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.
Chen Jiahui and Wang Xiaokun Attend the 2026 ASSA Annual Meeting and Conduct International Academic Exchanges
From January 2 to 5, 2026, Chen Jiahui and Wang Xiaokun, doctoral students in the center’s overseas joint-training program, traveled to Philadelphia, USA to attend the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA). Led by the American Economic Association (AEA) and co-hosted by multiple leading international academic organizations in economics and social sciences, the conference is one of the largest and most academically influential annual economics events in the world.
The ASSA Annual Meeting features more than 500 academic sessions, systematically covering core and cutting-edge topics in the fields of economics and finance. Key events of the conference include the AEA Presidential Address, the AEA Distinguished Lecture, the Luncheon for Young Scholar Mentorship and Exchange, thematic academic sessions, and research progress presentations. This year’s edition drew over 15,000 registered attendees from renowned universities, research institutions, government agencies and financial institutions worldwide, showcasing the latest achievements and development trends in contemporary economics research.
During the conference, experts and scholars from around the world conducted in-depth exchanges on key topics including macroeconomics, microeconomics, energy and environmental economics, labor economics, and development economics. Chen Jiahui and Wang Xiaokun actively participated in a number of thematic seminars, paper presentations and academic sessions throughout the event, focusing on research directions such as energy transition and development, and climate change impacts and adaptation, and gained a systematic understanding of international frontier research trends and methodologies.
The two doctoral students engaged in face-to-face exchanges with economists from the United States, Europe and other countries and regions, holding in-depth discussions on research methods, data construction and policy implications, and conducting preliminary explorations of potential future international collaborative research. Their interactions with international peers further broadened their research horizons and deepened their understanding of cutting-edge international research developments.
In addition, on January 4, Chen Jiahui and Wang Xiaokun attended the Luncheon for Young Scholar Mentorship and Exchange organized by the conference. They had in-depth conversations with internationally renowned economists including Professor Pascaline Dupas from Princeton University and Professor Derek Lemoine from the University of Arizona, on topics such as academic research planning for early-career scholars, experience in submitting to international journals, and career development. These exchanges provided valuable insights for their future academic paths and international collaborations.
Participation in the ASSA Annual Meeting has not only helped enhance the international academic vision and research capabilities of the center’s overseas students, but also laid a solid foundation for further strengthening academic ties with overseas universities and research institutions and promoting international cooperation in related fields. Going forward, the research center will continue to support young scholars in actively participating in high-level international academic exchanges, and steadily enhance the international influence of its research outcomes.
Academic Visit Update
On December 16, 2025, Wang Qianzi attended a seminar hosted by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, themed Determinants of Environmentally Friendly Behavior and Information Provision. In the first half of the seminar, Associate Professor Hijiri Kurisu from the Department of Engineering delivered a thematic lecture, systematically elaborating on the formation mechanisms, influencing factors and information intervention approaches of environmentally friendly behavior. In the second half, she held in-depth discussions and exchanges with attending students on issues including research design, behavioral measurement and practical applications.
