The BIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP-BIT) attaches great importance to the international cultivation of talents, encouraging students to engage with the world’s top universities and research institutions to broaden their academic horizons and build cross-border research collaborations. Currently, more than ten doctoral students from the center are pursuing joint training at prestigious universities and research institutions across Europe, North America, Australia and other regions. Through active participation in international conferences, in-depth research group seminars and extensive academic exchanges, doctoral students absorb frontier knowledge and refine their research capabilities. The following is the latest update on overseas academic visits.
Duke University Energy Week
Wang Xiaokun attended the 10th annual Energy Week hosted by Duke University in the United States from November 3 to 7, 2025. The event was co-organized by the Duke Energy and Environment Development Center (EDGE), the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, and the MBA Energy Club of the Fuqua School of Business. As one of the most influential energy events hosted by North American universities, this year’s edition was themed The Future of Energy, gathering over 400 expert representatives from tech giants, energy utility companies, policy think tanks and top universities, including senior executives from Microsoft, NextEra Energy, Equinix, Duke Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy.
This Energy Week unfolded around themes including future energy transition, technological innovation, energy sustainability and industrial cooperation, with a wide range of content and diverse formats. On the opening day (November 3), keynote speeches and panel discussions were held under the theme Technological Innovation in Energy Transition, followed by a community dinner. On November 4, the Emerging Markets Energy Case Competition presented innovative business proposals from teams across multiple universities. The largest energy conference took place on November 5, with an agenda closely aligned with industry frontiers. It covered traditional topics such as decarbonization capital allocation and grid modernization, and also featured in-depth debates on the energy dilemma in the AI era, as well as a thematic seminar on grid resilience reconstruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Bobby Hollis, Vice President of Energy at Microsoft, and Rebecca Kujawa, former CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, delivered keynote speeches on the role of tech enterprises in grid transformation and the scaling path of clean energy respectively, and held an in-depth fireside chat on site.
During the conference, Wang Xiaokun took part in multiple thematic forums. Through this platform, he gained first-hand exposure to the latest perspectives from both industry and academia, and developed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and challenges in the energy sector. This experience not only helped broaden his professional vision, but also built up frontier knowledge and insights for understanding the global energy transition from an interdisciplinary perspective.
