Summer Course in Global Energy Transition in a Fossil World
Online Netherlands
DURATION
2 Weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 May 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Jul 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,360 / per course *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Students, PhD candidates and employees of VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC or an Aurora Network Partner €765 Students and PhD candidates at partner universities of VU Amsterdam €1035 Students and PhD candidates at non-partner universities of VU Amsterdam
Key Summary
Introduction
In previous years, the course has included excursions to Shell, Friends of the Earth Netherlands, and citizen energy cooperative Zuiderlicht.
Do we need to phase down or phase out fossil fuels for a successful energy transition? Meeting the Paris climate goals is far from a done deal. While the need for a global transition to a low-carbon energy sector is contested by few, opinions on what this means in practice and on how to get there vary between mainly technical change scenarios to radical societal change.
This course will focus on the societal and political side of energy transition, but also introduce you to physical and technical limitations of the energy system and to global boundaries. It will give you a broad overview of global energy transition needs, the key societal dilemmas, and possible solutions. It will challenge you to discover your own preferred solutions – as well as their main pros and cons. The course will further introduce you to the leading theories, concepts, proposed solutions, and current governance efforts in the energy transition. Global solutions will be studied as well as national and local approaches in the Netherlands.
Course Overview
- Course level: Advanced Bachelor's and Master's level
- Coordinating lecturer: Ana Clara Cassanti and Mathieu Blondeel
- Forms of assessment: essay, presentation, active participation
- Contact hours: 45
Program Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand the main concepts and theories in energy transition and be able to put them into the wider context of global sustainable development:
- Recognize what has been achieved on the road to energy transition so far;
- Have an overview of the greatest challenges and proposed solutions for the future of the energy transition;
- Gain a clear insight into their own preferred solutions for the energy transition and the main pros and cons of these solutions.
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
Equal Access Scholarship
Application Procedure
Application for the Equal Access Scholarship will open in Febraury
Great that you are interested in applying for the Equal Access Scholarship. You can apply to the scholarship between 12 February and 1 April. Please be aware that it is only possible to select one course.
The results of the scholarship selection will be announced in May. Since we have a limited number of scholarships available for a large number of applicants, we suggest - if possible! - to complete your payment at the time of your course application to guarantee your place in the course. However, if you are not able to come without the scholarship, you can just wait until the announcement. If you would like to come, regardless of whether you will be granted the scholarship, it is best to secure your place in the course by completing your payment via our regular application form. If the scholarship is granted to you, the tuition and accommodation fees will be reimbursed.
Deadline to submit your Equal Access Scholarship application: 31 March (23:59 CET).
Requirements
When you apply via the Equal Access Scholarship application form you will be requested to upload the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae/Résumé (CV) stating your educational background.
- Professional Letter of Reference Including:
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- His/her/their experience working with you (either in an academic, professional, or volunteer setting)
- His/her/their motivation for recommending you for the scholarship
- Complete contact information
- When filling out the scholarship form, we will ask the following questions*:
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
- Why are you interested in joining VU Amsterdam Summer School?
- What’s your motivation for selecting this course?
- How you will use the information you learn to make a positive impact in the future for both you and your community?
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
Please stick to a maximum of 150 words per question.
Green Travel Grant
At VU Amsterdam Summer School we are also committed to VU's sustainability goals and we aim to reduce the environmental impact of mobility, and specifically, student travel. Therefore, we are thrilled to offer Green Travel Grants to encourage sustainable travel for students attending our summer school.
Where can I apply?
Once the courses have been confirmed to run in mid-May or June, we will send out a newsletter to our participants with a link where they can apply for either funding for train travel or funding for bus travel.
The application period will last two weeks, and we will select the winners via a lottery system. More information on the specific deadlines can be found in the newsletter we send out in May.
How does it work?
For students to receive the economic compensation they will need to submit their purchased travel tickets via email within two weeks after being selected as winners of the grant. Once the deadline to submit their tickets has passed, the students will receive the reimbursement.
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