Energy Economics and Policy Seminar: Day 1 Recap

On the first day, Fellows were invited to participate in a wide range of activities from morning to evening with professors from well-known universities and industry experts from the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific region with diverse experiences in Southeast Asia. 

The Energy Economics & Policy Seminar organized by YSEALI Academy was kickstarted on July 5  in an engaging virtual Plenary Session with the attendance of Ms. Wendy R. Sherman (U.S. Deputy Secretary of State), Dr. Pham Thai Lai (President and CEO of Siemens ASEAN), Madam Dam Bich Thuy (President of Fulbright University Vietnam), and Prof. Le Vu Quan (Director of YSEALI Academy).

Coming up next was the Networking Session in the afternoon. During this session, all Fellows had the chance to share their stories and backgrounds in an Ice-breaking game before moving on to the Canvas instructions and Seminar overview activities. They were shown how to access and navigate Canvas as well as have a deeper understanding of the seminar agenda and assignments.  

During this afternoon session, Fellows were also divided into 9 groups and had engaging discussions to prepare for Lecture 4 Assignments where they were asked to present one of the three following topics: Indonesian biofuels, Singaporean PV, and Vietnamese offshore wind. After the group work, Fellows had the opportunity to meet with their lecturer - Dr. Minh Ha Duong -  Senior researcher and International expert on energy, development, and environment at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France. He was also the lead author on Assessment Report 4 and 5 of the IPCC, which was co-awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007.  

In the evening, our Fellows attended the lecture “Intro to Energy Economics: Essential knowledge and terminology” led by Dr. Le Thai Ha, Director of Research, Fulbright University Vietnam. Dr. Ha’s talks introduced basic terminology, different types of energy sources and interesting stories about oil prices and speculation. As a part of the culture exchange experience, during the 10-minute break of the lecture, Fellows from each country will perform an activity to introduce the culture of their country. As the host nation, Vietnamese Fellows had the opportunity to showcase the traditions, cuisines and beautiful destinations in Vietnam.