CHECK OUT OUR 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Highlights

Here’s a sneak peak to our 2023 Annual Report!

From our Board Chair

From our Executive Director

2023: Our Impact at a Glance

Here’s a glimpse of Student Energy’s 2023 impact in numbers:

• Global Reach: Our Programs Ecosystem (7 active programs) engaged a total of 826 participants from 116 countries, 78 of which are developing economies.
• Youth Empowerment: Supported 9 global youth delegations at prestigious events, and 407 youth delegates from 95 countries attended SES 2023, the largest youth-led energy summit.
• Global Community Engagement: Reached 32,730 people through our global Chapters network, with a membership of 4,369 students from different universities across the world.
• Mentorship, Early Career and Project Development: 32 graduates completed the first cohort of the Guided Projects program, received 1,604 Career Training and 1,063 Fellowship applications from youth interested in joining our capacity-building and mentorship-oriented programs.
• Networking: Spoke at 34 panels and events in the climate and energy space worldwide, including the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) UAE, Climate Week NYC, and Africa Energy Forum, among others.
• Recognition: Received 3 individual awards and one organizational accolade, “Best Nonprofit Employer: Youth Advancement for an organization with 20+ staff”, awarded by CharityVillage.

5 accomplishments we’re celebrating:

1. Successfully hosting SES 2023 in Abu Dhabi, bringing together 407 young people from around the world.

Making history as the first International Student Energy Summit held in the MENA region – a global hub for energy, SES 2023 featured 407 youth delegates from all over the world to meaningfully collaborate with sector and community leaders on energy solutions. We are proud to work with several partners for the first time, including Bezos Earth Fund, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and coordinated with NYU Abu Dhabi and the COP 28 UAE team as the Summit took place as an official side event of the UN Climate Change Conference for the very first time.

2. Activating a first cohort of youth-led clean energy projects in solar PV through the Guided Projects program and expanding the program’s offerings and reach.

With 32 graduates from 6 teams representing Kenya, Canada, and Peru, the Guided Projects program provided teams with the firsthand experience of developing solar PV projects to solve local energy problems in their communities. After a successful first cohort, Student Energy focused on retooling and securing additional resources for the program’s continuation in February 2024.

3. Releasing and disseminating our first round of the three research projects with active stakeholder engagement throughout.

Under Student Energy’s newly launched Research and Youth Engagement program, we launched the Global Youth Energy Outlook (GYEO), the Youth Impact Framework, and the Energy Transition Skills Project.

VIEW THE REPORTS

4. Integrating mentorship as a core aspect of our Programs Ecosystem, offering our youth network platforms to build connections through mentorship offerings.

Mentorship is the foundation of the Student Energy Career Training (SECT) program, and regional and language-specific mentorship is necessary and achieved through individual recruitment from program coordinators who are globally dispersed.

5. Amplifying youth-led action on energy on global stages and decision-making spaces

Student Energy attended 23 global energy and climate events, including the New York Climate Week, Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, and the Africa Energy Forum among others. We participated as speakers and moderators at 34 events, and hosted 11 events at COP 28 and the Student Energy Summit. We acted in an advisory capacity for several youth councils, and hosted the very first Youth Energy Narratives Council under the Research and Youth Engagement portfolio.

We’ve got so much more in store for you! Explore our 2023 Annual Report:

STUDENT ENERGY'S 2023 ANNUAL REPORT 

Thank you for standing by us as we empower the next generation of leaders in driving a just and equitable energy future! Your continued support fuels our mission and inspires us every step of the way.

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Khan Sonia Tewah is the Vice President of the Student Energy Chapter at the University of Buea in Cameroon and is a 2023 Student Energy Fellow.

At her University, she strives to empower and mobilize students to address pressing energy challenges and foster a sustainable future. With a background in Environmental Science and Occupational Health and Safety and currently pursuing a master’s degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, Sonia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her endeavors. Her academic pursuits, combined with her involvement in various fieldwork activities, have instilled in her a deep appreciation for the importance of energy and its impact on the environment. Khan Sonia’s passion for environmental education is evident through her involvement in organizing workshops and campaigns that highlight the significance of energy conservation and clean technologies. She actively engages with communities, raising awareness about the importance of sustainable energy practices and advocating for environmental protection.

Outside of her academic and professional pursuits, Khan Sonia is an active participant in the Mock EMS Delegate, representing her country, Cameroon. This experience amplifies her understanding of international climate negotiations and the need for inclusive and just solutions to combat climate change.

Interested to start a Student Energy Chapter at your university? Head over to Starting a Chapter!

The ASES Solar conference held space for presentations, discussions, and speakers for both working professionals and youth to co-learn about social justice aspects of the energy sector– such as women in solar, intergenerational discussions on mentorship, and youth entering the labour market to name a few. The event ran from August 8-11th but I arrived in Boulder on the 10th, leaving me with little time to enjoy the rest of the conference. I was, however, lucky enough to listen in on a “Young Professionals” panel discussion on youth sharing their strategic ways on networking, and navigating their early career challenges in the renewable energy sector. The latter half of the session allotted for a rotating speed networking session with the youth panelists, where I participated and learned some common, yet relevant challenges that young people face in entering the green jobs market. Youth with backgrounds in engineering, public policy, and STEM research find it challenging to find meaningful work, and shared various ways such as pitching project ideas or research topics as a way to show their initiative and proactiveness in their work-learn opportunities and internships. Connecting with these young professionals informed me the same stories of all other young people globally who are passionate change makers, and have grit to make meaningful difference in the energy transition movement, but are struggling to enter the industry. Feeling even more inspired by this experience, I channeled the same level of positivity into delivering Student Energy’s workshop that speaks to the very nature of this conversation– how young people can enter the energy transition labour market. 

The workshop drew key insights from Student Energy’s recently published report “Energy Transitions Skills Project” and its own 14 years of youth engagement to provide some actionable recommendations on how youth can take hold of their own energy careers. I walk through the importance of reflecting values, desires, and skills before job searching as a way to remind young people what is important to them when selecting a career; and relating their values to the labour market demand will make it easier for them to target their job search. Later, I facilitated a storytelling session where participants pitch their stories amongst themselves as a practice run for future networking opportunities with industry professionals. While there was low attendance in the workshop, the youth who participated were very engaged and happy to share their stories and connect with one another. 

Sharing recommendations to young people to be part of the energy movement gives me joy as I was in the same position a couple of years ago–I did not know how to apply my own unique skills and lived experiences in the energy transition industry, and felt severe imposter syndrome as a result. I still am continuously navigating through this rhythm of learning collectively as I engage with other youth on how we can intercept high-level decision-making spaces, and make our voices heard through our work. From learning about energy education through the Leaders Fellowship Program, to now working as Research and Youth Engagement Special Projects Coordinator, Student Energy has expanded my potential in the way I see myself, and how to creatively apply my own unique skills in the energy space. This experience has given me the opportunity to connect with other brilliant minds that give me the optimistic feeling of a positive transformation of the energy industry, and preparing for the next generation of leaders to confidently reclaim and re-write their futures. 

Starting out at one time as the sole full-time employee of the organization, Meredith has spent the past 8 years focused on building Student Energy – slowly at first and then very rapidly – to a 40+ person global organization as of the end of 2022.

Student Energy was initially founded by three young energy leaders in Calgary, Alberta (Kali Taylor, Janice Tran, and Sean Collins) and after two successful International Student Energy Summits and a burgeoning Energy Literacy Program, it soon became clear that there was an urgent need for Student Energy to develop into an organization that could serve youth around the world on a sustainable, ongoing basis. Initially tasked with developing Student Energy’s still-continuing Chapters program, Meredith soon became the Executive Director of Student Energy after the 2015 Student Energy Summit.

Meredith’s leadership has put youth at the forefront and gave youth perspectives a space and a platform. Her passion for young people in the energy transition sparked innovative ideas that turned into tangible formulas and solutions that Student Energy adopts to this day.

Student Energy now has 43 staff working from all across the world, spanning different continents and regions. Meredith led the creation of Student Energy’s Theory of Change, a document defining the organization’s end goals that uses backwards mapping to illustrate how the organization can create the conditions for the end goals to be realized. 

Student Energy embraced growth by expanding the organization’s Programs Ecosystem. Beginning with SE Chapters, the organization now has the SE Fellowship, SE Career Training, SE Guided Projects, the International Student Energy Summit, and SevenGen. Through these programs, we have built a large network of alums who continue to stay connected with Student Energy and their fellow alums while working towards advancing the energy transition.

Student Energy also developed extensive Policy and Advocacy research projects, including the Global Youth Energy Outlook, the Energy Transition Skills Project, and the Youth Impact Framework, all of which are focusing on youth voices in the climate and energy space.

Meredith continues to encourage young people to fulfill their potential toward the energy transition. Her belief in young people is what inspires Student Energy to continue doing the real work for youth in the climate and energy world. 

We interviewed Meredith to find out what she learned in the 8 years leading Student Energy from the ground up. 

How has Student Energy evolved over the past eight years?

Student Energy has evolved so much in the last eight years, and in so many different ways. We’ve gone from me being the only staff person working in my living room to having 40 staff in eight different countries around the world. We have developed, implemented, and stuck to an incredible Theory of Change that focuses on both training and people for the future that we need and need them to deliver on. We have worked with the other actors in the energy system to make sure that young people are taken more seriously and engaged well.

In your time as the Executive Director [of Student Energy], what has changed in the energy and climate landscape?

So much has changed with the youth, energy, and climate landscape since. When I started in 2015, young people were not taken seriously. I was often told that ‘Well, they don’t vote and so they’re not going to be part of this.’ There is no critical thinking about where young people are coming from.

I think now young people are seen as such a force in the world, but it’s still something that people are often hesitant to engage with. That is one huge piece of landscape – people actually are starting to value young people and starting to recognize that young people are, in fact, the global majority. The global average age is under 30.

If we’re not engaging, working with, and designing for young people, we’re not going to make any climate progress. People are really starting to get that. And that’s so much thanks to the work that young climate activists have done, and also groups like Student Energy, who have followed up that activism with concrete, tangible formulas and solutions for how to really work with, train, and engage young people.

So it takes a village [to create this], and the whole ecosystem has been really important. But the world is fundamentally shifted in that way. The world is also fundamentally shifted on climate action. Everyone, no matter where you are in the world, now admits that climate change is real and needs to be acted upon. That wasn’t the case when I started.

There are still a lot more debates, so sometimes it can feel like there’s not enough progress. But it is vastly different and moving so much more in the right direction. I think that’s one thing I feel lucky about, is eight years has actually given me a lot to look back on, to actually see where young people have made insane amounts of progress in this world, whereas, in a day-in, day-out, six-month timeline, it doesn’t always feel that way.

What is one unexpected thing you learned while you were Executive Director [of Student Energy]?

One of the biggest and best surprises was that champions for your work and for you will come in such unexpected places and that the biggest thing that you can do as a leader is just to continually talk about your vision to as many people as you can to see who wants to be on the support team. 

If you would have told me who my biggest mentors and supporters would be when I started out, I don’t think I ever would have believed you. Sometimes the people you feel should be on your team are nowhere to be found. But then you’ll find other people who really have no responsibility but are just passionate about young people and doing the right thing in the world. And they will be there for you and it will make all the difference. So the biggest, most lovely surprise has just been the amount of people who’ve come out of the woodwork to say that they believe in young people too, and that they want to make this happen.

What are you most proud of?

I’m really most proud of how our staff have developed in Student Energy. So many people started with Student Energy as their very first job, maybe as an assistant working 10 hours a week, and have grown into directing portfolios, having mentorship networks of their own, and running so many programs. In addition to our staff, the young people who work for us are incredibly inspiring and really are some of the biggest impact that we have.

The other thing I’m really proud of is how I think we really stood up for young people and what’s right to do in this space. To this day, all of our programs are designed and led by young people. That’s something that we haven’t changed. Despite becoming a multi-million dollar organization, we are still really true to what young people need to be successful in this space and aren’t directed necessarily by our funders or anything like that.

We set the agenda for what young people need, then we go out and find the supporters that make that happen. I think Student Energy has really proven how you can effectively work with young people in a way that other people didn’t see as possible because they weren’t really willing to listen to the young people that they were working to serve.

I’m so proud that we’ve maintained that throughout the years.

How many Student Energy Summits have you attended?

I’ve attended three in-person summits and one virtual summit.

What’s your favorite memory from SES (International Student Energy Summit)?

My favorite memory is at SES 2017 in Merida, Mexico. David Hochschild, the Chair of the California Energy Commission was on the dance floor at the gala, jumping up and down with all the delegates and exclaiming, “Man, this is like a climate hope wedding. It’s fun like a wedding, but it’s like a climate hope summit where everyone believes we could do this!”

And that’s the experience that I want everyone to have. It’s the rallying cry that we can do this.

What are you excited about for SES 2023?

I’m honestly so excited for the team. It is such an incredible experience to go through. So many of them will go from not really knowing how to do this to feeling confident with fundraising, communications, delegate recruitment, and so many core business skills. I can’t wait to see them evolve as every SES team has and really see what that will do for them in their careers.

What’s one piece of advice you have for the Student Energy youth network?

My biggest piece of advice for the youth network is don’t be paralyzed by choice. There are so many things that can happen in the world. There are so many opportunities, or sometimes, it can be so hard to find an opportunity. But what’s really crucial is that you keep moving forward, step by step, to make it happen. And so sometimes maybe the ideal job won’t appear. But it’s important to take what you can get in front of you and keep your values strong. Keep learning, growing, and building. Nothing is perfect and you won’t find perfect, but do what you can with what’s in front of you.

What’s one piece of advice you have for the Student Energy staff?

For the Student Energy staff, I just want to see everyone stick to it and dream really big. There’s so much you can do in each of your roles and so much that you can take hold of. It is such an incredible opportunity to have the platform of Student Energy, to have the internal support that we have, and to have the network and the opportunities that we have. So take a hold of all of that and be really clear about what you see as the need for yourself and for others. You are the target audience. 

All the best things we have [at Student Energy] have come from SE staff who are willing to take a risk. And I would love to see people continue to do that.

What’s one thing you’re excited to do now that you’re no longer Executive Director [of Student Energy]?

I honestly am still very much looking forward to being the organization’s biggest cheerleader. But beyond that, definitely looking forward to a few more dog walks, ideally a little bit less travel. But I think also, my next mission is to really explore how we continue to develop and make effective teams in all other types of sectors.

I’m really excited to actually go in and do that and take some of the skills I’ve learned in Student Energy about how to build and scale organizations and transfer that to other places that need it as well. Finally, I will not be taking on pottery as suspected (laughs).

Click to watch the full interview video here.

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Education

Somos Energía (Bolivia)

Paola Flores Carvajal, Areli Diaz Cabrera

The mission of Somos Energía is to empower children and adolescents from rural areas of Chuquisaca, Bolivia to take action on climate change and environmental degradation through educational workshops on climate change and energy, with separate programs for young people aged 6-12, and those aged 13-17. Through a combination of audiovisual learning, mentorship, hands-on experiments, Somos Energía aims to create a culture of care and value for the local environment while building capacity for active citizenship and local climate action. Paola and Areli are also co-founders of the Student Energy Chapter at the University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, in Bolivia.

Girls4Rurals (Nepal)

Sadikshya Aryal, Kuldeep Bandhu Aryal

The Girls4Rurals project started as a green initiative of Himalayan Innovations, with 160 adolescent young girls in rural communities, it recently conducted research on effectiveness of subsidy provision in the energy sector and need mapping of energy in Kavre, Dolakha, Syangja, Nuwakot districts. Building on their assessment, the team created and led dynamic design thinking workshops in rural municipalities to promote gender inclusive productive usage of energy and climate justice; ultimately grew their network to 2000 young people.

Sierra Leone Energy Smart Schools Project (Sierra Leone)

Jeremiah Thoronka, Sheillah Munsabe, Joseph Turay

The Sierra Leone Energy Smart Schools Project helps high school students learn about energy and strategies to reduce energy consumption. The team has strategically selected 20 schools where energy usage is high, and carried out a comprehensive training and awareness program for students and staff on how to reduce their school’s energy consumption in 2020. Their program included a guest speaker series and short course, to teach students about energy conservation and energy efficiency.

REKI – Renewable Energy Knowledge Initiative (Nepal)

Kushal Gautam, Pramod Rijal, Joshua Meinke

The REKI team led a renewable energy literacy program for schools in Nepal, focusing on early-age education for grades one to eight. They identified that there is a broad awareness of climate change in general, but that there is a need for a more specific and action-oriented understanding of how to address this global challenge in the changing energy and social landscape. REKI aimed to support the deployment of renewable energy sources on the local level by focusing on education. Working with the Centre for Rural Technology, an NGO, the REKI team reviewed the renewable energy textbooks for grades one to five and developed a curriculum for grades six to eight.

Storytelling and Journalism

Degrees of Change (India)

Tanmay Takle and Isha Kulkarni

Degrees of Change is an online platform and community that demystifies climate change in India and around the world. Targeted at young people who feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis and by the amount of information there is to sift through, Degrees of Change aims to take readers from theory to action through their accessible articles that break down complex energy and climate change issues, as well as the solutions available to tackle them.

 Read: India’s Path to Electric Mobility by Tanmay Takle

 The Energy Talk (Nigeria, Qatar)

Olubunmi Olajide

Hosted by Olubinmi Olajide, The Energy Talk podcast shares stories about energy as we race to meet our climate goals. With over 60 diverse episodes already live, The Energy Talk interviews industry experts, young leaders, and changemakers from around the globe on topics ranging from transitioning Nigeria’s energy sector to exploring the true cost of an oil spill.

 Listen: Powering the Clean Transition with Jigar Shah

Innovative Technology

GridLight by +Aware (UK, Germany, Spain, Australia)

Julia Cilleruelo Palomero, Lars Schellhas, Freya Espir, Kitty Stacpoole, Natalie Carter, Monika Blankenburgs, Michael Ehrenstein

 GridLight aims to educate and empower consumers to use their electricity appliances at times of lower energy demand on the grid through a simple colour-coded lamp that people can have in their homes. At times of peak electricity demand, carbon intensive generation sources like coal and gas are deployed to meet the increased demand. Like a traffic light, GridLight turns yellow or red when the grid’s carbon footprint is larger than average, and should best reduce your current electricity consumption.  When the grid is less carbon intensive, it turns green as a signal for consumers to use their appliances in the “green” times rather than when electricity mainly comes from fossil fuels. 

While the team had to pivot away from the original idea, everyone of the team continues their sustainability course, e.g., as consultants or by founding new sustainability startups like SimplyLCA (LinkedIn).

Fun fact: The GridLight team first met through another Student Energy program, the 2019 Student Energy Summit in London, where they were named one of the winners of the Innovation Jam.

Collective Action

Climate Crisis Coalition (Canada)

Grace Young, Serena Mendizabal, Sam Andison, Dan Nejman, Elijah Dietrich

The Climate Crisis Coalition (CCC) is a coalition of like-minded student groups concerned about Western’s performance on critical climate and sustainability-related issues. The CCC is a forum to convene all students, faculty, and staff at Western University interested in advancing a sustainable, zero-carbon campus and full divestment from their university’s fossil fuel holdings. Engaging in advocacy and activism, the CCC mobilizes Western’s community to support climate and divestment movements. Participating in an extensive research process, the CCC is working to produce comprehensive recommendations for Western’s strategic plans, calling on Western to commit to tangible goals and take part in the worldwide effort to mitigate the most damaging effects of climate change.

Sustainable Mobility

Easy Bike Unpad (Indonesia)

Fariz Muhammad Rizwan, Kenny Yohanda, Lia Yuliansah, Arya Fajrul Ikhsan, Muhammad Fadhlih Rizqon Khalish

Student Energy at Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, initiated the project “Unpad Energy Project” to support the Energy Transition Movement, which contains 2 main projects, including EASY BIKE (Electric Assistant System in Bike) and Unpad Terang. 

EASY BIKE is an electric bicycle that we developed to help friends (colleagues) in mobilizing on campus. They saw that their campus had an up and down contour of the road, conventional bicycles are difficult to use because of it. They tried to find out how they could develop the innovation of this electric bicycle to better support the energy transition, so they focused on developing a solar-powered charging system. This project was initiated in 2019 and will be completed in 2021. The bicycles have also been introduced in the news and media in Indonesia including BBC Indonesia, Tempo.com, and Kompas.com. Last February 12th, the Easy Bike Unpad project was presented in front of the Governor of West Java Indonesia, and launched with their Rector.

The second component of their project was Unpad Terang, which is a public street lighting project that uses solar power as its energy source. This project uses a 100 Wp Solar Panel as the main power source, connected to the battery. With this project, they hope to illuminate their campus environment.

ReconMETU (Turkey)

Bader Bilgin, Büşra Yıldırım, Ceyhun Koç, Elif Bişirici, İlayda Özırmak, Merve Peker, Ozan Can İlhan

The ReconMETU team aims to solve an ongoing transportation problem on the Middle East Technical University campus while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions, and improving the GreenMetric World University Ranking of their university. After collecting data to assess the need for charging stations, the team developed prototypes for solar-powered charging stations to power electric scooters and bicycles. From their research, they learned that bureaucracy and budget constraints were perceived as the biggest barriers to implementing this solution, and quickly pivoted to create a Conference Paper, to provide data and evidence to support the need for sustainable mobility solutions. The ReconMETU team is currently preparing to participate in conferences to share their Conference Paper and seeking financial opportunities to scale their Solar Charging Station prototype.

About this story:

In this story, Student Energy highlights some of the impactful youth-led community projects that resulted from the inaugural Student Energy Fellowship in 2020. The SE Fellowship is a unique 10-month virtual program that combines core energy system and project management education with coaching and mentorship for participants to apply their learning in a tangible energy project. In 2020, the program included 50 teams of young people from around the world. From launching fully fledged prototypes to virtual storytelling platforms to ongoing iterative research, this series showcases different approaches to taking action on energy and celebrates the continuous learning and problem-solving that systems change requires.

Applications are now open! Apply here: Application Form

Have questions? Student Energy will be hosting a Q&A webinar on October 23rd, 2020 8-9 am PDT to answer any questions and provide more information about the program.

Visit the Leaders Fellowship Website for more information about the program!

Applications will close on November 9th, 11:59 UTC. 

Eligibility:

• Open to applicants aged 18-30
• Recommend teams of 2-5 participants
• Open to students or recent graduates from any field, any level of study
• Open to students in all countries
• Must be able to work remotely (the Fellowship content will be delivered online)

Apply here: Application Form

If you have any questions, please contact  leaders@studentenergy.org