--- title: PERL Team Launches Idea-Submission Portal description: PERL Team Launches Idea-Submission Portal image: https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/hubfs/PERL.png --- [![](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/hubfs/Engauge/engauge-logo.jpg)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge) [![](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/hubfs/Backgrounds/search-mobile.png)](https://www.citizensenergygroup.com/Search) # PERL Team Launches Idea-Submission Portal By Mandy Saucerman on 7/29/22 10:47 AM ![](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/hubfs/PERL.png) The Partnership for Excellence in Research and Learning (PERL) program was formalized at Citizens Energy Group in 2016 to provide opportunities for college students to work on real-world projects and encourage them to seek employment opportunities in Indiana and the utility industry upon graduation.  Citizens has established partnerships with seven universities and has engaged with more than 2,700 students since the program’s inception.  The PERL team recently created an idea-submission portal to allow employees across the company to suggest projects to offer to area college students.  The goal of this new tool is to have an ongoing list of ideas so that when professors reach out in search of capstone projects for their students, members of the PERL team can offer a project that correlates to a specific course curriculum.  “With a list of ideas, the PERL team will be able to continue offering professional development opportunities to students interested in working in the utility industry,” said **Joe Nagy**, Engineer II and PERL team leader, “while simultaneously providing Citizens with an avenue to complete unique projects.”  Employees with project suggestions should visit [the PERL iTrust site](https://citizensenergy.sharepoint.com/sites/PERL2) and click on “Idea Generation.” From there, click on the blue “+ New” button on the top left and fill out the required information.   ![PERL IMG_2567](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/PERL%20IMG_2567.jpg?width=350&name=PERL%20IMG_2567.jpg)Project ideas should be complex enough to challenge students but limited in scope due to the length of the course. A group of three to five students typically spends about eight hours per week on projects, which can extend for either one semester (about four months) or two semesters (about eight months). While most PERL projects have been engineering-related, they do not have to be.  A project leader from Citizens should be recommended to act as a resource and subject-matter expert for the students as they work on the project. When completing the form, you should choose Unassigned from the “Assigned To” field, as the PERL team will help determine which institution and course the project will best suit.   If you have questions about the idea-submission portal or potential projects, reach out to **Joe Nagy**.    *A PERL team from the University of Indianapolis designed the prototype for Citizens Energy Group's H2O to Go mobile water source a few years ago. Learn more at https://citizensenergygroup.com/My-Home/Conserve-Save/H2O-to-Go.* ### Current Articles ### Recent Issues - [November 2019 (23)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/11) - [November 2018 (21)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2018/11) - [January 2021 (21)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/01) - [October 2021 (21)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/10) - [February 2020 (20)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/02) - [December 2021 (20)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/12) - [October 2018 (19)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2018/10) - [January 2019 (19)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/01) - [June 2020 (19)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/06) - [August 2019 (18)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/08) - [October 2019 (18)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/10) - [April 2020 (18)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/04) - [September 2022 (18)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/09) - [July 2019 (17)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/07) - [July 2020 (17)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/07) - [June 2021 (17)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/06) - [April 2019 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/04) - [January 2020 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/01) - [October 2020 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/10) - [December 2020 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/12) - [April 2021 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/04) - [July 2021 (16)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/07) - [September 2020 (15)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2020/09) - [March 2021 (15)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/03) - [June 2022 (15)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/06) - [February 2019 (14)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/02) - [May 2019 (14)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2019/05) - [May 2022 (14)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/05) - [July 2022 (14)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/07) - [October 2023 (13)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2023/10) - [September 2021 (12)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2021/09) - [March 2023 (12)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2023/03) - [May 2023 (12)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2023/05) - [June 2023 (12)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2023/06) - [February 2022 (11)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/02) - [August 2018 (10)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2018/08) - [August 2023 (10)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2023/08) - [March 2022 (9)](https://blog.citizensenergygroup.com/engauge/archive/2022/03) [![PDF Archives](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2545024/33b9e93c-8f43-4101-9b48-7e78154731f5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2545024/33b9e93c-8f43-4101-9b48-7e78154731f5) **Engauge** is published by Citizens Energy Group, Corporate Affairs Department, under the direction of Shannon Stahley, Director of Corporate and Public Affairs. 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