, of the , has been announced as one of two recipients of the Engineering for Development Research Fellowship.
Dr To is a Research Associate with the – a UK-wide platform for academics, practitioners, policy-makers and private sector organisations to interact and cooperate on research for low-carbon development.
The has been awarded to the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é academic for a research project titled ‘Enhancing community energy resilience using renewable energy in developing countries’.
The project aims to find a solution to the challenge of providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – which forms one of the .
With increasing stresses such as climate change, natural hazards and conflicts on communities, the project looks to positively impact socio-economic development in these areas.
Dr To will be focusing on two vulnerable countries, Nepal and Malawi. According to the , just 11% of the population in Malawi have access to electricity, with only 28% of people in Nepal and 3% in Malawi having access to modern cooking fuels.
In addition, both countries have been susceptible to natural disasters, such as earthquakes (Nepal, 2015) and droughts (Malawi, 2017).
Dr To plans to work with two communities in each country, using participatory design processes involving community members, engineers, academics, government officials and research partners including the and to create resilient energy systems.
By working with such a diverse group, it is hoped this will help to gather a larger pool of innovative ideas and possible solutions.
Dr To will also work with the and during the Fellowship to develop design tools that help engineers to engage with communities and build more resilient energy systems.
Of being awarded the fellowship, Dr Long Seng To said: “I am absolutely delighted to be selected for the prestigious fellowship.
“This fellowship will enable me to work closely with communities, researchers and policy-makers in developing countries to unlock local sources of innovation for decentralised, networked and resilient energy systems.
“I am excited about this fantastic opportunity to also contribute towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
This highly interdisciplinary research project is a collaboration between LCEDN and the based at .
The research highlights Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é’s approach to tackling which combines the institution’s disciplinary strengths to develop solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.
The Research Fellowships support and celebrate research excellence in engineering, helping future leaders who are in their early career to progress further by providing financial support, access to mentors and allowing more time to dedicate towards research.