Equipping UNSW solar PV alumni to lead with impact in a rapidly changing global clean‑energy landscape
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Caroline Wang has joined UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) as Professor of Practice in Government and International Relations, a strategic appointment aimed at strengthening the School’s policy engagement and global partnerships as the energy transition becomes increasingly geopolitical and transnational.
Prof Wang arrives with a background that spans law, strategic policy, and international cooperation across federal and state governments. Most recently she was China Engagement Lead at Climate Energy Finance, where she co-authored research tracking and analysing the rapid expansion of Chinese cleantech outbound investment that is reshaping supply chains.
The report, Rising Tide: China’s Outbound Cleantech Capital Surge Drives Global Collaboration Toward NetZero [1], maps how Chinese firms are building cleantech manufacturing and R&D capacity across emerging and developing economies. It highlights immense new training, R&D and collaborative opportunities in markets from Morocco and Hungary to Indonesia and Thailand.
Prof Wang’s appointment signals an institutional emphasis for SPREE on impact beyond the laboratory. In welcoming Prof Wang to SPREE, Head of School Professor Ned Ekins‑Daukes said, “To capture the opportunities created by changing policy, technology and global supply chains, SPREE needs purposeful international engagement with industry, government and global fora.”
“Caroline brings systems thinking, deep practical experience, and networks across law, policy and government. She will help position SPREE as a trusted partner and bridge between education, industry and government.”
“SPREE is growing its role in producing policy‑literate engineering graduates and in advocating for engagement that secures both medium‑term strategic direction and near‑term impact.”
Professor Wang believes the timing is perfect; “Right now we are standing on fertile ground for capitalising on new opportunities.
"Follow the money: where investment flows, so do the jobs, R&D and training needs. SPREE is uniquely positioned to respond – by internationalising our education offerings and helping to build the workforce and research partnerships that these new hubs require.”
Prof Wang’s stated priorities are concrete and programmatic. She plans to formalise industry cooperation to keep curriculum and training aligned with rapidly changing skills needs, expand interdisciplinary offerings beyond device-level PV research, and facilitate study tours, exchanges and joint programs that enhance students’ job readiness and global mobility.
“In an era of accelerating industrial and geoeconomic transformation, it’s critical that we respond to emerging skills demands by adapting our education offerings, in partnership with industry and government and in areas of national need” she says.
A core challenge Wang flags is ensuring SPREE’s offerings are both nationally relevant and globally ambitious. The combination of the complex social dimension of the energy transition, automation, digitalisation and shifting supply chains mean the future energy workforce will need crosscutting competencies in policy literacy, systems thinking, and transnational collaboration skills; alongside technical expertise. Wang’s blend of legal training, policy experience and cross-cultural communication (she is fluent in four languages) is intended to bridge those worlds and catalyse partnerships across alumni networks, industry and government.
Prof Wang emphasises the people dimension: tapping UNSW SPREE’s global PV alumni and the School’s emerging leaders to build networks and deliver training at scale. The late Professor Stuart Wenham and Professor Martin Green established the world's first undergraduate teaching programme in photovoltaics and renewable energy engineering at UNSW in 2000. It has been 22 years since the first students graduated and the university’s 2000-plus solar alumni are among the most sought-after talent in the sector, worldwide. Today, many of the largest solar manufacturers are led by UNSW alumni.
“There’s a huge opportunity to internationalise our curricula and to collaborate with alumni and partners who are already embedded in these new growth hubs,” Wang says. “We can cultivate the skills and relationships that enable both students and industry to thrive through the energy transition.”
With Caroline Wang in place, SPREE is aiming to prepare students for the realities of a rapidly evolving global clean‑energy landscape.
“There are massive opportunities unfolding right now,” says Professor Wang. “I want SPREE to build upon its remarkable legacy and technical foundation by seizing these opportunities so we can equip the next generation of students to flourish and contribute to our clean energy future.”
The Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) is hosted by SPREE and Prof Wang’s appointment complements ACAP’s activities in the ACAP Industry Consortium and the Emerging Leaders in Clean Energy Program (ELICE).
Professor Renate Egan, Executive Director of ACAP, says, “Professor Wang’s appointment adds a valuable skill-set to the partnership between ACAP and SPREE that will improve the connection between education and training, technology development, policy development and decision making.”
