Stephanie Hirmer is an Associate Professor of Climate Compatible Growth within the Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford, focusing on integrating community perspectives into energy decision-making processes. She currently holds the position of Interim Research Director at CCG, where she leads the Advanced GIS Modelling of Integrated Systems Analysis. Prof. Hirmer co-founded Rural Senses Ltd., a social enterprise that emerged from her PhD research in Engineering for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Sustainable Development. This enterprise specialises in AI-enhanced data analysis and user-centric data collection, assisting project developers in efficiently and accurately addressing the needs of rural communities. Her previous roles include working as a researcher for the Smart Villages Initiative, and she possesses extensive field experience in rural Uganda and Germany. In Germany, Prof. Hirmer worked as a consultant for the German Development Agency (GIZ), where she played a pivotal role in designing and implementing community-operated hydropower schemes in cooperation with local governments. Her responsibilities also extended to developing strategies for scaling up pico-hydropower and solar PV initiatives and creating operational and maintenance procedures for these projects. Prof. Hirmer has successfully managed projects for prestigious clients including KfW, Dorsch Consulting, and Arup.