Off to Rome

ISEEE students to attend global energy conference

By Mark Lowey

Two first-year Haskayne School of Business students are among only five young Canadians chosen to represent the country at the World Energy Congress in Rome later this year.

Mark Blackwell and Gladwin Sun, who are also members of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy Students’ Association, were chosen by the Energy Council of Canada as youth delegates for the conference—considered one of the most important events in the energy world.

Both 18, they will also be the country’s youngest representatives at the five-day event in November. The other three Canadian youth delegates—one each from Toronto, Ottawa and British Columbia—are all in their 20s.

“I’m feeling pretty ecstatic,” Blackwell says. “There’s going to be nearly 200 students from everywhere around the world, and they are going to be potentially the future leaders in the energy industry.”

“I think it’s great,” agrees Sun, who is looking forward to talks by chief executives from the world’s biggest energy companies as well as checking out Rome’s sights. “I’ve always wanted to visit the Collosseum.”

To be chosen for the all-expenses-paid conference, Blackwell and Sun each had to write a letter to the Energy Council of Canada about their energy career aspirations and what they’d done to learn about the energy industry. Both have been accepted for the fall into the Haskayne School’s specialization in global energy management and sustainable development program.

“Being part of the ISEEE Students’ Association and showing our commitment to something of this sort was a definite advantage over other students applying,” says Blackwell. The club’s president, he spearheaded its creation last year so U of C students from all disciplines could work directly with ISEEE.

World Energy Congress youth delegates will take part in all the main events, including attending plenary sessions, keynote and special industry talks, and the opening and closing ceremonies. They will also be active participants in workshops and meetings—led by experts from energy and energy-related fields—on the future of energy in an interdependent world.