{"id":1209,"date":"2016-01-11T14:49:02","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T14:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/?p=1209"},"modified":"2016-01-12T11:58:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T11:58:48","slug":"my-spru-masters-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/2016\/01\/11\/my-spru-masters-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"My awesome SPRU Masters experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ak\"<\/a>I have always planned\u00a0to follow-up my undergraduate studies\u00a0with a policy course. \u00a0My work in different themes of development: poverty reduction, education, water and sanitation, health care and environment had\u00a0clearly illustrated to me that\u00a0access to efficient, clean and affordable energy is\u00a0the key to human development efforts. And that Climate Change is another huge issue on the global agenda.<\/p>\n

I had started to explore the role that science, technology and innovation plays\u00a0in international development, through my previous studies\u00a0and work in international development:\u00a0I took trips with a friend to some off grid remote farming and nomadic villages in Nigeria\u2019s North Central region, to understand how the people lived without access to electricity and other energy services. I am interested in\u00a0exactly what hinders\u00a0people in these villages\u00a0from having access to efficient and clean energy. \u00a0I also visited\u00a0island communities in Lagos for the same purpose. \u00a0These visits helped me take the final decision to study\u00a0an energy, innovation, and sustainability related policy course.<\/p>\n

I quite easily found the\u00a0‘Energy Policy for Sustainability<\/a>‘ programme offered at the Science Policy Research Unit<\/a>, University of Sussex<\/a>, on-line. I met the entry requirements, applied\u00a0and\u00a0was offered a place.\u00a0I arrived on campus to\u00a0an\u00a0experience that would be one of the most exciting academic and learning experiences I may ever have.\u00a0I was not surprised that I enjoyed\u00a0the course – I was motivated even before arriving for my studies. Weeks before arrival, the course convener had shared a\u00a0reading list to serve as an introduction to the course. This\u00a0was particularly helpful to me.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lecturers and faculty members are passionate about their work, teaching and sharing their experiences. The classes are interactive and held in \u2018safe environments\u2019 which means that students are protected from any undue influence from lecturers, staff and\u00a0fellow students.<\/p>\n

Course seminars were the best classroom activity for me as they\u00a0afforded students the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences, to discuss and argue on related topics and to get to know each other better, outside the usual university social events.<\/p>\n

There are weekly (non-compulsory, but necessary) seminars on energy, climate change, science, technology, innovation, development and many other energy related fields. \u00a0These are delivered by visiting researchers from other universities and research centres. I benefited hugely\u00a0from the few that I was able to attend; from recent ground breaking research findings to new thinking around old ideas and approaches. The seminars are an opportunity\u00a0to challenge the normal thinking and disrupt the system at little bit. It was very encouraging to attend – Masters Students were always given priority over PhD candidates and faculty members during the comments and Q&A’s that follow\u00a0the\u00a0presentations. Everyone\u2019s opinion\u00a0and point of\u00a0view were welcome, sought out\u00a0and respected. Personally, I was usually given time to express some knowledge I had and to get validation from the answers or comments that I received. It\u2019s also a good way\u00a0to meet the rest of the SPRU community and to build friendships and valuable networks.<\/p>\n

The lecturers were welcoming, especially in\u00a0classes that\u00a0I had voluntarily opted to take and for which I wouldn’t be assessed. They were encouraging, helpful and always responsive. The most exciting moment for me was when I proposed to use the STEPS Centre<\/a>\u2019s Pathways Approach to do an analysis for one of my term papers. The encouragement I got\u00a0is something I will never forget. STEPS Pathways Approach is a new concept and it was unusual for me to use it for my term paper. I successfully did though, and with deepest thanks to my lecturer,\u00a0today I am drafting a STEPS Working Paper out of that\u00a0term paper. The encouragement I had from him is what I would wish for every student. It is\u00a0not difficult to get that in SPRU\u00a0–\u00a0just challenge yourself and ask for help and encouragement.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed my studies so thoroughly that I was very willing to be an ambassador for the\u00a0course programme at\u00a0the Postgraduate Open Evening and subsequently helped produce an\u00a0official video<\/a>\u00a0to promote courses that SPRU offer<\/a> including Energy Policy for Sustainability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0graduating, I feel\u00a0ready to work in any context that I find myself. Be it a policy, research or\u00a0advisory position, consultancy, government, non-profit, business or\u00a0academic. I am ready! I couldn\u2019t be more proud to have passed through SPRU and SPRU through me. I have gained a deep understanding of the different and complex factors, dynamic interactions and contexts that challenge the development and governance of efficient, low-carbon energy systems and technologies in the 21st century. \u00a0Not only have I\u00a0gained tremendous knowledge but I\u00a0understand how to operationalize energy policy instruments and strategies to effectively achieve the desired outcomes.<\/p>\n

Taking the\u00a0Energy Policy for Sustainability course at SPRU<\/a> is something I strongly recommend to anyone; you only have to be passionate about understanding our energy systems, making energy services more accessible\u00a0and\u00a0efficient, and keeping our environment and world, safe from climate change impacts.<\/p>\n

For me, there is still a lot more that SPRU has to offer. \u00a0I am keeping in touch with the SPRU<\/a> community and who knows – I may\u00a0be going back there soon.<\/p>\n

Okafor Akachukwu<\/strong><\/p>\nFollow Sussex Energy Group \"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have always planned\u00a0to follow-up my undergraduate studies\u00a0with a policy course. \u00a0My work in different themes of development: poverty reduction, education, water and sanitation, health care and environment had\u00a0clearly illustrated to me that\u00a0access to efficient, clean and affordable energy is\u00a0the…<\/span><\/p>\n

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