Event: Sustainable energy in the future – designing smart, green city models

Dates that it took place: 5-8 April 2022
Author: Maria Zambrotta

Description

Within the period of the STEM discovery week the structures of the Politecnico of Turin received an unusual visit: students and teachers from Lithuania, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal were welcomed at the Poli, together with their young colleagues from the Istituto Superiore Santorre di Santarosa in Turin, to discover the educational offer and the laboratories.
This was made possible by the Erasmus+ project “(S)TEAM today, make changes for tomorrow” on the theme of renewable energy for the cities of the future. On April 5th and 6th, a group of about 50 people – 40 students and 10 teachers – met researchers from the University and got to know two facilities of excellence such as Envipark and the Energy Center. At Envipark it was possible to have a guided tour of the park and of the laboratories of the Politecnico and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia dedicated to CO2 reuse, renewable energies, biocatalysis and fuel cells. The following day, the Energy Center offered the opportunity to discover the energy research of the Politecnico and the Edison Group, allowing young people to understand how a battery works, how to build a battery, how to model and visualize through the “Decision theatre” scenarios related to problems in the supply of energy, oil and gas.

The didactic paths built on the direct experience in the laboratory were engaging and effective and the interaction with the researchers was passionate about the group of young people, linking the academic field and current issues of research to the everyday reality. In this way the University opens up and involves future students also in the international arena, pushing them to consider the profession of scientist. The enthusiasm of the group can be summed up in the words of a Portuguese student to the researchers: “Today I understood the job I want to do. Maybe one day we will meet as colleagues.”