A group of Rice University students have added a new extracurricular to their transcript.

Launched last fall, Rice New Energy Fund, or RNEF, is the country's first student-managed energy transition investment fund, according to a news release from Rice. The fund's goal is to generate returns for scholarships while advancing decarbonization technology and providing education and diversity in investment.

“We needed more funds and a more focused strategy to be competitive,” Shikhar Verma , class of ’24 and founder of the fund, says in the release. “Everyone in Houston is talking about the energy transition, but not many people know what that actually entails. We want students to learn how to be responsible financiers and lead this transition.”

To join, students are required to participate in the Rice Undergraduate Finance Club’s training program and undergraduate investment fund, since the RNEF operates as a part of the club. Anyone can join the program, no matter their major.

“Our team’s diverse academic background allows us to explore investments more holistically,” Verma says. “For instance, we have engineers who can evaluate technologies and scaling risk and pre-law students to appraise the regulatory and policy environment.”

Verma says he and his fellow team members have tapped into a group of mentors, advisers and donors for the fund, including former Rice Board of Trustees chair Bobby Tudor as well as renowned executives Steve Pattyn and Stephen Trauber, per the release.

The RNEF has raised $200,000 in donations, and plans to start investing in the fall with a hope to create a portfolio of 200 new energy-related companies.

“We needed more funds and a more focused strategy to be competitive,” Verma said. “Everyone in Houston is talking about the energy transition, but not many people know what that actually entails. We want students to learn how to be responsible financiers and lead this transition.”