Academia and industry share a symbiotic relationship. Academia produces graduates who are absorbed by industry. Industry, on the other hand, looks to academia for innovative solutions to its challenges.
This synergy was the main highlight at a presentation delivered by the president of the Global Energy Association. S
peaking at the 53rd edition of the GECF Gas Lecture, entitled “Global Energy: Supporting Science and Innovation”, Dr Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association (GEA), proposed that in the future editions of the flagship GEA publication “Ten breakthrough ideas in energy for the next 10 years’” a special section be dedicated to young researchers.
“What I cherish in the first edition of the report, which was published last year, is that the report is written in such a way that scientists recognise fellow scientists. It’s also, I daresay, is quite useful for managers, for the commercial sector,” said Dr Brilev, known for his in-depth interviews with a long series of global figures and international leaders.
The “Ten breakthrough ideas” is in fact the Association’s firstever annual report, launched in December 2020, and explores myriad technological innovations in the energy world, from carbon capture to smart grids, energy recycling to hydrogen.
Each of the 10 chapters is written by a select scientist from different corners of the world, for instance, the carbon capture article for the inaugural 2020 report was penned by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rodney John Allam.
“Perhaps in the future edition of the annual report, chapters written by pure academicians and scientists will be accompanied by a post scriptum (P.S.) contributed by a representative of research facilities and industry so you have a proper dialogue between the visionary scientists, the practitioners, and the policymakers.”
“We can always have an eleventh chapter as a joint chapter, locating a group of young scientists in the field of natural gas as co-authors from countries such as Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Russia, and Bolivia. It’s nice, it’s socially responsible, and it’s about youth,” said Dr Brilev. T
he GECF Secretary General noted that the Forum believes in collaboration between academia and the real world of energy markets. He therefore expressed a hope to “find in the Association a longstanding partner to search for innovations that will continue to drive us forward”.
“Scientifically-grounded data and insights are championed at the GECF – and this is something we share with the Global Energy Association. Our Forum was established to bring a better understanding about technology that underpins the full spectrum of energy areas,” said HE Yury Sentyurin.
During the presentation, Dr Brilev, an acclaimed author of several documentaries and books on international affairs and history, invited the GECF and GEA to organise joint events.
