The energy industry is undergoing a major paradigm shift. New aspects of both conventional technologies and contemporary research are being investigated. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions while increasing connectivity and flexibility are also becoming a priority. This process is exciting to follow, and certainly to be part of. I heard about the Master’s programme in Smart Cities and was attracted to the great composition of energy-related subjects and the future potential that it drives in urban development.

At the moment, I mostly aspire to join the efforts in smart grid development, energy storage and renewable energy generation. It would be interesting for me to bring this knowledge back to my home country and work on projects in Russia.

During my bachelor’s, I grew accustomed to studying in an international environment. It’s rewarding for me to make friends from all over the globe since I believe that you grow from learning about other cultures, histories and the work approaches of different people. I find diversity very important. Also, it’s a double degree – meaning I can go to two different schools and have the best of both worlds. KU Leuven and KTH are both being highly acclaimed engineering schools that vary in their approach to curriculum and course assessment, so it’s interesting to compare and learn what works best for me. EIT InnoEnergy programmes are designed to complement and build on top of each other over the two years.

I think that the clearest distinction would be the attention to business knowledge and entrepreneurial soft skills. This year we had two entrepreneurship courses, and they taught me a lot about things that I had no idea about, such as start-up pitching and intellectual property. I also practised making financial statements and learned how to draft a business plan. One more obvious thing is cooperation and communication on an international level. Students often go on boot camp sessions abroad where we can meet people from other universities to exchange ideas and experiences.

This year I contributed by reviewing and writing for the CommUnity blog and the CommUnity Post magazine. I am hoping in the future that I will find time to write more articles, especially industry-related. Involvement with the magazine and some chat with alumni at the CONNECT events have shown me that many people are still active in the network, even long time after graduation. This kind of commitment encourages more active participation in the community and is a win for everyone.

This summer, I am going to do a summer internship at EnergyVille, which is the leading innovative energy research company here in Belgium. I found out about it from a professor at KU Leuven. I will be working on the development of an HVDC protection controller device. I’m quite excited!

In the short term, I hope that the EIT InnoEnergy network will assist me in my quest for an intriguing thesis research lead. And in the future, I know that I can always rely on people in the community to help with advice, expertise and ideas for my future projects. I’m in it for the long term!