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Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at the division of Electric Power Engineering at the Chalmers University of Technology. We are developing a building energy management system for a living lab located here on campus.

InnoEnergy supports a six months mobility, which is a unique opportunity for researchers to widen their view on different topics and market trends around their PhD research topic. I went to the E.ON energy research centre in Aachen, Germany – and it was an excellent chance for me to collaborate with a research team that was trying to create market values from what we had been investigating. I learned how we can respond to real-world problems and how our research can lead to a market service. Furthermore, the course and workshops held by InnoEnergy were great experiences. You learn additional skills that can’t be found in your PhD study curriculum.

It is essential to first identify the primary market needs in the energy sector. After selecting the target market, the main task is to develop the business plan. We learned how to do this in an energy economics course. Moreover, we learned how this sector works and how financial and energy transactions take place. Also, at the ESADE summer course, we had a chance to develop a complete business plan for a product or service. It was informational and inspiring to see how the business creation process works. I feel prepared for my next challenge, which is to start my own business in the energy sector!

Making new friends and creating a network of professional people in my field of research was definitely the highlight of this programme for me. Participating in the InnoEnergy PhD School has given me the confidence to start a company in the field of energy services.

The valuable skills that I gained by participating in this programme will certainly help me in my future career. Innovation and creativity – to find out the main needs and requirements of the market – are the backbone of any business that tries to grow in the energy sector. I will need these skills to start my own business or to be an innovator for any company that I may work for in the future.

Although it might seem that creativity is inherent, the InnoEnergy programme proved to me that we should see it as a skill. We can grow our creative mind and direct it on a correct path, which will then lead to innovation and entrepreneurship. The programme is the perfect environment to develop this skill and learn how to apply it to create actual products and services.