Anneli Roose
In the SMAGRINET project, Civitta had a great opportunity to organise topical webinars and conferences.
Our 3 webinars were on the topics of Artificial Intelligence and the Smart Grid, Economic Operation and Societal Challenges in the Energy Sector, and Connection Planning in Smart Grids.
The webinars provided insights to the world energy scenarios from global perspective until 2060, AI application in smart grids, connection planning and virtual power plants, and advanced voltage control in distribution network. At every webinar, the SMAGRINET academic modules, train-the-trainers programme and short-term in-service courses were introduced to encourage the participants to implement the modules at their university or company. More importantly, the societal challenges topic attracted many particpants from the general public.
On top of that, we learned how to organise online and hybrid conferences, as the world we knew changed during the project implementation. The 2 online conferences - Energy Game Changers 2020 and 2022 - were about understanding the value of energy transition and the importance of an informed society. One of the takeaways from the conferences was that universities can get higher interest from students if they work on relevant and industry-driven topics, and they can be seen as one of the key partners for policy makers, providing them with up-to-date expert information that is crucial in the energy transition process.
On the other hand, there is continuous need to demonstrate the experience of the universities and display evidence of the profits of the energy transition to the industry, as well as the advantages of the use of new technology. It is equally important to educate people in the industry, consumers and decision makers in an easily understandable and acceptable way, as the uptake of new technologies for the benefit of energy transition should not be seen as a burden, but rather something that offers solutions.
Although we missed the personal touch and networking opportunities at coffee breaks, the online format of the events enabled us attract speakers and participants from any locations of the world. On top of that, it means that if you missed the SMAGRINET webinars and conferences, you have the chance to check out the recordings.