Well, the energy industry is undergoing
a massive transformation,

in response to the physical effects

of climate change like wildfires
and an increase intensity of storms,

but also the policies
that are being put in place to address it.

Title: ENERGY SYSTEMS

Title: UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO | College of Arts and Sciences

The ESM program,
it's an interdisciplinary,

STEM designated program,
that focuses on issues around

climate change and decarbonization
that can extend to things like

vehicle electrification, electric vehicles
and the charging infrastructure

that is built around that, building codes
and how buildings consume energy,.

I always wanted to go into energy.

I thought it's
one of the biggest issues of our lifetime.

And I came across this program
and I was very excited because it's got a

wide variety of topics, from policy,
to strategy, to technology classes.

So you never know which skills
that you learn

in the ESM program
that you're going to apply in your job,

and that's
what's kind of exciting about it.

This might be subjective to me,

but I think the main advantage
is that this program offers

the three main pillars of the space
that we're working in, which is technical,

economic, and policy aspect.

And it was not just the curriculum,

but also the kind of projects
that they were offering.

So I talked to you about the integrated resource plan,
but they were also giving us, on field

solar training of how a solar panel is set up.

How does it operate?

And these are the kind of things
from which we were learning, not just in

like in a classroom,
but also on the field and like getting

these hands on experience.

One of the benefits of our program is we're located,

in our downtown campus,
in San Francisco's financial district.

I think that, that sort of proximity
and being in, in the heart of San Francisco

really adds a dimension
to our program that I think is unique.

it's based in San Francisco,
which is a huge hub of renewable energy.

California is so forward
thinking with a lot of its policies.

So I knew that coming here I would meet
a lot of industry professionals.

it makes you feel like you belong here,

which can be really hard
from when you're not from this area.

it's completely different
back in my country, I come from Pakistan.

And the regulatory or policy
landscape is not very developed there.

They're just looking at renewable energy
right now.

Considering I'm in California right now
where we're tapping on different resources

to go towards a clean energy transition,
I think all of this experience

will eventually help me to go back
and make a pathway - a similar pathway

for a country like Pakistan,
which is still developing.

We can't get there by ourselves.

And I think that's the core of the ESM
community

is that it is a community
that really cares about one another

and really tries to help everyone
in their own career aspirations.

So besides all the knowledge
and all the connections and all that

great stuff, at its core is a community
that the students can walk into

and now have for
the rest of their careers.