The European Distribution System Operators’ Association (E.DSO), the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), the Union of the Electricity Industry - Eurelectric (Eurelectric) and the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) have the pleasure of announcing the call for the 9th Ana Aguado Scholarship Award.

Under this joint initiative, two student Scholarships are offered by the above-mentioned Partners for participation in theSummer School on Regulation of Energy Utilities held by the FSR in Florence from 30 June to 4 July 2025. Travel and accommodation expenses are also covered. Information on last year edition is available here.

The Partners will allocate five other candidates ranked after the two winners with the opportunity to attend for free one FSR online community training courses of their choice. These five free seats will be valid for courses starting between May 2025 and July 2026.

Applications should be sent to veronica.cardoni@edsoforsmartgrids.eu by 28 February 2025 midnight (24H00 CET) and include the following documents in English (format and maximum length of the documents must be respected to be taken into consideration):

• A Motivation Letter (max. 2500 characters, spaces included, written and sent in Word or OpenOffice) explaining the reasons for your interest and the role this course could represent for your educational and professional life;
• A Short Essay (max. 4000 characters, spaces included, written and sent in Word or OpenOffice) on the following topic: ‘The European Commission has announced a review of its 2014 energy security of supply strategy. As war returned to Europe and threats are growing in terms of cyber sabotage, extreme weather and access to raw materials, it launched a public consultation on security of supply and energy security. Which suggestions do you have for updated policies? How can electrification possibly contribute to security of supply? Beyond external factors, how can the EU ensure that the growing presence of renewables and need for flexibility is fully integrated in the EU’s security of supply strategy? Develop your key recommendations in 4000 characters, spaces included, in a Word or OpenOffice format;
• A concise Curriculum Vitae (2 pages max).

Please note that any candidate not respecting the maximum length of the Motivation Letter or the Short Essay will be excluded from the selection process.

Candidates should meet all of the following criteria. If just one of the criteria is not met, candidates will equally not be considered as eligible:

• Ongoing or completed university education at Master’s Level in Economics, Engineering, European/International policy/relations/law or similar;
• Proven interest in the energy sector and familiarity with energy policy issues;
• Fluent in English (the FSR course will be taught in English);
• Not more than 3 years’ work or research experience in the energy sector by 1 January 2025.

A Committee composed of representatives from the above-mentioned Partners will assess all applications received and select the Scholarship winners by 15 April 2025 at the latest.

The two Scholarship winners will be also invited to join organised by Eurelectric Power Summit scheduled in Brussels on 3-4 June 2025  for the winners public announcement. Travel expenses for the participation and accommodation will be covered.

Who was Ana Aguado?

Ana Aguado was a lawyer and a professional holding major positions in the energy sector for the last twenty years. She passed away on 7 October 2016.

Ana was Secretary General at EDSO for Smart Grids from October 2014. Prior to joining E.DSO she was CEO of the Friends of the Supergrid and held positions in the European University Institute as Special Advisor to the Communications and Public Relations Unit; in ETSO, the European Association of Transmission System Operators (predecessor of ENTSO-E) as Secretary General, in Eurelectric as Head of Unit for regulation and at the European Commission. 

Ana was a passionate and enthusiastic person always on the front line for all major struggles in the energy sector. During her career, she was very attentive to students’ requests and needs, strongly believing in the importance of education for future generations.