Last month, Student Energy organized the Net Zero World Café event for all energy-interested members of the McGill University and Greater Montreal communities. Michelle Balderston, Assistant to the Executive Director at Student Energy, oversaw the planning and facilitation of this meet-up as an instance of our Research and Youth Engagement program’s Net Zero in Our Neighbourhood research project which seeks to bring clean energy discussions directly to local communities.

Helen Watts, Executive Director at Student Energy, attended the ChangeNOW 2024 in Paris, France, and participated in a panel covering the Clean Energy Revolution. Helen shares the importance of ensuring youth and community are core considerations of all climate and energy solutions.

In this post, we’ll hear from Michelle and Helen about their experiences and learnings participating in these events!

Net Zero World Café

Michelle shares, “Last month, I had the pleasure of supporting Student Energy’s Net Zero World Café in Montréal. Our goal was to bring together community members across a range of backgrounds and interests to explore the world of net zero across local and national contexts. We succeeded on this point, as we welcomed attendees with expertise spanning engineering, arts, sciences, and beyond, all bringing their unique perspectives and expertise to the conversation. 

Through a roundtable format, we had the opportunity to dig into net zero across three critical sectors — transportation, waste, and buildings — and explore a wide range of challenges and opportunities for driving net-zero progress within Montréal and beyond. From advocating for more net zero-related educational initiatives to conducting clothing swaps, rethinking transportation as communal, or getting involved in public consultations, I was inspired by how much these conversations emphasized the immense potential of climate action at a local level and through community collaboration. 

I’ll also speak on behalf of our attendees to say that we were absolutely privileged to hear from McGill community member Rebecca Kresta, a mechanical engineer currently pursuing a master’s in Public Policy. Rebecca really served to reinforce the connections between local and national-level sustainability initiatives we were trying to emphasize and accentuated the role that all professions and sectors have to play in achieving net zero goals. 

Reflecting on how my knowledge of net zero has grown throughout the planning of and participation in this project, one of my key takeaways is that everyone can contribute to our collective journey towards a more sustainable energy system and net zero future — through actions big and small. Also, community building is so critical! As we wrapped up the night with networking over doughnuts and drinks, it was so heartening to receive such lovely and overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, emphasizing how important it is to be able to connect with others from within their communities, as these are truly the venues for some of the most meaningful and innovative ideas to take place.”

ChangeNOW 2024

Helen shares, “At the ChangeNOW 2024 Conference, I had the opportunity to participate in a fireside chat during the Clean Energy Revolution session, following a panel with leaders from the Shift Project, Schneider Electric, Sweetch Energy and Okra Solar to discuss community-led clean energy, technology and financial access. I highlighted stories from our Global Youth Energy Outlook, how youth are calling for action from decision-makers and what meaningful partnerships and power sharing with young people looks like in practice. 

Getting ourselves on track to triple renewable energy globally requires a massive jobs boom in the clean energy sector. We will not succeed in a transition that is socially just, economically positive, and community and industry needs-aligned if we do not prioritize these critical five years to support young people ages 18 to 30 to move into the sector.  Research and data developed by youth organizations, industry and intergovernmental organizations point to the reality of a significant and growing gap between young people passionate about energy issues and sectors trying to recruit talent.

Young people are hungry for meaningful jobs where they can access secure livelihoods while making an impact on climate and energy needs, and we have all the tools and knowledge we need to create an enabling environment for accessing jobs. What we still need is a scale-up of resources and forward-thinking policies to create an enabling environment, and we need a willingness to adapt from academia and industry recruitment. Organizations like Student Energy work to fill in the gaps for young people to learn how to develop and communicate their soft skills, market themselves effectively, and navigate an increasingly murky and complex job market. 

I had the opportunity to talk about our experiences at Student Energy to bridge this skills gap through programs like Student Energy Career Training, which provides youth with hands-on energy project experience with partner organizations, including Okra Solar. I also spoke about the ways in which our programs centre community building as a catalyst for empowering youth within the clean energy space, the importance of inclusive and accessible workforce training programs, and meaningful youth inclusion within the energy sector across all forums and decision-making spaces.”

Where would you like to see Student Energy?

Student Energy is active at global stages, attending events, expanding our reach, and growing our network of young energy leaders! It will always remain a priority of ours to bring nuanced, critical, optimistic insight into the energy industry, and to do so with youth skills and opportunities at front of mind.

Here you’ve seen just two quick ways that we practice outreach and community-building both in Canada and abroad; this is something we’re doing year round! Where might we see you next?

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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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With only 2 days to go before #COP27 begins, Student Energy is preparing to share youth perspectives toward climate action and empower the road to Net-zero together.

Student Energy Team at COP 27

Student Energy will be speaking, facilitating, or hosting events during COP 27. 

Meredith Adler – Executive Director

Helen Watts – Senior Director of Partnerships

Shakti Ramkumar – Director of Communications & Policy

Abdullah Khair – Partnerships Manager

Grace Young – Alumni & Community Manager

Eduarda Zhogbi – Student Energy Senior Advisor

Vaughn-Xavier Jameer – Chapters Associate

Oluwadabira Abiola-Awe – Partnerships Associate

Danielle Kehler – SevenGen Manager

If you are heading to COP 27, Student Energy would love to connect with you. Send Helen, Shakti, or Grace an email at helen@studentenergy.org, shakti@studentenergy.org, or grace@studentenergy.org and we would be happy to meet!

Student Energy Delegation in Sharm El Sheikh

Student Energy is working with key partners, including Sustainable Energy for All, the Government of Canada, and NYU Abu Dhabi, to make sure that youth can participate in person at COP 27 Sharm El Sheikh. Student Energy will be having a delegation of 16 Student Energy young leaders who will be working with us on side events and bringing key messages to world leaders while participating in programming throughout the blue zone. Countries represented will include Canada, India, Jordan, Brazil, Paraguay, Nigeria, Trinidad, Uganda, Spain, UAE, Poland, and the UK.

Currently, SEforALL is supporting a delegation of ten young women from developing economies to attend dedicated programs at the SDG 7 Pavilion and throughout the blue zone.

Energy Transition Skills Report Initial Findings Launch

Student Energy, in partnership with Ørsted, will launch initial findings from the Energy Transition Skills Report at COP 27. The report contains survey results and recommendations from 5,000 young people around the world on how to create more accessible and inclusive entry points for youth to enter and stay in careers that accelerate the global energy transition. The findings will be delivered by Shakti Ramkumar, Student Energy’s Director of Communications & Policy, at the Danish Pavilion on November 16 from 8:00 – 9:00.

The Energy Transition Skills Project was launched in 2022 to identify the needs of ready young people for energy transition jobs. 

Youth Impact Framework Initial Findings Launch

With the recent developments of the Youth Impact Framework in place, Student Energy, with the Global Covenant of Mayors, will be sharing the initial findings at COP 27. The findings will be discussed by Shakti at the UNFCCC Innovation Zone on November 10 from 14:00 – 16:00.

The Youth Impact Framework is a set of impact measurement tools and indicators to help youth climate advocates, project leaders, and founders measure and communicate the impact of their initiatives to incorporate youth-inclusive project design principles, by recognizing the impact of youth contributions to SDG 7 and across the Sustainable Development Goals.

International Student Energy Summit 2023 Abu Dhabi Announcement

More than 1,000 young people have already pre-registered for the International Student Energy Summit 2023 (SES 2023) during the first week beginning the summit’s launch last October 27. The Student Energy Summit team will be announcing the International Student Energy Summit 2023 at the Youth Pavilion on November 15. This will be followed by The Student Energy Summit 2023 Abu Dhabi: Uniting the Energy Transition happening at the UEA Pavilion from 14:00 – 14:45. 

Global Youth Energy Outlook Final Report Launch

In 2020, Student Energy launched the Global Youth Energy Outlook, the first youth-led research project of its kind to collect youth perspectives on energy. An online survey and a series of Regional Dialogues have engaged 41,652 young people, aged 18-30, from 181 countries and territories around the world. Now, the final report will be launched at COP 27. 

Find out what else we’re doing at COP 27!

November 8 

How can clean energy mitigate climate change, accelerate development, and support food security? 

• Shakti will be speaking at the Danish Pavilion from 12:00 to 12:45 with the event hosted by the Danish Chamber of Commerce

November 9

Youth Financing Done Right: How to best structure youth-financing program in developing countries

• Abdullah Khair, Student Energy’s Partnerships Manager, will be speaking at the Side Event Room 3 – HATSHEPSUTI from 11:30 – 12:30. The event hosted by YOUNGO

Just Sustainability, Circular Economy and Social Justice: employment and social policies to support a just green transition across the globe

• Shakti is speaking at the EU Pavilion from 19:00 – 20:00

November 10

Youth in the Energy Transition – Panel Discussion 

• Abdullah will be speaking at the Atoms4Climate Pavilion on November 10 from 9:00 – 10:00. This event is hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency

Launch of the Energy Transition Commission

• Vaughn-Xavier Jameer, Student Energy’s Chapters Associate, will be speaking at the SDG 7 Pavilion from 10:30 – 11:30. The event is hosted by SEforALL 

Empowering Youth in Climate and Sustainable Energy

• Abdullah will be speaking at the Green Zone on November 10 from 13:00 – 14:00. The event is hosted by Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Investing in Youth for a Just Energy Transition

• Eduarda Zoghbi, Student Energy’s Senior Advisor, will be speaking on this event, with Grace Young, Student Energy’s Alumni and Community Manager, moderating at the SDG 7 Pavilion on November 10 at 13:30 – 14:30

Fireside Chat with Simon, CEO of GEAPP and Dabira

• Oluwadabira Abiola-Awe, Student Energy’s Partnership Associate, will be speaking on this event happening at the GEAPP Office from 14:00 – 14:30

November 11

UNDP COP 27 Hour

• Dabira will be speaking at the UN Broadcast Center from 11:30 – 11:55. The event is hosted by UNDP

Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy Event

• Meredith Adler, Student Energy’s Executive Director, will be moderating this event happening at the Wind and Solar Pavilion Zone D from 14:00 – 15:30. The event is hosted by the Enel Foundation

Panel Discussion – Energy Transition, Green Jobs and Skills

• Dabira will be speaking on this event at the WMB Pavilion, hosted by the National Grid

High Level Panel Discussion with Matchmaking Session and Dinner

• Helen Watts, Student Energy’s Senior Director of Partnerships, will be speaking at the event from 17:20 – 20:00

November 12

There is No Food Security Without Clean Cooking

• Shakti will be speaking in this event, hosted by the Clean Cooking Alliance, happening at the SDG 7 Pavilion from 9:00 – 10:00

Achieving NDC Targets through Clean Cooking Action

• The event will take place at the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub from 13:00 – 14:00, hosted by the Clean Cooking Alliance

Capacity Building: Energy Literacy to Power a Greener Future (The Commonwealth Secretariat)

• Helen will be speaking at the SDG 7 Pavilion from 16:30 – 17:30, hosted by The Commonwealth Secretariat

November 14

Where is the Money for a Gender Just Transition?

• Dabira will be speaking at the SDG 7 Pavilion from 10:30 – 11:30, hosted by UNIDO

November 15

Game Changers Accelerating the Global Energy Transition

• Eduarda will be speaking at the Climate Action Rooms from 10:00 – 12:00

Unlocking Potential: Working with Young People for a Just Transition

• Happening at the We Mean Business Pavilion from 10:30 – 11:30, Student Energy will be co-hosting this event with We Mean Business

Africa’s Just Energy Transition: Scaling Up Renewable Energy Minigrids for People and Planet

• Dabira will be speaking at the UNDP Pavilion from 11:45 – 12:35

Green Jobs in the Energy Transition

• Dabira will be speaking at the We Mean Business Pavilion from 11:30 – 12:30

COP27 Energy Day Implementation Lab “A cleaner power sector by 2030: Scaling renewable and storage-based systems.”

• Eduarda will be speaking at the Lotus Room (Action Room 2) from 14:00 to 15:30

Indigenous & Youth Leadership in Canada’s Road to Net-zero

• Student Energy and SevenGen will be co-hosting this event at the Canada Pavilion from 15:15 – 16:00

November 17

Meeting with Global Affairs Canada

• Student Energy will be co-hosting and pitching this event at the SDG 7 Pavilion