Case Competition Follow Up - Rajani Shrestha and Gürcan Gülen

One of the many things SEA enjoyed about the 2020 Switch International Energy Case Competition was getting to know several of the 900 amazing university students and 250 generous mentors and judges. Take the case of Rajani Shrestha and Gürcan Gülen. Rajani was a member of Team Spark during the Case Competition. Gürcan mentored Team Spark and judged the Case Competition Finals. 

Rajani is pursuing her Masters degree in Geology at Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Nepal. She was recently selected for the final round of this year's NASO (Nepal Astronomical Society) Women in Science Award for Student Category. As part of the NASO selection process, Rajani created this video highlighting her accomplishments and professional goals. It’s inspiring to see Rajani’s many accomplishments, but equally noteworthy is her continued commitment to encourage girls to pursue their passion for STEM.

Gürcan, who is originally from Turkey, is an energy economist and a principal at G2 Energy Insights, LLC in Boston, Massachusetts. Like many of the Case Competition volunteers, Gürcan played a key role in spreading the word about SEA’s inaugural Case Competition, requesting energy professionals in his network to volunteer. As mentioned above, he also stepped up as both a mentor and judge. 

It’s been fun to see Gürcan and Rajani stay in touch after the Case Competition. Clearly the mentoring did not end with the Case Competition. We’re confident that many other long-lasting bonds were formed during the event. Rajani and Gürcan are representative of the over 1,000 outstanding students and energy professionals who were involved in the 2020 Case Competition. More fun to come with the Second Annual International Switch Energy Case Competition in the fall of 2021. Stay tuned!