On July 31, 2026, students, families, teachers, mentors, and guests gathered at Stanford’s Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center to celebrate the conclusion of the inaugural Stanford eSET G-SIL youth program. The day brought together student presentations, project judging, awards, guest talks, college preparation guidance, and the presentation of completion certificates.
It marked the culmination of three weeks in which students moved from asking questions about sustainability to developing research proposals and entrepreneurial ideas they could present and defend.
01 · A SHARED START
A global community
of curious minds.
Students came from schools across the United States, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Together, they explored climate change, the energy transition, environmental economics, and social innovation.
At the opening, program director Shanjun Li introduced Stanford, the Doerr School of Sustainability, eSET Lab, and the program’s mission and learning goals. Faculty, researchers, and industry mentors then helped students examine sustainability through science, technology, economics, policy, and business.
02 · LEARNING IN CONTEXT
Beyond the classroom.
Courses, specialist talks, mentor workshops, company visits, outdoor learning, and team projects connected academic ideas with real-world questions.
A visit to Google gave students a closer look at how a technology company approaches climate action through operations, energy use, and supply chains. The experience encouraged them to think about how an organization’s decisions can influence environmental outcomes beyond its own boundaries.
03 · IDEAS PUT TO THE TEST
Eight teams.
Two paths to impact.
Working in academic research and entrepreneurship tracks, students defined problems, reviewed evidence, analyzed data, designed proposals, and refined their presentations with mentors. On the morning of July 31, eight teams shared their work with a review panel and answered questions about their assumptions, methods, feasibility, and potential social impact.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Understanding complex questions
- Repeated drought and farmers’ borrowing behavior
- Renewable energy and equity
- Climate change and California’s historical water-rights system
- Using artificial intelligence to reduce renewable-energy curtailment—the clean electricity that cannot be used when it is generated
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Designing possible solutions
- More sustainable consumption
- Climate education and changes in young people’s behavior
- AI-powered fashion trend forecasting to help reduce overproduction in the apparel industry
The presentations demonstrated collaboration, analytical thinking, business reasoning, and public speaking. The review panel recognized outstanding work with Best Research Proposal and Best Business Plan awards.
04 · PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FUTURE
Learning from
experience.
At the closing ceremony, Stanford professor Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel laureate in Physics and former U.S. Secretary of Energy, delivered a keynote connecting scientific research, public policy, and global responsibility.
William Chueh, director of Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy, also addressed the students, encouraging them to consider sustainability from multiple perspectives and recognize the complexity of its challenges.
In the afternoon, a counselor from Stanford’s undergraduate admission office discussed the application process and preparation during high school. Completion certificates and individual awards recognized the students’ learning and contributions.
05 · THE CONNECTION CONTINUES
A beginning,
not an ending.
Program director Shanjun Li and co-director Tilly Feng congratulated the students on completing the program. The closing message was an invitation to keep asking questions, work across disciplines, and carry new ideas into future study and action.
G-SIL extends its thanks to the faculty, research and entrepreneurship mentors, industry guests, staff, residential advisers, and volunteers whose work made the experience possible—and to the students and families for their trust, participation, and feedback. Their shared effort helped create a supportive community for learning and growth.
MORE MOMENTS FROM THE SUMMER
Adapted in English from SustainBridge Lab’s WeChat program recap, published August 6, 2026. Photography from the program article and the G-SIL community.