Julia Ju (MS ’12)

Julia Ju (MS ’12) is an Origination Analyst for CLP Holdings Limited, a utility company based in Hong Kong. She is responsible for the origination phase in the development of renewable energy projects. Julia says her EST&P degree, with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering, informs her performance in market analysis, competitor and partnership evaluation, and preliminary technical assessment of identified renewable energy projects. 

The interdisciplinary nature of the EST&P program, combined with its flexible disciplinary concentration, were two of the most attractive features to Julia when deciding what professional degree program she would pursue after completing her chemical engineering Bachelor’s degree at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She knew she wanted to work in renewable energy or utilities and felt that expanding her knowledge of mechanical engineering related to energy technologies would help her achieve her goals. Now, she appreciates how the core EST&P courses gave her a foundation in energy policy and economics, as well as technical insight into the generation and transmission of electricity. She especially enjoyed the core Energy Conversion and Supply class, because she learned important aspects about shale gas during the time of its initial boom. The flexibility in the EST&P program allowed her to take a breadth elective from the Tepper School of Business called Electricity Market Restructuring. She finds this course to be among the most beneficial courses to her profession because she gained insight into the complexities of the electricity market and, most importantly, insight into policy for Asian electricity markets; knowledge she uses daily in her current role.

Julia is enjoying living and working in Hong Kong. She recommends that everyone should visit the city for its spectacular sights. Julia also enjoyed personally her one-year tenure at CMU, in and out of the classroom. She appreciated the diversity of people in the EST&P program and the Carnegie Mellon community at large, people who had varying backgrounds and work experience. Julia made friends and professional connections from all around the world. Many of these relationships were made at the frequent social events hosted by the EST&P program or by the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA), including happy hours, trips to professional sports games, and special late-night events at the different museums around Pittsburgh. Julia said she took full advantage of the opportunities provided by the EST&P program to receive the skills necessary for a career in energy and to form lasting personal and professional connections.