Total Energy Summer School: At the energy school of the future

The Total Energy Summer School, or TESS, was held in Fontainebleau near Paris from July 10 to 13, 2016. Its novel format brought together professors and students in a creativity and brainstorming fest that tackled the future of energy.

Learn more about TESS from its developer, Andrew Hogg.

Some 84 students from 33 countries, selected from nearly 6,800 applicants, met with 40 renowned university professors and Total partner chairs, plus over 75 Total and industry experts — the International Energy Agency (IEA), UNESCO, MIT, the IFP School and many others — for four days of plenary sessions and hands-on exercises.

Andrew Hogg is one of those citizens of the world who work, travel and reside in many countries, wherever their international careers take them. For the last year and a half, this Irish-Argentine, who speaks impeccable French, has served as Total's Director of Education. His primary mission is to plan and develop Total's education policy. It's a subject he knows well, not least because he earned a PhD in geology and petroleum geology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland with the help of a Total sponsorship.

Dr. Hogg revisits TESS's highlights.

This year you introduced a new TESS format. How and why?

Andrew Hogg: Yes, it's a first in this format. For around 10 years now, an annual Total Summer School has been dedicated solely to students and a Total Energy Education Seminar to professors. After skipping a year in 2015, we decided to merge the two to create a single event, the Total Energy Summer School.

It was more enriching and more authentic to bring both groups together. Just like in the real world! We thought that the generational connection was important. And we were right. This year's TESS stressed participation and collaboration. A real knowledge community was created, through discussions at every level: cultural, international, generational and field-specific.

The format proved a winner and we plan to strengthen the concept.

See the clip of TESS on the Facebook Total Campus page.

A.H.: I see at least three. The first is to consider the future of energy together. We're sharing Total's ambition for the future, articulated by our corporate signature "Committed to Better Energy." It's an ambition with a long-term horizon, just like our industry. So it makes sense to involve the young leaders of the future. The second is to create an international and intergenerational community to be the ambassadors for the energy of the future. The third and last is to provide a platform to support our affiliates, who have very strong links to education all around the world, for example through chairs, partnerships and grants.

I also have a personal dream, which is that an innovative start-up will come out of the challenge projects led by the students. Some may already have teamed up to create something tangible.

A.H.: One thing struck me especially. It was the first time we'd brought together the two groups, professors and students, and I was pleased to see first-hand how much the teachers wanted to work even more closely with the students. They asked for more contact and more time with them. I must say that the professors' passionate interest in educating and working with young people is impressive. We'll have to stress that aspect even more next time.

The other thing that stood out was the role of social media. Although 200 people attended, more than 650,000 viewed events online on CNBC's Facebook Live and 2,000 watched the live-streamed plenary session on the education and skills needed for the future of energy. All told, Total Campus's online media, specifically the Facebook page and Instagram and Twitter accounts under the hashtag #TESS16, engaged 4.3 million people on the Web! We'll be looking to build on this for the next TESS.

A.H.: It's an essential vehicle for Total for several reasons. The first is to build capacity – helping to develop the skills and the young leaders needed by our host countries. The second is to identify and develop the local talent needed for the future of the Group. It is also, and that's the third reason, an opportunity to share technologies and know-how with the universities wherever we operate.

For all those reasons we want to forge lasting relationships with committed young people with whom we share values and a vision, while investing locally and sustainably in places where we already do business.