Student-powered: International Student Energy Summit 2019

This summer, Imperial College London will welcome over 650 delegates as hosts of the world’s largest student energy conference.

The International Student Energy Summit (SES 2019, 17 to 20 July), will bring together students from around the world, and guest speakers from industry, government, academia and business, to discuss the way forward to a sustainable energy future.

A summit created for students by students, the vision for this year’s event is #breakingbarriers, aiming “to be inclusive, and to foster reflection and discussion across a variety of challenges.”

The organising committee is an interdisciplinary team of students from 22 countries across Europe. Electrical and Electronic Engineering PhD students Jochen Cremer and Sohail Mian are part of the team preparing for the summit, following Imperial’s successful 2017 hosting bid, and are counting down to the big event, with just over eight weeks to go.

Jochen Cremer - Co Chair of SES19

Jochen is researching his PhD in the Control and Power group. Outside of his role at SES 2019, he is working on the technical challenge of power system operation, using machine learning and artificial intelligence to increase the reliability and efficiency of the power system.

Energy and momentum

 “The rate of change towards sustainable energy is too slow - tomorrow could be too late! This belief is the driver for my passion, which includes enabling youth to make a fast and significant impact in the transition towards sustainable energy.”

Jochen hopes that the event will help delegates further their understanding of the global challenges of climate change, and help move them forward. “I hope to inspire others and get inspiration from this event as well. It is all about connecting people and that everyone afterwards has the feeling of working in the same direction, and can takes this energy forward to break the barriers to sustainability.”

 “This is the largest student-led summit in the world, and we will bring together over 600 students from over 100 different countries. Imperial is such an international university, ideally suited to unite so many students from every corner of the world.”

Sohail Mian – Vice Chair Event Management

Sohail is also working towards his PhD in the department, with a vision of developing efficient methods of integrating vital energy storage to the power grid.

Generating success

 “Being part of SES 2019 presented a once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed. This unique event provides an extraordinary platform for the younger generation to make an informed decision around their careers and also an ideal opportunity for their voices to be heard amongst the industry leaders and academia.”

Sohail strongly believes that empowering youth is key to future success within the energy sector. “The great ideas are there, all we need is guidance and support to unlock the potential and polish the young talent to become the future energy leaders.”

As Vice Chair Event Management, Sohail’s role is to ensure that all the delegates, speakers and industry partners receive the best possible experience throughout the event. “It’s exciting to be part of a team of skilful young individuals and (we are) determined to deliver an exceptional and unrivalled event.”

We are looking forward to welcoming the student delegates to Imperial, where our interdisciplinary research and innovation in sustainable energy helps us share ideas, expertise and technology to find answers to society’s big scientific questions.