‘The more I study here, the more I want to back to Taiwan to do something about the energy transition there’

Caroline Hsu is an international student with a linguistic background from Taiwan. She has a bachelor in English and Japanese and is currently studying the Master Energy for Society.

‘I came to the Netherlands to study Energy for Society because I didn’t feel satisfied with my previous job. I thought that it wasn’t enough for my life or my career. I wanted to do something different which could also make me feel proud of myself in the future.’

‘I found this Master through a Dutch education association in Taiwan which was promoting Dutch education. They gave me some advice on universities and master programs in the Netherlands. I chose Energy for Society because I thought that learning about sustainability and the energy transition could lead me to make some contribution to society.’

‘We gained a lot of knowledge about energy transition from many different perspectives and in the last semester we worked on a couple of projects. We did a project in Tanzania Africa where we developed a new neighborhood with sustainable housing and we also worked with a local company in north of Groningen about local energy transition.’

‘I think groupwork with people from different backgrounds is very important, because you need everyone to be able to facilitate the energy transition. Not just the people who study energy related programs or have relevant experience in this field, but everyone should be engaged.’

‘The most fun for me was to gain new knowledge about energy transition. Everything was new and I felt very happy to learn more. The teachers also did a good job in helping to develop our own thinking. They tried to guide us to think further based on our own ideas or insights.’

‘I gained more insight in the energy transition. Not just in the Netherlands, but also in Taiwan. This also made me feel more strongly about going back to Taiwan after graduation. There is still a lot to do in Taiwan on energy transition and I think there should be more people involved to drive the progress of the energy transition further and faster.’

‘Energy for Society is nice for people who want to do something about energy transition and don’t have a relevant background. It isn’t too technical and gives you a general insight into energy transition.’

‘A tip for new students? It’s quite helpful to do a little bit of research into the energy transition in your country, because it can be discussed in class as well. If you learn more about where you come from and how the energy transition is going in your country, you can share you background and those kinds of things with your teachers and classmate. It will help facilitate the discussion and starts an opinion exchange. It’s also important to interact with your fellow classmates. That’s how we learn from each other.’