TEC Edmonton: Speaker Series
April 6, 2017
Spring is upon us, and so is the end of the academic year. With them came our last event of the Winter term, which was a lecture on entrepreneurship and market opportunities for startups companies given by representatives of TEC Edmonton. TEC is a local entity that provides assistance to startups which have innovative ideas to succeed in the market. It helps these technology-based companies grow through networking and other facilitating opportunities. The three main goals of the association, as described in their website, are: Commercializing technology from private, university and public sources; Helping build successful innovation-based companies; Fostering and promoting innovation and new enterprise development
The presenters for this talk, which included Adrian Banica and Kurian Tharakan, were very knowledgeable and discussed some first hand experiences they had supporting startups with very diverse ideas which were looking for their space in the market. They also talked about challenges that students trying to start their own businesses may face and how TEC Edmonton can possibly provide them assistence. At the end, there was a questions section followed by a networking period in which all students with enquiries could ask the speakers about their particular doubts.
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Speaker Series: Commondity Trading by BP Integrated Supply and Trading
January 10, 2017
See below for speakers' bio:
Renelle Narowski
Renelle manages foreign exchange for both Supply and Trading entities in Canada –Natural Gas and Oil. She has been in this role since 2010. She has a BA in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan . Prior to BP, Renelle was the VP of Treasury at HSBC and has spent ten years in Banking, Treasury and Commodity Markets.
Damian Opel
Damian is the manager of Ethics and Compliance and looks after operations in Canada and the US Midwest. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary. Damian has over 25 years’ experience in transportation, information technology, commodity markets and government and regulatory arenas. He is also an avid Oilers fan since 1979.
Solar Energy Workshop: Solar 101 by Emerging Leaders For Solar Energy (ELSE)
November 17, 2016
Winter is coming, and with it our last event of the fall term just happened. It was held on November 17th and consisted of a very informative session on the basics of solar energy concepts and technologies. The introductory course provided the listeners with fundamental concepts of solar energy conversion and what the state of the industry is currently, in terms of the equipment available and how they work.
Our lecturer, Brodie, started by explaining about his background, the non-profit organization (ELSE) that he represented, and how they are trying to reach out to the community. Then, delving more into the subject of the evening, he talked about the potential available for solar energy use in the province of Alberta, the photovoltaic modules commonly used in the process and how they work (including examples of design and construction), and also employment opportunities in the area.
At the end of the presentation, he also talked about the opportunities available to students interested in becoming solar ambassadors and the interest that ELSE has of starting an exclusively solar energy club at the University of Alberta (for more information, download the available slides presentation). To finish it off, the floor was open to questions from our attendees and an interesting discussion about the concepts presented followed.
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Fall Term Field Trip: Drake Landing Solar Community and Halkirk Wind Farm
November 9-10, 2016
The Energy Club term field trip took place over the course of two days (November 9-10) during reading week and consisted firstly of a visit to a solar community in Drake Landing, near Calgary. During the visit, we had the opportunity to see the solar modules installed on the roofs of all houses in the community, learned about their technical aspects, visited the control room and other locations responsible for the proper working of the facility, which guarantees the necessary heating for all houses that are part of the project. After we said our goodbyes to Drake Landing we had a few hours free to settle down in our hotel rooms, explore Calgary or simply make new friends.
To end the day we had a mingling event with industry professionals, mainly of the oil industry, in downtown Calgary, where the students and alumni had the chance to ask questions about the issues of their interest, from the current market state to the technical aspects of oil extraction and transportation. After the dinner, everyone returned to the hotel after a very eventful, pleasant day.
The next morning the trip members boarded the bus early ready for the long trip to Halkirk, where starting around 1:00pm we watched a presentation and navigated through the main places in a wind farm, starting in the control room and going all the way to the inside of a wind turbine. Finally, we had a calm, speedy return to Edmonton and good memories to look back to.
For the best pictures taken during the trip, see our image gallery.
Panel Discussion with Energy Experts: Alternative Energy to Coal in Alberta
October 17, 2016
On Monday, October 17 the Energy Club held its second event of the academic year, and it consisted of a dynamic panel discussion on technologies that could help replace the use of coal in the province of Alberta. The conversation started with Mr. Patrick Guidera,, Director of the Forest Technologies at Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, explaining the current scenario in terms of emissions and the plans of the provincial government to phase out the use of coal in power plants until 2030, and also explained why wood pellets could be a good replacement to be used in those same power plants.
Secondly, University of Alberta Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Xihua Wang explained some details about photovoltaic technologies which could be used by the province in the future, taking into consideration the potential available.
During the last 15 minutes of the lecture, Marc Secanell, Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, explained current improvements in energy storage methods and how it could applied in Alberta. To finish it off, a quick Q&A section was held and everyone interested could ask about the discussed technologies in more detail.
October 17, 2016
On Monday, October 17 the Energy Club held its second event of the academic year, and it consisted of a dynamic panel discussion on technologies that could help replace the use of coal in the province of Alberta. The conversation started with Mr. Patrick Guidera,, Director of the Forest Technologies at Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, explaining the current scenario in terms of emissions and the plans of the provincial government to phase out the use of coal in power plants until 2030, and also explained why wood pellets could be a good replacement to be used in those same power plants.
Secondly, University of Alberta Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Xihua Wang explained some details about photovoltaic technologies which could be used by the province in the future, taking into consideration the potential available.
During the last 15 minutes of the lecture, Marc Secanell, Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, explained current improvements in energy storage methods and how it could applied in Alberta. To finish it off, a quick Q&A section was held and everyone interested could ask about the discussed technologies in more detail.
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| patricks_presentation.pdf |
Annual General Meeting (AGM) & Speaker Series: The Impact Of prolonged Low Oil Prices On the Alberta Energy Landscape
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September 7, 2016
As tradition now determines, our first event of the current academic year featured Dr. Richard Dixon, adjunct professor at the University of Alberta School of Business, as the keynote speaker at the Energy Club's Annual General Meeting. The new club executives used the opportunity to introduce themselves to a full auditorium and talk about events planned for the year. Dr. Dixon presentation on the hardships faced by Alberta at the current state of the oil market included an overview on regulations implemented by the government which affect the revenue of the province itself. Among the questions asked by the attendants were the preoccupation with the current state of job opportunities in the province, and also the prospect of automation replacing technical jobs of the oil industry in the near future. |
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About the Speaker:
Mr. Dixon is an expert in regulatory and strategic affairs and adjunct professor at the University of Alberta. His background includes expertise in energy economics, scenario planning, strategic planning, policy and foresight, particularly as it relates to the energy and environment sectors. Richard Dixon was previously the Executive Director of the Centre for Applied Business Research in Energy and the Environment’s (CABREE) at the University of Alberta.
Mr. Dixon is an expert in regulatory and strategic affairs and adjunct professor at the University of Alberta. His background includes expertise in energy economics, scenario planning, strategic planning, policy and foresight, particularly as it relates to the energy and environment sectors. Richard Dixon was previously the Executive Director of the Centre for Applied Business Research in Energy and the Environment’s (CABREE) at the University of Alberta.
| AGM Speaker Series.pdf |