Chapters Program Spotlight: Groningen

Greetings from Groningen, a lovely student city in The Netherlands, to you there reading this! My name is Justin Warners and I am the chair of the Student Energy Chapter in Groningen. Born and raised in the area of Groningen, I have not strayed far yet, but it has brought me amazing experiences nonetheless! The part where every international tries to properly pronounce Groningen is a nice addition, so good luck with that 😉

After finishing high school, I wanted to be part of the new energy movement and decided to start studying Physics in Groningen. Here I met Melav Salih, who started Student Energy’s presence in The Netherlands. From the start, we are affiliated with the study association ATMOS, which is

tied to the Energy and Environmental Sciences Master. Here I am continuing my studying after having finished the Physics degree.

Atmos and Student Energy share the same core values about sustainability, which makes it a great match! Combining the knowledge from these two parties is very energizing! The Student Energy network is a great place to meet new people with all different kinds of perspectives from all around the world. Sharing the same motives in the energy sector is a great way of bonding with each other. The monthly calls are a lovely way to stay connected, but also cross-continent events are organized at ATMOS to bring worlds closer together. As we did this recently with a team from the Student Energy Fellowship in Namibia, (Eunice Shapange, Eva Ephraim from IncluSustainEnviroSpaces (ISES)!) who were part of our day about the citizen perspective in the energy transition.

I just finished my research project on the design of a part in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell to allow for new ways of performing measurements on the reactions occurring inside of it. So I am very excited about what new knowledge this might bring us!

To graduate, another research needs to be done, which I am planning on doing in Sweden!! With that, however, my time in Groningen comes to an end, but luckily Student Energy offers an alums program to stay part of the amazing network.

If you would like to experience this yourself, simply reach out to Student Energy and you will be welcomed with open arms. We are an extended community where everyone’s ideas are highly appreciated! Either via the global entity or a Chapter in your area. But of course you can also reach out to our chapter in Groningen! If you have any questions about Student Energy in general, or about collaborating on an event for which we always are very excited! You can reach us at groningen@studentenergy.org or me personally via LinkedIn!

If each of us tries to improve the world one step at a time, then together we can make a billion steps! So just start walking!

Thank you for your time to read this and I wish you all the best! And as we say here in Groningen: moi eem! /mɔi̯em/ (which can be a greeting or a farewell).

Justin