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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Politics and Economics of International Energy by Sciences Po

4.7
stars
1,732 ratings

About the Course

Energy issues have always been important in international relations, but in recent years may have become even more important than in the past due to the widespread awareness of existing limits to energy sources and negative climate impacts. The course discusses global trends in energy consumption and production, various available scenarios for potential developments in the coming decades, the availability of oil reserves and the evolution of the oil industry. It then discusses natural gas and highlights the differences between oil and gas. It will also discuss renewable energy sources, nuclear energy and EU energy policy. The course aims at providing students whose main interest is in international relations a background on energy resources, technology and economic realities to allow them to correctly interpret the political impact of current developments. It also aims at providing students, who already have a technical background in energy science or engineering, with the broad global view of energy issues that will allow them to better understand the social, economic and political impact of their technical knowledge. ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR : Giacomo Luciani Scientific Advisor for the Master in International Energy at the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) Sciences Po, Giacomo Luciani is also Adjunct Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva and Director of the Executive Master in International Oil and Gas Leadership. For the period 2010-13 he was appointed Princeton University Global Scholar, attached to the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Near Eastern Studies. His research focuses on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa and on global energy issues. RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND : The course requires no special scientific, mathematical or economic background; all key concepts are clearly and elementarily explained. It is expected that it will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students in schools where an equivalent course is not offered (this being the case for the vast majority of schools). USPC Sorbonne Paris Cité Supported by Université Sorbonne Paris Cité IDEX Investissements d'Avenir Funded by Investissements d'Avenir - 'ANR. Info : Course content : Licence Creative Commons BY NC SA...

Top reviews

DP

Sep 10, 2016

Excellent delivery.

Fantastic external sources with clear and precise explanations from a graphical viewpoint.

Great range of industry expertise and professionals within the appropriate fields.

TB

Jun 14, 2017

Very interesting course ! Very well explained but maybe needs updates on current news (even if it may be hard I acknowledge) !

Really well balanced between definitions, geopolitics and science.

Filter by:

351 - 375 of 433 Reviews for Politics and Economics of International Energy

By Tariq A

•

Feb 17, 2017

the best

By Jhon F R R

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May 26, 2021

Amazing

By NATHANIEL J

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Jul 27, 2020

Awesome

By Arnab A

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Mar 6, 2020

great

By Bruno I

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Apr 29, 2020

1.5x

By Assylzhan Z

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Aug 6, 2019

:)

By Masoud A

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Apr 19, 2021

As much I have enjoyed the course I was truly getting frustrated because of the manner in which some of the course assessments were set. I have embarked on this course primarily for my background which is related to the energy industry and also for the joy of learning. This course was peculiar when compared to other similar Coursera courses ( I have done more than 22 courses), for the following reasons: first; students were not allowed to see assignment results, second; Assignments were given two attempts whereas other courses allow 3 attempts, third; students can retake the assignment if not passed the first time after 168 hours, other courses after 8 hours. Despite all these discrepancies, I did not find them very annoying because it makes sense to create some sort of challenge and lift the bar so as to give the course some sort of value. Especially that when courses are made easy, we see the enrollment of low-caliber students who do not mind putting down anything as a contribution and still get away with them, sometimes to the extent the course loses its value and credibility. Despite that, I resent the idea of playing clever in order to make the questions look more difficult, exactly the manner in which the professor of this course has put some of the questions just to make them challenging. It is never difficult to make anybody fail an exam, simply by playing clever. In fact, I can mess around and put a specific clever test question for the professor himself in his field and I will be confident that he will fail the test. Professor Giacomo Luciani might be a good researcher and expert in his field but certainly a failure as a successful teacher.

By William W

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Nov 15, 2022

Excellent course with most of the basics well covered. Professor Luciani does a nice job (with a great bowtie selection) balancing the broad diversity of issues surrounding energy security, affordability and sustainability. Most of the material remains relevant but a few modules would need to be updated.

All of the modules were easy to follow except for one unit where the sound was not audible. Also a couple of links were not accessible but these could be accessed with a separate search. Unfortunately, the Fort McMoney simulation was no longer available..

For next update I recommend you add a copy of the few slides that are used in some modules in the background/as a separate folder to download similar to transcript.

Would also be great to add more material reflecting on the intersection of climate policies and energy security under geopolitical stress such as we are now witnessing during the Ukraine crisis.

By Panos T

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Apr 15, 2020

Very good course.I recommend it if you want a full introductory to all sources of energy.I came here because i wanted to learn more about solar and wind energy but i ended up liking more the classes about oil and gas (very fascinating) .Also i liked that at the end of each week the prof had interviews with professionals,this gives you a different view on the topics, less academic but more practical.

Very good prof i liked him, good english and when he talks somehow you know that he knows,liked his energy.I could say that i rated it 4 stars and not 5 because you wont learn something too practical that you can lets say use it on your job right away, but i do not think that actually such a course exists on this field.Generally you take a very good peak of how the world of energy moves.(note that the course is 6 years ago)

Thank you for this course.

By Mohamed F

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Oct 11, 2020

Professor Luciani delivers an informative course on global energy trends, decarbonization policies, renewable and non-renewable energy, energy security, and IEA's future expectations of trends based on new policies. A lot of additional helpful resources are provided.

A few interviews make up part of the course. Some interviewees had heavy accents which made it difficult to follow. A few videos were substantially long for a MOOC as well. For some tests you only get 2 chances before being able to try again after an entire week (incorrect answers are not displayed). But overall recommended for anyone who wants to learn about the current energy market and possible future scenarios.

By Sabine P

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Jan 26, 2022

The course is excecellent. Concepts are well explained, it includes interviews with relevant experts. The only reason why I did not give it 5 stars is that some of the videos are a bit dated and a few of the links to the extra readings did not work, I found the equivalent info on line. To be fair, this is a constantly changing subject and it is probably hard to keep all up to date.

I really enjoyed this course. I have worked in the Energy industry for many years, and I wish I had done this course earlier as it gave me a great insight in the mechanisms that drive the industry.

Thank you Professor Luciani for sharing this knowledge.

Kind regards

Sabine

By MOHAMMAD N

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Mar 18, 2019

The course is very helpful for those who wish to learn the Energy scenarios across the globe. The current push towards renewables and the challenges it faces from the conventional sources of energy can be understood quite well. The constrains of Gas energy and the impediments for Nuclear energy is also well explained. The connect of energy demand & supply with Politics i.e. the Geopolitics of energy, has given a new dimension to learning about energy.

The course however may be updated with recent updates across the globe.

I would like to sincerely Thank Prof Giacomo Luciani for this course.

By Merih K

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Apr 17, 2020

It really helped me to gain wider perspective in terms of environmental approach. Because as an environmental engineer I only studied how to improve a situation or what's harmful to the environment. Although I started to this course to understand oil products, I found more than that in terms of comprehensive approach for both environment, political, economic and social aspects. The course is beginner level but the more you digging than given resources, the more can be achieved. As a cons, it took longer than I expected.

By Marta W

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Jun 27, 2020

The course is rich in knowledge, allowing to understand all aspects of international energy issues. The lectures are informative and introduce all relevant concepts. However some weeks have been oversaturated with the amount of content. Also not all the exteral links were available (revision would be useful). However, overall I am glad that I've taken this couse. I've certainly enriched my knowledge on the topic of international energy.

By Johan B

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Sep 10, 2019

Great course!

In the oil section, I would have liked a little more insight into heavy oil (which is abundant in Venezuela for instance) and 'sweet' low-sulfur oil which is used to make Diesel and the implication this has for a particular country. Why this concern? Because we always talk about oil abundant countries but we often neglect that there are different types of oil which can have very different implications ...

By Denia N

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May 19, 2021

Very interesting course, I appreciate the topics and congrats to professor Giacomo and all team members.

Although some topics are out of date. We in 2021 and the course brings energy outlook 2019 and some information that today are discussed differently. At some point, it confused me to do some assessments. My recommendation is to record some new videos with updated information.

Thank you very much.

Cheers

By Natasha C

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Mar 21, 2020

Very informative and well-explained by the professor. However, there were several resources that were not available (broken links, restricted data), as well as resources that were outdated. It would have been a lot more relevant if the course materials were up to date. Nevertheless, a good course that taught me a lot! The interviews were quite insightful. Thanks to the team who put this MOOC together.

By chung k

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Jul 7, 2018

Great course! This is recommended for anyone who is looking for courses on energy. This course includes information from oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear energy. Certain information and data the course provides is outdated; however, this course provides a thorough understanding and additional videos and documents for anyone who is looking for more detailed analysis.

By Alessandro D

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Nov 18, 2017

Good introduction to the Energy World and its main pillars. More focused is given on fossil fuels overview which are well explained, and also are the ones more impacting the geopolitics balances. The renewables section could be expanded to explain better the economics. Overall a very good general course and I thanks Professor and Science Po for having it available.

By CHAMPIGNY C

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Apr 5, 2017

Hello,

This course is very interesting and content are very usefull.

As improvement points I would like to mention:

1-Some videos are not anymore available

2- A general update is necessary to take into account the last years big chances and evolutions on the energy politics and economics dur to the stabilization of oil price notably and all its impacts.

By Lampredi F

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Dec 12, 2020

Given the fast evolution in the area of renewable the course is maybe a little outdated. However the dynamics behind political decisions never change. Here the course is superb. Only one note on week 3's test. May I suggest to review the questions? Looks like there are some for which multiple answers suit, depending and which lesson/ video you see

By Andrea M

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Nov 13, 2020

The course provides a broad perspective of energy and international energy relationships touching on most of the high-level industry-driven topics. Although the technical aspect is not so well developed (as it should be, being a non-technical course) the socio-economic-policy aspects are well described with suitable examples.

By Teddy A

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Sep 29, 2022

Comprehensive learnings with having the knowledge of the international political energy movement framework, both for dispatchable and non-dispatchable energy sources. Please provide more relevant global business cases that relevant with political situations, in each region. Thank you very much for sharing the knowledge!

By Diego A

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Jul 21, 2019

I loved it, the only thing is that it would be awesome that they explain deeper the politics of petroleum. The impact of OPEC and an interesting fact is that countries do not say that their oil reserves increase because it would cause a diminish on the oil prices and so on. Great course, thanks Giacomo!

By Sheena N

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Sep 8, 2019

Very interesting insight into geopolitics of energy. It would be nice to see a more heavy focus on the application of economic theory - however, given that this is just an introduction, it did well to wet my appetite to continue researching global energy economics and politics further.