Undergraduate Course: Navigating Energy Transitions (STIS08013)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Energy transitions are one of the most significant global challenges in today's world and a compelling way to understand social, technological, economic, and political change. Across the globe, energy systems are being transformed by powerful forces: growing energy demand, geopolitical and trade instabilities, climate change mitigation and net zero emissions targets, industrial growth strategies, and concerns for affordability, acceptability and justice. There is no single energy transition: diverse changes are being seen according to how these forces interact in different ways in particular contexts. The course explores this diversity by introducing different disciplinary perspectives, and equipping students with frameworks and skills to help navigate transitions. |
| Course description |
Navigating Energy Transitions analyses the multiple forces shaping energy systems, how they interact, and how energy transitions can be analysed in an interdisciplinary, integrated and contextually informed way. The course is delivered in three parts over 11 weeks. Part 1 provides an introduction to the diverse forces shaping energy transitions and different disciplinary perspectives. Part 2 introduces holistic interdisciplinary approaches, including systems thinking, scenarios and transition planning. In Part 3, students collaborate in interdisciplinary groups to develop energy scenarios and transition plans for a particular country or region.
The course also introduces relevant research methods, including group working, stakeholder role-play and reflective writing, and features guest talks from policymakers, businesses and civil society. Navigating Energy Transitions is taught by an interdisciplinary team led by the School of Social and Political Science, and including contributions from Engineering, Geosciences and Mathematics. Teaching methods include lectures, seminar discussions and case study group tutorials. Learning is assessed by a combination of group and individual assessments. The course is suitable for all pre-Hons undergraduate students, from any discipline.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 9,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
178 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Case Study Poster 20%«br /»
Case Study Group Scenario and Transition Plan (3,000 words) 50% (20% of the group report mark is an individual grade awarded by peer assessment from fellow group members)«br /»
Individual Reflective Diary (1,000 words) 30%«br /»
«br /»
Two formative assessments (0%):«br /»
Online Quizzes (Weeks 3 and 5)«br /»
Case Study Interim Presentation (Week 7) |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback on the online quizzes in Weeks 3 and 5 will be offered during Weeks 4 and 6, and in office hours meetings with the course organiser or deputy course organiser.
Formative feedback on the group case study work is through one hour tutorials with teaching staff (Weeks 5 to 10), and by student peers and teaching staff in the interim presentations in Week 7. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand energy systems from different disciplinary perspectives, and appreciate the diverse forces shaping energy transitions.
- Develop a holistic energy scenario and transition plan for a specific national or regional setting, demonstrating sensitivity to social, economic, technological, political and environmental context.
- Develop collaborative skills in group working, and communicating findings effectively using different formats.
- Reflective on individual experiences of energy transition case study group work, including achievements and challenges, and identify future learning needs.
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Reading List
Montgomery, S. (2026) 'There Is No Energy Transition, and This Is An Essay About It' https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmontgomery/2026/02/14/there-is-no-energy-transition-and-this-is-an-essay-about-it/
Colback, L. (2025) 'Rethinking the energy transition' https://www.ft.com/content/66bb8907-0081-45d4-9797-7416b8468f6e
Bradshaw, M. J. (2026). 'The Geopolitics of Energy System Transformation: Managing the Messy Mix', Bristol University Press, esp. Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 1-44 https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/book/9781529247312/9781529247312.xml
Adam Tooze (2025) 'Trouble Transitioning', London Review of Books Vol. 47 No. 1 · 23 January 2025 (review of 'More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy' by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, Allen Lane, 2024 https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n01/adam-tooze/trouble-transitioning
World Energy Council (2024) 'World Energy Transition Framework', World Energy Council, London https://www.worldenergy.org/transition-toolkit/world-energy-trilemma-framework
Miller, C. A., A. Iles and C. F. Jones (2013) 'The Social Dimensions of Energy Transitions' Science as Culture 22(2): 135-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2013.786989
Abram, S., E. Atkins, A. Dietzel, K. Jenkins, L. Kiamba, J. Kirshner, J. Kreienkamp, K. Parkhill, T. Pegram and L. M. Santos Ayllón (2022). "Just Transition: A whole-systems approach to decarbonisation." Climate Policy 22(8): 1033-1049. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2022.2108365
Mulvaney, D. (2020). 'Energy Transitions' in Sustainable Energy Transitions: Socio-Ecological Dimensions of Decarbonization. D. Mulvaney. Cham, Springer International Publishing: 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48912-0_1 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking: in teaching Part 1, students develop a staged understanding of global energy transitions as multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary and contextually diverse phenomena, challenging preconceptions of their uniformity , mono-disciplinarity or unidirectionality. In Part 2, students develop whole systems analytical skills which enable integrative analysis whilst recognising multiplicity and diversity. Learning will be consolidated in short online questionnaires.
Curiosity: energy transitions have become topics of intense curiosity among students from many disciplines, but this appeal presents risks of fragmented teaching and partial framings across different disciplines. The holistic scope and integrative methods of the NETs course harnesses students' curiosity, situating it in a coherent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary pedagogical framework.
Problem solving: In teaching Part 3, student groups develop energy scenarios and transition plans for a particular country or region. Their challenge here is to create responses which simultaneously respond to the multiple aspects and situatedness of energy transitions, whilst articulating a holistic integrative solution, including alternative possible pathways, diverse stakeholder perspectives and likely tensions, contradictions and uncertainties.
Communication: the course introduces effective communication and group working study skills (including active listening, stakeholder role play and consensus building) - skills which are practised, with tutoring support, in group case studies. The groups collectively communicate their case study findings in different ways (formative presentations and summative posters and transition reports).
Reflection: the course introduces reflective thinking and writing skills, so that they can be used and assessed as part of the case study assignment. During the assignments, students make short weekly project diary entries on their individual learning experiences, with a longer entry at the end of the course. Cross-group learning and reflection is also encouraged by peer feedback on interim case study presentations.
Collaboration: the course is designed to encourage collaborative working on a complex societal challenge. In Part 2, students will be introduced to good practice group working, including understanding and respecting others, managing differences and mutual learning. In Part 3 case studies these collaborative skills are put into practise, with weekly support in tutorials. Collaborative course assessments include presentations, posters and transition plans.
Inclusivity: The course establishes an understanding of the plurality of energy transitions, and introduces tools and methods ways to manage diversity and difference resolution. The case study task is designed to enable consideration of varied stakeholder perspectives. Each of the groups will compromise a multidisciplinary and culturally diverse cohort, and cross-case exchange, including peer feedback, will encourage cross-contextual learning.
Data and Digital literacy: the ability to identify and access good quality data and evidence is an important aspect of interdisciplinary energy studies - especially at a time of political contestation over energy futures. The use of good quality relevant evidence and data is a marking criterion for the case study group poster and report, and students will be supported in developing these skills, by providing online links to reliable analysis and data (this information is already offered - and discussed in lectures and seminars - for other courses at Hons. and PG levels). The use of digital tools, such as online energy system calculators, will also be introduced and discussed, as part of the online resources provided on Learn to support students with energy scenario and transition plan development. We anticipate mixed methods interdisciplinary analysis will be a valuable part of the group case studies.
Adaptivity: addressing complex societal challenges which are not amenable to reductive or readily predictable solutions requires an adaptive learning style. The course will foster an ethos of tolerating uncertainty and ambiguity by framing energy transitions as multi-faceted, non-deterministic challenges, and by encouraging an critical learning style, in which analysis is accepted as provisional and iterative, with evolving strengths and weaknesses. The reflective project diaries offer a safe space for individual students to articulate their experiences of flexible learning, and seminars and tutorials support an adaptive the learning journey.
Individuality: we anticipate that the course will attract a diverse cohort of students from different cultures and disciplines. While the course is designed to harness this diversity in group work, it also values individual experiences, views and skills. Early parts of the course will open-up conceptual and discursive spaces for wide-ranging individual contributions. The case study groups will be designed to bring together diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds, so that personal, discipline and professional resources can enrich group insights. Finally, the reflective assignment enables individual students to consider their future learning in light of their course experiences. |
| Keywords | energy policy,energy strategy,energy planning,energy futures,energy resilience,energy security |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mark Winskel
Tel: (0131 6)51 4086
Email: Mark.Winskel@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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