This is Gourab Banerjee, an M.Sc. in renewable energy (EUREC) in the year 2013-15, have been working in Fraunhofer IEE, Kassel, Germany in the division of “Bereich Netzplanung und Netzbetrieb” together with University of Kassel in the department of “Energiemanagement und Betrieb elektrischer Netze (e2n)” since 2015 as a Scientist. My research focuses are majorly power system protection, symmetrical and asymmetrical fault analysis for high- and medium-voltage distribution grids, and unbalanced power flow study for low voltage distribution grids.

We from the University Kassel and Fraunhofer IEE recently organized an international digital IEEE conference, i.e., Power and Energy Student Summit (PESS) 2021 on 25th-26th November. The PESS is an annual conference for graduate students in the field of electrical and power engineering working towards their Master's or Ph.D. Degree and for young professionals. It aims to be a platform for the scientific exchange of young researchers and is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in writing and publishing scientific work. Furthermore, it was a space for presentation and discussion with a technical audience and with the experts. The conference was inaugurated on 24th November evening by Prof. Martin Braun followed by a distinguished lecture by Prof. Jovica V. Milanovic from the University of Manchester on the topic "Approaches to assess and ensure the resilience of future net-zero power systems".

My role in the PESS 2021 was to work as a review chair and to support the organizing chair in the entire conference preparation process. It was a peer-reviewed conference with a minimum of 2-3 reviewers for each paper from different universities in Germany to maintain a high standard. We received quite a few very interesting papers from Germany, Switzerland, and even from Russia although we primarily focused on Germany and German Universities. The conference was held completely in the English language. The conference covered various electrical and power engineering aspects such as “Grid Planning”, “Grid operation and Control”, “Energy management / Energy Efficiency”, “High Voltage Engineering” and “Cross-cutting Topics” etc.

IEEE PESS 2021 digital conference was sponsored by “Siemens AG”, “EAM Netz”, “Yong Energy Net” and “50Hertz Transmission GmbH (Elia Group)”. During the conference, personnel from Siemens, 50Hertz and EAM participated in “Keynote Sessions” and presented their recent and future vision about the energy transition in Germany and in Europe. They even showed jobs and career opportunities at their respective organizations. It was a great opportunity for students and young researchers to get such a detailed overview of the energy transition in Germany, in Europe, and in the world and get a chance to interact with the professionals from the esteemed industries in the field of the energy sector. There were socializing events organized by “Young Energy Net” which gave opportunities to all the participants to interact amongst each other’s in big groups and small groups with the help of a “breakout room”. Two best conference papers and the best presentation were awarded by Young Energy Net. This is a remarkable acknowledgment for the students and young researchers for their future careers.

Overall, PESS 2021 was a very successful event from the University Kassel and Fraunhofer IEE, and it gave great openings to the students, and young researchers and professionals to develop scientific experience in the field of power and energy, getting to know other students and young researchers with their scientific focus in the energy sector. It also provided a great possibility to develop professional contacts with the leading national and multinational energy companies and power system operators from Germany.

The information about the IEEE PESS 2021, published in the Fraunhofer IEE press release, and the link attached is as follows:
https://www.iee.fraunhofer.de/de/presse-infothek/Presse-Medien/Pressemitteilungen/2021/ieee-power-and-energy-student-summit-2021.html 

The attached photo is the complete PESS 2021 organizing team, who have worked very hard to achieve a successful conference and maintain a high standard. I thank the entire team and acknowledge the hard effort as a team member.

The next IEEE PESS 2022 conference also will be organized by Fraunhofer IEE together with the University of Kassel tentatively in November. As an alumnus, I would like to request the existing researchers, doctors, and professors of the University of Oldenburg to support us in the review process. I am also looking forward to receiving high-quality papers from the promising postgraduate students of the renewable energy program from the University of Oldenburg.