Groningen, Netherlands

Energy Challenge – an Interdisciplinary Approach

With the huge impact of emissions that are warming our planet, we urgently need to change the way we generate energy from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) to clean, renewable energy. Although we know this, the energy transition is not going so fast. What are the challenges for energy transition? This summer school addresses the future of a hydrogen economy and the social-technical challenges involved. The course is meant for master students to do their first exploration of the complexity of challenges in energy transition, to get in contact with a real-time energy challenge and obtain skills in defining broad challenges into smaller research questions.

The course will start with students visiting an energy network operator and will be introduced to the challenge of shifting the supply from natural gas towards green gas and hydrogen. In the following three days, students will get an interdisciplinary introduction to this challenge by lecturers from different disciplines – technical and scientific, energy law, environmental psychology, economics and spatial science. On the final day of the course, the students work together in smaller groups and learn how to define the broad challenge into smaller research questions. Students may choose the discipline that they want to focus on. At the end of this day, the student groups present their research question to their peers.

Course leader

Maaike de Heij, Wubbo Ockels School

Target group

The course is for master students, with a relevant bachelor in science, economics or social science, who are interested in energy transition in general and a hydrogen economy in particular, and the challenges involved.

The course is meant for master students to do their first exploration of the complexity of challenges in energy transition, to get in contact with a real-time energy challenge and obtain skills in defining broad challenges into smaller research questions.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.

Course aim

After this course you will be able to:

- explain and discuss various dilemmas and policy options related to energy transition;
- apply insights from different academic disciplines on a challenge related to energy transition;
- reflect on the complex dilemmas in energy transition using the complementary insights from the various disciplines;
- further define the challenge into a smaller research question

Fee info

EUR 270: including lunches, coffee, bike rental (for 2 days) and closing reception