Partnership Launches First U.S. Advanced Distribution Management System Training Program

Three universities are joining forces to tackle a critical engineering skills gap in the U.S. Their collaboration will address the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of electrical grid operations and safeguard stable electrical service for consumers.

The collaborative effort among POWER Engineers, Inc. (POWER), POWER Foundation, Cleveland State University, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, in Novi Sad, Serbia, and University of Idaho (U of I) will develop a new professional certificate course focused on advanced distribution management systems (ADMS).

The only program of its kind in the country, the course is funded through a $500,000 grant from POWER Foundation, delivered over multiple years through September 2028. ADMS is a software platform that enables utility companies to analyze and manage power distribution networks. As energy delivery becomes more complex, ADMS can help utilities manage increasing energy demands, integrate renewable energy sources to the grid, maintain grid stability and resiliency, regulation and compliance, and ensure customer satisfaction and safety.

Most American companies either train employees on the job or contract ADMS skills and services from outside the U.S., which will be unsustainable as the grid modernizes and ADMS use increases.

“ADMS skills will play a pivotal role in our electrical grid and the wider engineering community—including engineering professionals and higher education—must prepare,” said Brian Johnson, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Endowed Chair in Power Engineering and distinguished professor at the University of Idaho. “We look forward to expanding the partnership as we learn more about the needs of companies, ADMS professionals and our students.”

The group is developing the curriculum for the professional certificate course through December 2025 and plans to offer the first course to a limited number of students in Spring 2026. The course will be taught remotely. Instructors from the educational partners will deliver the professional certificate curriculum to students, engineers, utility staff, and other interested members of the power and energy community.

“This micro-credential equips students with the skills required to manage an expanding grid,” said Cleveland State University’s Richard Schoephoerster, Dean of the Washkewicz College of Engineering. “As AI grows and electrification increases, course graduates will be ready to manage and maintain the grid of the future for Ohio and the nation.”

Although multiple software vendors support ADMS, the professional course is solution agnostic and not aligned with any specific vendor. The collaboration aims to provide job training for electrical distribution system professionals and establish for-credit engineering coursework at partnering universities. The coursework will equip new graduates with the skills required for their first jobs managing the evolving electrical grid.

“On-the-job training is time-consuming, and a course like this can shorten the learning curve to productivity,” said Mike Vessel, Vice President and Division Manager for POWER’s Advanced Utility Solutions division. “The course will also drive plans to develop additional college classes and to train more professionals in broader grid modernization technologies.”

The Smart Grid Lab at the University of Novi Sad provides a hands-on environment for students to engage with real-world ADMS applications. “Students will benefit from training and experimentation opportunities rarely found in academic settings,” said Professor Luka Strezoski, Director of the Smart Grid Lab at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad.

_{Source: POWER Engineers}

_{Photo Credit: Alexiss Turner, University of Idaho}

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