UCL hosts Energy & Development Group Community Day

The UCL Energy & Development Group held a Community Day on the 20^th July 2018 at University College London. The workshop was attended by 20 researchers, academics and students from different universities and with a range of academic backgrounds.

The interdisciplinary nature of the group was showcased at the beginning of the day, where everyone had a chance to present their current research topic and to outline their future research interests. The presentations, although all coming under the broad spectrum of energy research, examined topics as varied as energy systems modelling, biomass and carbon capture and storage, the nexus between water and energy, the provision of energy to resource-challenged environments, community energy, and political economy.

Drawing on these presentations, a list of the methods used by the Group and the challenges or questions addressed in their respective research was compiled. The methods could be summarised as bottom-up and top-down modelling, social research tools, econometrics, content analysis, political economy, and life-cycle assessments. The challenges mainly focussed around institutional capacity building, community engagement, practical engineering challenges and multi-level governance.

An open discussion on the future of the UCL Energy & Development Group followed, providing everyone a chance to offer suggestions on what the Group should focus on over the next year. This was a very fruitful conversation, which resulted in a long list of objectives, which the group would like to tackle in the future, to develop both internal and external engagement, as well as to publish more papers. One of the key objectives that arose from the discussion was to update the Group’s vision and mission statement to reflect the many new members the Group has gained since it was established three years ago.

Another important point raised during the meeting was the marketing of the Group, where several people noted that a new website and logo would showcase the group’s aims and aid external engagement. A particular focus was put on engaging more students to join or benefit from the group’ activities.

Dr Julia Tomei commented on the event:

“The UCL Energy & Development Group provides fantastic opportunities to network and to learn about the research being undertaken in this space at UCL. During the Community Day we discussed current research, identified key research challenges and had an open discussion about the future priorities for the Group. I really enjoyed the Community Day and am excited about future of the Group!”

The Community Day was a very productive event, which has ensured that the UCL Energy & Development Group is ready to move forward and build on the success of the Nature Energy paper published earlier this year.