An Energizing Appointment

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Priyank Lathwal made history last year when he became the first member of the CMU alumni community to be accepted into the World Bank Group Young Professionals Program.

“It's super competitive, but I was lucky that I got in thanks to the training I received at Carnegie Mellon,” says Priyank, a College of Engineering graduate. “The imminent need to combat climate change in low-and middle-income countries made sense and seemed the right thing to do.”

The prestigious program develops future leaders to collaborate effectively across the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) on solutions to development challenges.

From Knowledge Producer to Knowledge Broker

Priyank’s more than halfway through his two-year appointment that began in September 2022. He was one of only 44 young professionals from nearly 10,000 applicants across 189 countries to be selected for the prestigious program.

He serves in the Energy and Extractives global team, focusing on restructuring energy sectors in low-and-middle income countries with an emphasis on decarbonization, renewables and energy efficiency. His expertise lies in hard-to-abate sectors, which have no clear solutions to decarbonization.

The work aligns perfectly with his academic background and professional interests.

“I’ve ended up working on the areas where I was very well trained from my Ph.D. and postdoctoral years,” says Priyank, who received a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the College of Engineering’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy in 2021 and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in climate policy at Harvard Kennedy School in 2022.

The first year of his appointment was rewarding, but it did come with challenges. He had to transition from a research-heavy academic setting to a more hands-on, decision-making role.

“The transition from academia to the bank means that I am no longer only a knowledge producer but more importantly, also a knowledge broker,” Priyank says.

Global Problem-Solver

For Priyank, being a broker means analyzing research instead of leading it.

“On a day-to-day basis, I have to make and support investment decisions, and there are different technical inputs,” he says. “I might have 10 different studies on a particular topic. How do I coalesce and synthesize what all those different inputs are saying and apply it to a problem in a developing economy?”

Analysis comes naturally with the training he received at CMU.

“They would give us 1,200 pages or more of an unstructured policy problem and a week to apply our skills — quantitative and qualitative — to help solve it,” he says. “That’s so valuable when you think about problems we deal with today. They’re interrelated. They’re not structured. And that’s very routine in my work.”

He also credits CMU for preparing him for a role where his decisions have a global impact.

“The countries rely on us as their custodians of trust to help and assist them in deciding what's good for their future as they think about their development priorities,” Priyank says. “The research program I had at Carnegie Mellon was intended to prepare us for this kind of career.”

A Mission to Motivate

Looking ahead to the final months of his appointment and beyond, Priyank has several goals. He has a five-year contract with the World Bank, and will be moving into a staff position after he completes the Young Professionals Program.

“I would be very happy to continue the work I'm doing and keep contributing to the climate discourse broadly,” he says.

He also wants to give back to the CMU community, which raised more than $430,000 for a COVID-19 relief fundraiser that he spearheaded in 2021.

“The community really contributed with open arms,” Priyank says. “They were very generous with their resources and their connections and spreading the word. So when somebody comes to me from CMU, I try to be as generous as possible and pay it forward with my time or whatever I can do.”

He also hopes to motivate others to think seriously about climate issues.

“I sometimes think about how humanity will solve the climate crisis,” he says. “If you're one person doing the job, then you are constrained from a time and work perspective. Therefore, there is a need to motivate others and invite folks from all walks of life to help fix the problem. I'm mission-driven about that.”