'Everyone knows we exist as Wubbo Ockels School'

The Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate will celebrate its one-year anniversary on 28 March with a special WOS event at DOT Groningen. Director and professor of energy law, Lorenzo Squintani, looks back on the School's first year in this interview. According to him, a solid foundation has been laid for the future.

'I really admire all that has been achieved in a very short time,' Squintani begins. The Wubbo Ockels School (WOS) is all about developing an ecosystem around energy and climate, he explains. 'With this, we as a School are in a wonderful environment with partners who are all working on energy transition and climate adaptation, both inside and outside the university. It's impossible to say how many people I have met in the past year thanks to this new ecosystem. There have been many hundreds. I think it fits exactly with the university's Making Connections strategy.'

Interdisciplinary environment

The Schools for Science & Society have three main activities: knowledge development, education and impact. Together, the Schools work on major societal issues. Energy and climate challenges are central to the Wubbo Ockels School. In doing so, three themes have been identified that tie in with existing expertise within the UG: green molecules, climate adaptation and public participation, or involving citizens in major transitions. 'These three themes are our centres of aggregation,' says the WOS director. 'We also keep constantly looking for new topics that will become very important now or in a few years' time, such as the twin transition, which revolves around sustainability and digitalisation.'

For all areas, Squintani knows that a mono-disciplinary approach is not enough to solve the issues. The challenges are such that different disciplines need to work together. Hence the Schools' mission to bring together the various disciplines within the university in an interdisciplinary environment. 'But if our School focused only on the UG, we could not achieve the transition. That's why transdisciplinarity also plays a big role. We work together with society.'

The various partners now know how to find the Wubbo Ockels School, says Squintani. 'When it comes to energy and hydrogen, we always have a seat at the table, and when it comes to climate adaptation and participation, we are increasingly successful. Everyone knows we exist as Wubbo Ockels School. If you were to ask me as a thought exercise: Lorenzo, can you stop being the School's director now? Then I would say: yes, I can. We have reached a milestone by setting up three centres of aggregation; there is an education programme that is starting to run and we have a stable impact programme. Things have really been established.'

Highlights

In April 2023, almost a year ago, the School was officially opened. Joos Ockels, wife of Wubbo Ockels, was one of the guests of honour. Squintani: 'The name and culture of our School derive from her husband. Her presence was obviously very nice. In her speech, she mentioned Wubbo Ockels' three principles, which are also very important for us as a School: 'We are all astronauts on spaceship Earth, optimism about sustainability is a responsibility, and sustainability is not less, but different, and much more fun'. I thought it was special to hear her speak; the love for her husband was still clearly visible.'

The official opening of the Schools in the House of Connections followed a few months later, the WOS director continued. 'With the opening of our location on the Grote Markt, the interaction between internal and external partners was really set in motion. As Wubbo Ockels School, we never operate purely from the University of Groningen, but actively seek cooperation with other knowledge institutions, companies and government bodies. Together, we want and are able to realise the energy transition.'

The opening was followed by several other successful events. Squintani cites the European Researchers' Night and Zpannend Zernike as highlights. 'There, the Schools worked together in a very nice way to make the knowledge and expertise we have within the university available to the community. The European Researchers' Night is an event with thousands of participants, but also the small meetings have stayed with me. Take an evening meeting with various knowledge institutions on the Hydrogen Valley Campus Europe, a large project in which we are making the various facilities in the Northern Netherlands in the field of green molecules work more closely together. I was really amazed at how the discussions got going and connections emerged. That's how it should be, I thought. For me, that was one of the best evenings of the past year within the Wubbo Ockels School.'

Research and education

Looking for collaborations to tackle the big issues is also an important aim of the School in the field of research. 'It's about being aware that there are fellow researchers working on the same issues, but from a different perspective. With the Wubbo Ockels School, we want to encourage cooperation, because it is precisely then that we create even more value. For researchers, it is sometimes difficult to fit in daily reality: they have to deliver, publish, supervise PhD students, and so on. Running a large interdisciplinary project therefore simply requires manpower, and that requires funding. The M20 programme shows how we can drive collaboration between researchers from different disciplines. But this is just one of many research tools. Last year, we developed dozens of applications for regional, national and international research funds. Always with the thought: how can we bring researchers together.'

Besides research, the School actively works to boost interdisciplinary education. Squintani highlights the summerschools and hackathons as key initiatives. 'In addition, we have been busy developing minors. Besides the existing Energy minor, developed by Machiel Mulder, we are in the process of developing new programmes, a process that takes a lot of time. In 2024, the second year of the Wubbo Ockels School, a lot of attention will again go to developing the education minors so that we can actually offer them in 2025.'

Marathon at sprint speed

According to the WOS director, much is expected of the Schools. It therefore remains a challenge to balance between the high expectations for the School and the time available. 'Solving societal challenges gives enormous energy, but at the same time the transitions are huge issues. Regional collaborations alone are not going to solve it; it takes the whole of humanity.'

According to him, it gives a constant sense of 'work in progress'. 'Today we are putting something wonderful in place, but tomorrow morning the alarm goes off at four o'clock for the next project. Throughout the year we are busy with activities: research requests, events, developing projects, teaching, conferences, impact activities.... It's a marathon at sprint speed. But then again, Olympic athletes also run a marathon at 20 kilometres per hour, so we can also show something,' he says, laughing.

Above all, Squintani looks back on the School's first year with pride, pointing to its continuous development. 'We continue to strengthen the Schools' teams, which is great to see. Extra manpower gives us the opportunity to do even more. I also see more and more interaction between the staff of the different Schools. This leads to creative moments when addressing challenges that are at the interface of various Schools. Think, for example, of the twin transition, where we collaborate with the Jantina Tammes School. There are also collaborations on climate adaptation with Rudolf Agricola, and in Planetary Health with Aletta Jacobs and Rudolf. The House of Connections is even starting to get on the tight side because of the many activities. To me, that's a sign of success!'