Future Energy Systems
Learn critical concepts and tools to decarbonize complex, interconnected energy systems at local, regional, and global scales to address climate change
Program Information
Certificate Track
Learn for Free
About this Program
The energy sector is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Within a critical timeframe, we need people working in different industries, governments, and fields of study to drive the transition to more sustainable, accessible, and equitable energy systems.
The Future Energy Systems X-Series consists of four online courses taught by renowned MIT faculty, researchers, and partners: Sustainable Energy, Energy Economics and Policy, Sustainable Building Design, and Transformative Living Labs in Urban Climate Action and Transportation Planning. These interdisciplinary courses include cutting edge research from MIT and provides a multifaceted skill set that empowers learners to develop and deploy new
energy technologies and solutions in diverse geo-political contexts.
Through innovative, collaborative online education tools, learners will also gain the insights needed to guide partnerships and financing decisions through access to a network of motivated energy professionals.
With a certification in Future Energy Systems, you will be prepared to evaluate renewable energy generation projects, increase energy efficiency in the built environment, craft clean energy and transportation policies, build stakeholder support, and ultimately drive decarbonization at local, regional, and global scales.
What you'll learn
- How to define your role in the energy system and drive the transition to sustainable energy
- How to evaluate modern energy technologies from engineering and socio-political perspectives
- How to apply economic and policy tools in real world energy markets
- How to implement energy efficient design elements in buildings
- The role of transportation and mobility planning in climate action plans aiming to reduce reenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change
Courses
To complete this program, you must take 4 required courses.
Required Courses
Meet your instructors
Christopher Knittel
Professor of Applied Economics
Christopher R. Knittel is the George P. Shultz Professor of Applied Economics at the Sloan School of Management, Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and Deputy Director of Policy of the Energy Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He joined the faculty at MIT in 2011, having taught previously at UC Davis and Boston University. Professor Knittel received his B.A. in economics and political science from the California State University, Stanislaus in 1994 ( summa cum laude ), an M.A. in economics from UC Davis in 1996, and a Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley in 1999. His research focuses on environmental economics, industrial organization, and applied econometrics. He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Productivity, Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics groups.
Professor Knittel is an associate editor of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy , the Journal of Industrial Economic s and Journal of Energy Markets. His research has appeared in the American Economic Review, the American Economic Journal, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Industrial Economics, the Energy Journal and other academic journals.
