Last week, I had the unique opportunity to join the Greening the Future – Towards Global Energy Transition 🌱 program at Nova School of Business and Economics—not as a current student, but as the first alumni of Corvinus Executive MBA to participate in such a course alongside an ongoing cohort.

This pioneering initiative opened the door for alumni to re-engage in academic learning, and for me, it felt like revisiting the atmosphere of our international summer school: energizing, and thought-provoking. As professionals, we often move in cycles of daily operations, but stepping back into an intellectually rich environment feels like a professional pilgrimage. It’s a chance to refill your mental and creative reservoirs—and I highly recommend it to my fellow alumni.

The course focused on the complex landscape of energy policy, markets, financing Net Zero, and leadership in the energy transition—topics that can’t be fully understood without their geopolitical context. The global energy system is deeply intertwined with political realities, national interests, and regional capabilities. Decisions like moving towards renewables in the EU are not only environmentally conscious, but also a geopolitically strategic move—reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports, enhancing resilience, and redefining sovereignty.

We explored how countries like Portugal and Hungary approach the energy mix with similar goals but different means—both have comparable solar penertaion at the moment, yet leverage distinct complementary sources: in Portugal mostly hydro. These strategies reflect how each country aligns its natural assets and political decisions with its energy goals.

One particularly profound insight emerged for me during the week:
Energy has always played a dual role in human history—not only powering progress but also serving as the very reason behind it. Scarcity has consistently pushed us to innovate, and each leap forward has enabled humanity to substitute its own resources with external energy sources. This ability to access and harness energy more efficiently has allowed societies to reallocate time, labor, and capital toward growth.

Climate impacts are no longer future predictions—they’re here. Water scarcity challenges in Portugal, while Hungary faces more frequent floods and droughts. In both cases, energy resilience becomes a national imperative.

One of the most important reflections for me came around the limits of artificial incentives. Policies, subsidies, and regulatory frameworks can accelerate transition, but they alone won’t be enough. These artificial environments may temporarily make sustainable technologies viable—but for long-term success and true Net Zero, we need real innovations that are economically competitive without external support. We need scalable solutions that can thrive in real markets, not just within ideal policy scenarios.

This is not just about reaching climate goals—it’s about securing Europe’s future competitiveness in the global economy. The future won’t be easy, but it will be decisive.

I’m truly grateful to Corvinus Executive MBA for opening up this kind of engagement for alumni. I hope this initiative will spread, because the value of re-entering the learning space—after you’ve already applied what you once learned—can be beneficial for others as well.