By Mariana Zafeirakopoulos, Principal and Practice Lead, Systems Excellence and Technology Management, and Marc Lyell, Principal and Practice Lead, Systems Safety and Assurance Team
The energy transition is incredibly complex. With many factors to consider, from renewable energy to coal lifecycle extension and nuclear development, it takes deep technical knowledge to carve out the best path forward to achieve zero emissions.
And while we bring this expertise in spades, the energy transition isn’t just about technical know-how. It is also about people seeing themselves reflected in the transition journey. It simply cannot be achieved without community support, political backing and behavioural change. So how do we make sure this complex and highly emotive transition is fully understood by everyone who will be impacted?
Tapping into the minds of next-gen problem solvers
To help solve this dilemma, we partnered with 40 postgraduate students from the University of Sydney’s Master of Design and Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts programs. We asked them to help us solve this real-world challenge: how can we communicate Australia’s energy transition to a broad, non-technical audience - clearly, accurately, and apolitically?
Our team worked closely with the students to develop tools that visualised and explained the technical and social complexity of the energy transition in engaging and accessible ways to everyday Australians.
Easy to understand and hard to ignore
Over three months, students researched, reframed, prototyped, and developed ways of communicating the complexities of the energy transition, making it easy to understand and hard to ignore. Their approaches ranged from visual storytelling and interactive games to digital simulations and immersive experiences. This included projects ranging from a board game that simulated the policy trade-offs in decarbonisation to narrative-based visualisations showing the human impact of energy decisions across generations. Each concept demonstrated both the technical realities of the energy system, as well as the social perceptions that shape how people respond to change.
The collaboration culminated in Futures Studios: a large-scale exhibition held at the University of Sydney. Over 200 students presented their responses to seven industry briefs, including the nine projects developed under our challenge.
We entered this collaboration with the hope of walking away with a few strong ideas. But what we saw was a level of creativity and strategic thinking that genuinely surprised us. These weren’t just student projects - they were proof-of-concept ideas that sparked conversation, curiosity, and even practical applications.
We have the smarts required to understand the technical aspects of the energy transition. However, working on this project reminded us that sometimes, the best way to solve a complex problem is to ask a completely different question and invite different disciplines into the room. And the best way to step into the energy transition journey is through collaboration.
