Summer Schools & Courses

2019 Applied Energy Summer School

A High-Energy Start

A full program for learning and growth

A full program for recreation and fun

Leading scholars gathered, with laughter throughout

This is a summer school beyond what you imagined

On July 18, Tsinghua University welcomed a group of energetic graduate and undergraduate students. They came from 85 universities across China and gathered at Tsinghua for the 2019 Applied Energy Summer School, where they would spend ten memorable days on the beautiful campus. The summer school was jointly organized by the CEADs team, Applied Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing Institute of Technology, the Applied Energy Innovation Institute, and several overseas universities. Centered on the theme of the Environment-Energy-Socioeconomic Nexus, it featured face-to-face academic exchange and course training, explored links among different energy systems, and aimed to promote interdisciplinary understanding and collaboration in order to develop systematic solutions for complex energy challenges.

A Special Lotus Pond and a Special Summer School

A Special Summer School and a Special You

Part 1

Professor Dabo Guan Hosted the Opening Ceremony

Professor Dabo Guan of Tsinghua University, a Thousand Talents Program scholar, hosted the opening ceremony. He introduced the development of the Applied Energy Summer School and encouraged students to learn in an innovative and relaxed atmosphere while daring to pursue the frontiers of research.

Part 2

Professor Peng Gong Gave the Opening Mobilization Talk

Professor Peng Gong, Chair of the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University, delivered the opening mobilization talk and introduced 30-meter-resolution land-use data for China. Using the example of a graduate student who completed 70% of the sampling work for a plot within two days, Professor Gong highlighted the strong execution of Tsinghua students. He also encouraged participants to put data first and to have the courage to be pioneers.

Part 3

Team Formation and Icebreaking!

Self-introductions and getting to know each other

We are the family

The intense icebreaking session followed. Through a playing-card puzzle game, students found their teams. After the teams were formed, members briefly introduced their universities, research interests, hobbies, and other information, and everyone gradually became familiar with one another. The whole process was exciting, suspenseful, and full of laughter.

Part 4

Professor D'Maris Coffman Gave a Talk

Professor D'Maris Coffman from University College London (UCL) shared research findings on how the sharing economy can promote environmental sustainability and provided a detailed analysis from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective.

Part 5

Professor Jinyue Yan Gave a Talk

After lunch, Professor Jinyue Yan of KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Editor-in-Chief of Applied Energy, gave the first lecture of the afternoon. As the original initiator of the summer school, Professor Yan first warmly welcomed the participants and then delivered a talk titled Research & Innovation Without Borders. He encouraged students to move beyond their own boundaries and introduced the recent development of Applied Energy as well as its summer schools and related conferences on different themes.

Part 6

Associate Professor Zhu Liu Gave a Talk

Associate Professor Zhu Liu from the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University introduced research on multidimensional data support for regional sustainable development and environmental decision-making. He also analyzed in detail the distribution of coal quality in China and the resampling survey of coal calorific values.

Part 7

Group Photo and the Please Trust Me Game

Together as One Family

Game in Progress

The Please Trust Me game further strengthened friendship and teamwork among the participants, while also testing the ability to improvise and think logically. The teams with outstanding performance received water guns presented by Professor Guan as rewards.

Part 8

Student Can Cui Gave a Talk

Finally, Can Cui from Wuhan University introduced multiscale carbon emission inventories at the national, provincial, and city levels, and explained in detail the specific methods and steps for city-level carbon emission accounting.

After the welcome dinner, the first day of AEss activities came to a successful close. Students experienced the research strengths of the professors as well as the relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere of the summer school. The first day is over, but the surprise is just beginning!