Activities

It is a tradition for the students in the Energy Master to start each semester with a convivial apéro by the lake. In September, it represents a great opportunity for the new comers to get to know the students that have already started delving into the Master’s course. In March, it allows to further consolidate the friendships created in the past months and hold dear some nice memories.

The semester apéro always has a special flavour for the MESAA committee. We strongly believe that the secret to hold a vibrant and motivated students’ community hides behind an active engagement outside of the academic context. As part of our duties, we take care of providing the necessary food and drinks to spend a pleasant evening contemplating the Swiss and French mountains, while enjoying some good music and passionate conversations.

MESAA and EMC2, respectively the Energy S&T Master’s students associations of the two Swiss institutes of technology EPFL and ETH, collaboratively organize the yearly ETHZ – EPFL MEST Weekend. The event is an opportunity for the students of the two Master’s to spend a weekend together in a Swiss mountain chalet, where they take part in team building and leisure activities including a hike, ice-breaker games and shared meals. The event brings together fellow students with the goal of fostering connections, encouraging networking and laying the foundations for future academic collaborations. The event is fully funded by the two sections. 

The students feedbacks proved the initiative’s success and not only, expectations were exceeded. Indeed they enjoyed chit-chatting with like-minded young students who share aspirations and hopes for the future, new friendships were born together with new ideas for joint initiatives.

In collaboration with EPFL’s Energy Centre, we regularly host Fireside Events—evenings dedicated to exploring themes related to the energy transition. These events bring together experts from diverse fields and students from the Energy Master program, fostering discussions that offer new perspectives and deepen our understanding of critical issues.

This semester, our Fireside Event focused on the vital topic of Critical Raw Materials and their role in the energy transition. This crucial subject was illuminated by three distinguished speakers:

• Prof. Wendy Queen: Professor at EPFL’s Laboratory for Functional Inorganic Materials, director of the Energy Center.
• Prof. Manuele Margni: Professor at HES-SO, international expert in Life Cycle Assessment.
• Mr. Philippe Zanettin: CEO of Batrec, a battery recycling company.

The evening began with insightful keynote presentations, followed by a Q&A session where the audience engaged with the speakers. A key takeaway for everyone was the importance of recycling electronic waste, which is frequently left in drawers, despite containing significant amounts of valuable materials.

Before Christmas, students from the Energy Science and Technology master’s were invited for the traditional Fondue Night. Following the meal, various activities were organized to keep the atmosphere lively and entertaining. These activities encourage further interaction and help to build lasting friendships.

Fireside events are organised regularly in conjunction with EPFL’s Energy Centre. They consist of an evening on a theme related to the energy transition, during which experts from various fields are invited to discuss with students from the Energy Master. This allows us to tackle energy transition issues from a new perspective and thus broaden our understanding.

For this semester, our goal was to examine the interplay between waste management and energy solutions. This topic, which is relatively unknown to the general public, was presented by 3 distinguished speakers :

• Dr. Robin Quartier : Director of the Swiss Association for Waste Treatment Plants
• Dr. Martyn Wakeman : Scientist EPFL, Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites
• Mr. Daniel Baillifard : General Director of SATOM a waste treatment and disposal

After keynotes, presentations and questions from the audience, a standing dinner was held to continue conversations and encourage informal networking.

All students of the Master’s in Energy Science and Technology are required to complete one semester project throughout their academic career. Since the program covers a wide range of topics – from hydraulic turbomachines to energy supply, economics and transition – and offers three different orientations – energy conversion devices, systems and management – choosing the right lab can be challenging.

To help students make this decision, the MESAA association organizes an event where professors from labs that focus on energy-related topics, including the Automatic Control Laboratory, Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering Laboratory, Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory, Group of Energy Materials, Laboratory of Environmental and Urban Economics, Technology Platform for Hydraulic Machines Laboratory, Wind Energy and Renewable Energy Laboratory, Enterprise for Society Center, share insights about their research areas and the available semester projects. After the presentations, an informal reception is offered to all participants. While enjoying the apero students have the chance to network and establish connections with professors.

On 2 May 2024, we had the pleasure of welcoming Anael Perruchaud, an alumnus of the Energy Master’s Programme, who came to present a workshop that he has developed himself to reflect on the problems of energy transition in Switzerland.

The workshop takes place in three stages. The first is an introduction to the current situation. The consequences and causes of climate change are explored. The next phase is a collaborative one. Participants work in groups to analyse one of the main sources of emissions. The aim is to propose laws that will enable the country to achieve neutrality, based on scientific facts. Finally, the results are pooled to determine whether net zero has been achieved.

The evening was rich in exchanges between the participants and enabled everyone to learn something. MESAA is keen to promote this kind of initiative, where alumni and current students exchange ideas.

The theme chosen for the Fireside event of 7^th March 2024 was: Social justice and economic impact of the energy transition. The aim was to explore the complex relationship between climate change measures and their social consequences. To discuss it we had the pleasure of welcoming:

• Roger Nordmann, who is the cantonal delegate in the National Council,
• Simon Fellermeyer, who holds a position at the Federal Office for the Environment and acts as Switzerland’s principal negotiator for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement,
• Professor Phillipe Thalmann who is leading the Urban and Environmental Economics Laboratory at EPFL.

The discussion was followed by a nice standing dinner with fruitful discussions between students and speakers.

As the fall semester steps across the midterm session, the Fondue Night event offers a much-needed respite from the academic workload. It’s an opportunity for energy students to unwind, relax, and enjoy a cozy evening with their peers. 

We believe that sharing a dinner together, among the energy section, deeply strengthens the bonds between students and builds a strong community. Together, we cook one of the students’ favorite meals of the season: the fondue, after which we engage in various social activities to keep the evening lively.

All students of the Master’s in Energy Science and Technology are required to complete one semester project throughout their academic career. Since the program covers a wide range of topics – from hydraulic turbomachines to energy supply, economics and transition – and offers three different orientations – energy conversion devices, systems and management – choosing the right lab can be challenging.

To help students make this decision, the MESAA association organizes an event where professors from labs that focus on energy-related topics, including the Automatic Control Laboratory, Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering Laboratory, Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory, PV Laboratory, Group of Energy Materials, Laboratory of Environmental and Urban Economics, Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering, share insights about their research areas and the available semester projects. After the presentations, an informal reception is offered to all participants. While enjoying the apero students have the chance to network and establish connections with professors.