With the Gen A Alumni Travel Grant, Asia Society Switzerland continues its commitment to foster the Asia Competence of the next generation. The Travel Grant allows a selected Gen A Fellow to deepen their knowledge of Asia-related issues and accomplish a project that is crucial for their professional and personal journey, and that will inform their future as a global decision-maker in Switzerland.  

The Travel Grant offers a fixed sum of CHF 10'000 for a selected Gen A Fellow to spend a longer time (6-12 weeks) to do research in Asia on a project of their choice. Application for the Gen A Alumni Travel Grant is open to the Gen A Alumni Community only: Applicants must have successfully completed the Gen A – Young Leadership Program.

Inaugural Recipient of the Gen A Alumni Travel Grant

Martín Mosteiro Romero is a Fellow of the Gen A 2020 cohort. He is an energy systems engineer and a postdoc researcher at Delft University of Technology. Before, he was a postdoctoral research fellow with the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore. He holds PhD and MS degrees from ETH Zürich as well as a BS from Rutgers University.

He spent two months in Seoul in the autumn of 2023.

Project Abstract

With a globally increasing urban population, the development of sustainable urban areas that support the needs of their dwellers is a pressing need worldwide. The widespread availability of open datasets in cities is transforming the way urban energy systems are planned, simulated and visualized. However, such datadriven initiatives often neglect the central role of urban dwellers, whose activities create the demand for energy and mobility in urban areas.

In this project, a cross-scale approach is pursued to better understand the effects of the reciprocal effects between building energy performance, the urban climate, and building occupants’ thermal comfort. On the one hand, urban datasets will be used to study the effects of urban form on a district’s energy and climate performance. On the other, subjective thermal comfort data from urban dwellers will be collected to better understand how the urban environment affects their choices and behaviors, and how these might in turn affect energy performance.

The project was carried out in a case study area in Seoul, South Korea, the highest-ranked Asian country on open data readiness, implementation and impact, and home to one of the most prominent smart city initiatives in Songdo. Collaborating with Professor Yujin Park at Chung-Ang University's Urban Planning Department, Martín recruited 22 study participants to wear smartwatches and providing comfort feedback data through hourly surveys during their normal workday for one month. During his two-month stay, he collected a dataset comprising energy, climate, and building data at urban scale, and combining it with subjective thermal comfort data from the study participants. He will now be using these datasets to pursue various projects on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort, the urban climate and energy.

ZURICH, April 8, 2024 — In the last session of Asia Society Switzerland’s Gen A Day 2024, Martín Mosteiro Romero discusses his research project in Seoul, South Korea. Serena Jung, program and communications director at Asia Society Switzerland, moderates the conversation.

About the Gen A Alumni Community 

The Gen A – Young Leadership Program has been launched by Asia Society Switzerland in 2020. After the completion of the program, the Fellows continue to be highly engaged as part of our alumni community. Over 80 Fellows have graduated from the program since its launch in 2020. Asia Society Switzerland is proud of this diverse and highly skilled community and is continuing to engage and support it.

Patron

Asia Society Switzerland is grateful to Investment Management Professionals (IMP AG) for supporting our cause in raising Asia Competence in Switzerland and through its contribution to the Gen A Alumni Travel Grant.