SEED Conference 2026

Save the date!
March 24 & 25, 2026

Save the date!

March 24 & 25, 2026

Please mark your calendar for the Second International Conference on Sustainable Energy Education, themed ‘Shaping the Future of Energy Education’. The event will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, March 24 & 25, 2026, and will bring together researchers, educators, industry professionals and policy makers around the world.

View the program

The conference

The energy sector is undergoing a rapid transformation, yet the shortage of skilled professionals, outdated expertise, and the urgency of the energy transition present significant challenges. Sustainable energy education plays a crucial role in addressing these issues, ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for a future-proof energy system.

We invite researchers, educators, industry professionals and policy makers to contribute to discussions on innovative approaches, best practices, and strategies for advancing sustainable energy education. Join us in shaping the next generation of energy experts!

Topics of interest

Energy sector labour market

Including topics related to professional development and empowering careers in the energy sector.

support energy careers,
transfer between lower and higher VET education,
women in STEM,
youth motivations,
lifelong learning,
continuous professional development,
workforce development,
traineeships,
entrepreneurship education,
support SMEs,
career counselling,
internship programmes,
employability,
workplace learning,
retraining of professionals,
professional doctorate programmes,
etcetera...

Innovative energy education

Including topics related to learning and educational technology that support energy education.

good practices (including content, teaching practices, challenges, and courses),
hybrid learning environments (including workplace learning, community-based learning and learning labs),
international collaboration (including challenges, summer schools and mobility programmes),
responsive curricula (including skills gap analysis, shared responsibility between education and industry),
designing educational tools for energy education (including resources, materials, and games),
innovative educational technology (including AI, VR, and Robotics),
global learning, community engagement and outreach, large-scale learning (including e-learning and MOOC's),
business models for energy education, university spin-offs, student incubators,
regenerative and inclusive education,
education accreditation, quality and assessment,
teacher professionalisation (including train-the-trainer, international exchange, and mobility),
policy and advocacy skills for promoting energy education,
etcetera...

Region as campus

Topics may relate to collaborations and innovative ways to support energy education in the region.

Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE's),
Living labs,
collaborations with municipalities and regional governments,
community development and engagement,
open innovation,
stakeholder and value networks,
HUBS in sustainable energy,
USP, PPS, VET/SME connections,
effective collaborations & partnerships,
governance,
funding,
financing models,
financial tools,
etcetera...

Skills for the sustainable energy transition

Topics may include skills needed for the labour market in the energy sector and ways to educate these skills.

Technical skills:
- Energy planning, efficiency, storage, distribution
- E-mobility (including electric vehicles and charging stations)
- Sustainable energy skills (including renewable energy generation)
- Understanding complex (energy) systems
- Energy economics
Digital skills:
- Cybersecurity for energy systems
- Data analytics and big data management
- Internet of Things (IoT) for smart grids
- Blockchain technology for energy transactions
- Machine learning for predictive maintenance
- Digital twin technology for energy infrastructure
Soft skills:
- Conflict resolution for energy projects
- Empathy for diverse perspectives
- Teamwork in multidisciplinary energy teams
- Adaptability to changing energy technologies
- Cultural awareness for diverse users
- Time management for energy projects
- Critical thinking for energy strategies
Entrepreneurial skills:
- Business model innovation for sustainable energy
- Venture capital and funding strategies
- Market analysis and opportunity identification
- Scaling and growth strategies for energy startups
- Leadership and team management in energy initiatives
- Networking and partnership development in the energy sector
Research & design skills:
- Collaborative and inclusive design skills
- Researching renewable energy technologies
- Biomimicry and nature-based design for energy solutions
- Evaluating the impact of new solutions and policies
- Developing and testing sustainable energy prototypes
- Conducting life cycle assessments
- Developing community-based energy projects
- Researching energy behaviour and consumption patterns
Professional development skills:
- Continuously updating energy knowledge
- Adapting to new energy technologies
- Collaborating and innovating with energy sector experts
- Learning from energy industry developments
- Participating in energy-related workshops and training
- Applying new energy research findings
- Adopt a boundary-crossing approach

Participate

Authors worldwide are invited to submit original and unpublished contributions not under review in any other conference or journal, to be presented at the SEED conference. All academic papers, expert articles and posters will be peer-reviewed based on their significance, methodological soundness, originality, and clarity of exposition.

Register now!

Location

The SEED conference 2026 will be hosted by the Centre of Expertise Smart Sustainable Cities of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.

The Smart Sustainable Cities Centre of Expertise provides a platform where people from the business world, governments and research and knowledge institutes can join HU University of Applied Sciences to develop innovative products and services that will bring smart, sustainable and healthy cities a step closer. Students, businesses, lecturers and researchers work together in projects in order to apply the latest knowledge and insight.

Discover Utrecht

Utrecht, the fourth-largest city in the Netherlands, boasts an ancient city centre with buildings dating back to the High Middle Ages. It is a major transport hub with the busiest railway station in the country, Utrecht Centraal. The city is renowned for its cultural events, second only to Amsterdam, and was recognized by Lonely Planet as one of the world's top unsung places. Encircled by a medieval canal, Utrecht's old town features vibrant wharves with bohemian cafes, shops, restaurants, and bars.