Georgetown MS-ESM Students Bridge Business and Science with Flow Environmental Systems, Inc. in their Capstone Project
The capstone course of the Master of Science in Environment and Sustainability Management (MS-ESM) is where Georgetown University students gain the comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience needed to address sustainability issues and create value for organizations.
“This course is all about applying the skills acquired throughout the program to create real-life solutions while fostering close client relationships with partner organizations,” said MS-ESM Program Director Kerrie Carfagno.
The capstone course spans the fourth and fifth modules of the program, offering students the opportunity to collaborate with real organizations and obtain hands-on experience ideating solutions to some of the biggest sustainability challenges. The course focuses on sustainable business practices and environmental management, preparing students to be innovative and ethical leaders in their respective fields.
MS-ESM’24 students Maya Burney, Brianna Jefferson, Caroline Linne, Harsh Patel, Ricardo Pereira Teixeira, and Marques Wilson teamed up to provide consulting services for Flow Environmental Systems, Inc. for their capstone project. Flow partnered with the MS-ESM program and took large steps toward achieving their mission of detoxifying and decarbonizing the built environment through innovation within a critical, emerging green HVAC/R industry.
Flow is a U.S.-based engineering, technology, and manufacturing start-up that creates commercially viable and environmentally responsible heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) solutions for the global market. Flow has designed and manufactured a patented all-in-one technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and phase out per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS – or harmful ‘forever chemicals’) from cooling systems. Its proprietary heat pump, Answr™, uses carbon dioxide (CO2) as a refrigerant and achieves groundbreaking energy efficiencies.
From March to July, Team Hoya met weekly with Flow to build a personalized and client-centered product.
“Our team’s professional backgrounds are quite diverse, providing a solid foundation that covers marketing, financial, environmental, and business expertise. This was instrumental in providing Flow with the building blocks for a Series A funding deck supported by industry analysis and business model validations,” said Maya Burney (MS-ESM‘24).
With interest and knowledge across several functions, the team helped Flow by creating a financial model, compiling market analysis data, and defining the company’s environmental and social impact strategy.
“Flow is currently venturing into new market segments in the United States, and the models we received from the Hoya Team were exactly what we were looking for to ground our strategy” said Navaid Burney, chief financial officer of Flow. “Being a growing company means that sometimes we must race against the clock, and the Hoya Team brought substantial value to Flow when completing ad hoc tasks, helping us write grant applications.”
“Combining marketing and financial strategies with HVAC/R industry knowledge gave me the skills I needed to apply to jobs in the impact investing and renewable energy sector,” shared Brianna Jefferson (MS-ESM‘24).
“Being able to share our findings with class allowed our team to implement feedback and discover new areas of work,” added Harsh Patel (MS-ESM‘24), showcasing how the capstone course success relies on collaborative growth.
A program highlight for the team was joining Flow management at the ATMOsphere America Summit 2024 where they participated in the launch of Flow at its first public trade show. The team enjoyed meeting with industry experts, policymakers, end users, and contractors to learn about Flow’s role in contributing to the mission of helping the world transition to natural refrigerants-based HVAC/R solutions.
“We appreciated the Hoya Team’s enthusiasm and support during the conferences, ensuring that Flow gained traction and acquired relevant connections with other participants in the industry,” shared Rick Mauk, chief executive officer of Flow.
-Ricardo Pereira Teixeira (MS-ESM’24)