Are you open to an extra challenge alongside your studies? Are you interested in the energy transition and wanting to learn more about how everyone can be involved in it? Would you like to gain practical experience and create an impact by working on a project at a company or governmental office together with a diverse team of students? Apply for the new honours programme “Inclusive Energy Transition”!
The international and interdisciplinary honours programme "Inclusive Energy Transition” is open to EUR master's students and consists of interactive seminars and an interesting practical assignment related to making the energy transition inclusive.
The world is facing a climate crisis. Due to global warming, we are already experiencing the ssues such as extreme drought and heat, floods, fires, tornados, and melting ice on polar caps. A major cause of climate problems is the current fossil-fuel-based energy system. Addressing this issue requires an energy transition. The system change demands new structures, from infrastructure to legislation, and profound changes in behavior, routines and practices of citizens, businesses and governments.
These changes require developing new structures, from infrastructure to legislation. It also requires profound changes in behaviour, routines and practices among citizens, businesses and governments. These profound changes raise complex legal, social, governance and economic issues.
In the coming years, more and more actions will be asked from citizens and businesses to combat climate change. Think of stricter environmental laws for businesses, the switch to electric transport, house insulation, and new energy sources to heat homes and commercial buildings. For the energy transition to succeed, it is important that everyone can participate.
But here is a challenge: The citizens with lower incomes are disproportionately affected by these measures or cannot keep up with them. Similarly, some companies are hit harder than others. As a result, the energy transition increases socio-economic disparities. The voices of all citizens must be heard to enable a fair and inclusive energy transition.
We value all voices and believe in the power of diversity and inclusion. This Honours Programme will be provided to a group of students from different socio-economic, cultural and disciplinary backgrounds, especially those underrepresented at university. The students with these diverse backgrounds are expected to bring different experiences, skills, and perspectives.
For example, the programme is targeted to students who speak a second language useful to involve various groups in the energy transition, first-generation students, students from bi-cultural backgrounds, and students who grew up in various neighborhoods, villages and cities. Together, we will learn how to use our diversity to effectively address societal problems. Join us and make a difference!
Thus, you learn to develop solutions that are grounded in scientific knowledge, feasible to be implemented and creating an impact in practice. The end-product of an assignment could be, for example, executable advice, a toolkit, or an approach to reach and involve certain groups of citizens or customers that is actually implemented by the student team in cooperation with our partner organization.
Partner organizations of the first edition (available only in Dutch) of the Honours programme were Eneco, Greenchoice, NCOD (advice and consultancy), TNO, and the Province of South Holland. Partners for the second edition will be announced later.
To support the practical assignment, we will offer seminars and workshops by experts from the university and external partner organizations. In total, the programme will offer 6-9 seminars. In these seminars, you will gain knowledge about the energy transition, recent technical developments and the aspects of involving different target groups, among other topics. This international program will be provided in English.
The programme will run from October 2024 to June 2025. The seminars usually take place on Tuesday evening or Friday afternoon in the first months. Practical hours can be freely arranged by agreement with a partner organization and programme’s coaches.
Students who successfully complete this extra curricular programme (equivalent to 15 EC) will receive the official certificate of the Erasmus Honours Academy.
To make the time investment in this honours programme more financially feasible, participating students receive a support grant.
The Honours Programme “Inclusive Energy Transition” offers you the opportunity to:
- Recognize and utilize the skills and perspectives you bring along with your background
- Collaborate with motivated fellow students and professionals from different disciplinary, cultural, and social backgrounds
- Expand your network, both inside and outside the university
- Expand your knowledge on the (inclusive) energy transition by attending seminars, and working on a relevant issue together with experts from the university and professionals in the field
- Learn how to use scientific knowledge to make an impact in practice
- Develop skills in areas such as teamwork, communication, stakeholder management and working for a client by carrying out a commissioned assignment together with fellow students and our partner organizations