Jiska de Groot is an energy and development geographer based at the University of Cape Town’s African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI). She holds a PhD in Human Geography focused on renewable energy and stakeholder engagement, an MSc in International Development Studies and a MA in Cultural Anthropology. In her current position as Senior Researcher at the ACDI, her work focuses on the human dimension of sustainable energy access, energy poverty, gender and capacity building. She has a strong interest in conducting research that is policy-and practice-relevant with a focus on achieving local development benefits, and assisting with local change processes, for example, through co-design and employing participatory approaches. In addition to her research, Jiska leads the skills and expertise development component of the FCDO-funded Transforming Energy Access Programme, is coordinator of the support centre of the Technology Needs Assessment for Anglophone African countries for climate change adaptation and mitigation, holds a Future Leaders Research Fellowship in reducing energy transitions risks, and is a member of the Technical Working Group 4 on Innovation, Technology and Data of the UN High Level Political Forum.
