The Renewable Energy Postgraduate Symposium (REPS) is an annual event hosted by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at Stellenbosch University for postgraduate students working in any of the fields of renewable and sustainable energy.
The symposium allows young researchers to present and share their research work in a less intimidating environment.
This year, the 11th Renewable Energy Postgraduate Student Symposium (REPS2020) was hosted virtually by the Centre of Excellence in Carbon-based Fuels of the Faculty of Engineering at the North-West University (NWU) on 21 September 2020.
Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot (Centre Manager: Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development (RECORD/SANEDI)) gave a broad overview of both the global and local energy situations in her keynote address. She specifically highlighted the necessity to expand the contribution of sustainable and renewable energy to the international energy mix to keep the impact of global warming below the level of 2 C. She also explained the role that load shedding plays in stabilising South Africa’s electricity grid and the need for each individual to use electricity more efficiently and sparingly in our everyday lives.
The virtual nature of the symposium challenged students to develop new skills in presenting their work to a broader virtual audience. Fifty-three postgraduate students presented high-quality research papers on solar energy, wind energy, advanced biofuels, biogas, bio-based chemicals and polymers, and the integration of renewable energy into South Africa’s electricity grid. Presentations on clean coal technologies and carbon capture and storage technologies envisaged a path to help ease South Africa’s transition from a coal-powered economy to a green-powered economy that incorporates a wide variety of alternative energy solutions.
Presentations were from various institutions, including the North-West University, Stellenbosch University, University of Fort Hare, Vaal University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). A total of 88 attendees joined the virtual symposium, including postgraduate students (45%), study supervisors (33%), other interested academics (19%) and representatives from industry (3%). Demographically, 42% of the postgraduate students were from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, and 38% were female.
The symposium was well received overall by the attending audience, with valuable feedback being given to students on their work. Although virtual conferences can never replace the one-on-one interactions so critical to building lasting collaboration relationships, they do provide an opportunity to lower the cost (travel and subsistence) of high-level conference attendance for postgraduate students and young researchers.
