This week, students from the EuroTeQ alliance, representing institutions such as the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), are gathering at TU/e to explore solutions for rising energy demands and climate change. As part of the hybrid course, participating students have already completed two weeks of the course online and are on the TU/e campus together for the final week.
The MSc. Summer Course, Energy Transition — the path towards net zero is hosted by Maja Rücker from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TU/e, with support from a team of colleagues from various participating universities including Ivano Eligio Castelli, Peyman Khajavi, and Ali Akbar Eftekhari from DTU; Anton Rassõlkin from TalTech; and Willem-Bart Bartels, Gijs Wensink, G. Claudiu Savulescu from TU/e, along with Jacob Burger from TUM. The team work between the teaching staff, support staff, the team of EuroTeQ staff and International Officers across institutes, ensured that students could focus on the subject at hand and could immerse themselves in this extraordinary learning experience.
The course focuses on the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source to meet increasing energy demands. This initiative aligns with the ambitious goal set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, necessitating the adoption of innovative technologies.
When asked about her experience, TUM student Tuba Cigdem Bayram said, “I find the course structure and content very different from what I am used to. I had the responsibility of reading through the research papers myself and interpreting and analyzing them to further participate and suggest solutions as part of the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) aspect of the course. I found this fascinating.”
Adding to Tuba’s sentiments, another TUM student mentioned, “I also liked the international experience. I was really excited to meet people from all over the world that I didn’t know earlier but had to form a group with to exchange ideas. It amazes me to see what we have learned as a group. I also liked the topic because I had some insight from my courses at TUM, but I appreciate the challenge-based learning concept because I feel like I can learn more when working on a challenge. From the basic concept to finding one idea together with a group of international students, each with different backgrounds, was a great experience.”
Another participant, Aleks Lõbu from TalTech, also found the international experience enriching. He mentioned, “The fact that we can interact with students from other universities and also go abroad outside of our own city university campus to experience something different – different study culture, different infrastructure, different people – is invaluable. The subject of hydrogen is also new for us, as we mostly focus on solar energy when talking about sustainability. It definitely feels better to be in real life than online, but we have had challenges and solved them while working online. I think the job has been efficient so far and now it will only get better.”
The students are working alongside Eurotech PhD students to bridge the gap between scientific research and societal implementation, aiming to develop actionable pathways to meet our climate objectives in a timely manner.
This collaborative effort underscores the importance of international cooperation and interdisciplinary approaches in addressing global challenges such as energy sustainability and climate change.
