UCalgary-UAberdeen Catalyzing Energy Futures Research Workshop: Building a Comparative Research Agenda on Energy Transitions in Alberta and Scotland
In June 2026, six scholars from UAberdeen joined twelve scholars from UCalgary, including the Energy Stories Lab co-director Dr. Peric, and faculty associates Dr. Robb, Dr. Virla, and Dr. Dolata, for a five-day writing workshop.
Funded by a VPR Catalyst Grant, the UCalgary-UAberdeen team conducted three site visits across southern Alberta, meeting with stakeholders and community members involved in creating energy futures. These activities helped provide our UAberdeen colleagues additional context for the Albertan energy climate. Following these site visits, the UCalgary-UAberdeen team participated in two writing sessions at UCalgary’s main campus and the UCalgary Biogeoscience Institute in Kananaskis.
The main objectives of this transdisciplinary energy workshop included:
Outlining a transdisciplinary research agenda on comparative energy transitions in Alberta and Scotland;
Defining a 7-year research plan for UCalgary and UAberdeen, including projects, project activities, participants, industry, community and government partners;
Beginning planning and writing research grants for the newly defined research agenda, specifically with an eye to NFRF, ERC Synergy, and Horizons Europe streams.
Receiving this VPR Catalyst Grant was significant as it allowed for the establishment of a long-term cooperative research partnership between UCalgary and UAberdeen. As these two institutes are located in the heart of the world’s most important energy hubs and are facing the complex effects of a transition from oil and gas extraction to renewable energy, net-zero commitments, and the critical minerals industry, they face parallel challenges of economic diversification, workforce adaptation, and the preservation of community wellbeing amidst industrial and scientific transformation.
By building on what was accomplished during this workshop, our scholars from UCalgary and UAberdeen commit themselves to addressing “wicked problems” in complex, multi-institutional, multi-sectoral, and community-focused ways. They aim to continue researching the complex current energy transitions in Alberta and Scotland and contributing to building our energy futures.