives a $900 stipend for participating in the institute and providing an abbreviated version of the institute in their school district during the following school year.

Institute Resources

ESTI introduces teachers to the free online curriculum, Energy Excursions, developed by UT Austin’s subject-matter and educational experts for high school STEM students and teachers.

Energy Excursions is for high school teachers seeking to easily incorporate energy topics into their classrooms to meet required content standards and showcase the integrated nature of STEM through applied energy topics. It gives both teachers and students a window into the interdisciplinary nature of the skills, knowledge and creativity required to provide energy to a global society, as well as an understanding of the challenges that make energy projects exciting and the oversight and considerations that keep these projects safe for humans and their environment.

UT Austin’s Hildebrand Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering designed Energy Excursions to make it easy for teachers to peruse the standards (TEKS) and practices (College Board) aligned with our online curriculum.

Energy Excursions is easy-to-use, free and no logins or memberships required — a real-world, energy curriculum aligned to the essential knowledge and skills of the subjects teachers instruct.

2026 ESTI Summer Program Info

The five-day summer institute will be led by numerous faculty from the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and will include hands-on activities, laboratory work, discussion sessions and interactive museum and industry visits.

All travel, lodging and meals are covered by the university. Each teacher will receive a $200 stipend for participating and completing the institute, as well as a $700 stipend for providing an abbreviated version of the institute in their own school district or at an educator conference during the following school year.

Institute Dates: July 13–17, 2026