8 minute read
3.7 Education
3.7 EDUCATION FORBES 30 UNDER 30
Two MSc alumni, Eirik Eide Pettersen and Arjun Gupta, achieve the Forbes “30 Under 30” list.
Achieving a spot on the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’' list is no small feat. This is the kind of accolade that opens doors and serves as a permanent record, usually the first major one in a series, of a person’s career achievements.
NUCLEAR ENERGY OF THE FUTURE The latest EIT InnoEnergy alumnus who made the list is Eirik Eide Pettersen, for his work as co-founder of Seaborg Technologies. He joins Govinda Upadhya, Allen Mohammadi and Tanmoy Bari who have all earned their spots on this prestigious list. Eirik’s contribution is Seaborg’s exciting innovation in the nuclear energy field –a Compact Molten Salt Reactor for sustainable, safe, and inexpensive nuclear energy. “I am extremely honoured, of course, both personally but also for Seaborg. In general, I am very appreciative of the excellent team at Seaborg who are really the main reason this could become a reality. While it is my name there on Forbes, I think it should really be considered a team victory. Also, I can’t help but feel quite humbled – it is not every day your name is featured together with the likes of Harry Potter!” – said Pettersen.
SAVING THE WORLD This acknowledgement from Forbes is a milestone for Seaborg, and will certainly give it attention and introduce it to some new circles. Hopefully, the momentum can help Seaborg accomplish the next milestones. Asked if it was his goal to make the list, Pettersen said: “No. I doubt that this is the kind of acknowledgement that anyone sets out to win. Rather, it comes as a (very pleasant) side-effect of trying to accomplish overarching goals – in our case: to save the world. And to be honest, if the goal is to be in Forbes 30 Under 30, I am certain there are easier ways to accomplish that than with an advanced nuclear energy company.” OUTSTANDING DEDICATION TO SUSTAINABILITY Meanwhile, Arjun Gupta, who finished the EIT InnoEnergy Master’s in Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy Systems back in 2014, has been named as one of the Canadian “30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders”. For someone that has been diligently working to make the world a better place, starting at the age of 21 (now 30) by helping to electrify rural villages in Eastern India, receiving this accolade is both an honour and a motivation. Arjun shares, “I was so pleased to make the list! I find the work in sustainability very rewarding already, but this is a great acknowledgement of what I’ve done so far – and it has bolstered my commitment to work even harder and grow my impact as a Sustainability Leader.”
THINKING BIGGER, GOING GLOBAL While deploying renewable energy systems in remote areas of India, Arjun realised how essential electricity is tied to the development and prosperity of the inhabitants. It inspired him to want to do more, to have a larger effect. He shares, “To expand the impact of my work, I decided to complete my Master’s in the Environomical Pathways for Sustainable Energy Systems programme by EIT InnoEnergy. The programme served as a great platform to access global opportunities in sustainability. While there, I received the opportunity to finish my Master Thesis at UGE in New York, deploying solar and wind projects across the globe. Over the last six years at UGE, I have deployed solar projects in North America, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Panama and Turks & Caicos.” With the broad experiences Arjun has had so far in his career and the knowledge he has gained from EIT InnoEnergy Master School, he is
well equipped to play a big role in the energy transition.
The “Entrepreneurship Journey” – organised as part of this MSc programme – was in the spotlight during EDUCON.
In April in Dubai, IEEE held their annual globally acclaimed education conference for engineering programmes – EDUCON. They hosted leaders in the education field including representatives of the programme, who presented papers highlighting the techniques used to accelerate the entrepreneurial path of students. The Entrepreneurship Journey – parallel activities organised as part of this MSc programme – was in the spotlight, and aligned perfectly with the conference’s theme of "engineering education through student engagement".
Designed to take students from innovation to entrepreneurship and beyond, the Entrepreneurship Journey is the second part of the MSc ESFC two- -year experience. The first part of the programme is the Innovation Journey where students explore the market, opportunities, techniques and tools to create a prototype – so they can plan and present an actual business model. This second part, the Entrepreneurship Journey, encourages students that want to take their idea to the next level – business creation. Those ready for this challenge (and have had their start-up proposal accepted) will hone their entrepreneurial skills as they are supported to go from concept to business plan to prototype and then finally to pitch presentation. This safe and controlled environment is the perfect incubator to help reduce the high initial failure risks that most start-ups face and prepares them for a more successful entrepreneurship outset. Both journeys carry students to three major European innovation and entrepreneurship hubs: Barcelona, Antwerp and Amsterdam.
The latest acknowledgement at the 2019 EDUCON is not the first time that the MSc Energy for Smart Cities programme has been recognised for its innovative methodologies. In the past, articles have highlighted the win-win situations created for both students and energy sector companies; resulting in internships, master thesis and job proposals, as well as creating entrepreneurship initiatives among the students themselves. The Entrepreneurship Journey emphasises all the essential entrepreneurial aspects, e.g. action taking, value creation, and the employment of creative business tools. All of which foster an entrepreneurial ‘expert logic’ that can be a part of their recipe for a successful start-up. rial path of students. The Entrepreneurship Journey – parallel activities organised as part of this MSc programme – was in the spotlight, and aligned perfectly with the conference’s theme of "engineering education through student engagement".
NEW PROGRAMME TO ADDRESS ENERGY STORAGE SKILLS GAP
Demand for sustainable energy sources is growing exponentially around the globe.
International conflicts, climate change, water scarcity and increasing public awareness are just some of the issues shifting the narrative on energy, and driving a worldwide transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. As the global energy revolution gathers momentum, another challenge has appeared. Balancing supply with demand on the grid with wind, solar or tidal is contingent on being able to somehow address intermittent issues and store this energy for distributed use.
Storage is fast becoming the defining issue in sustainable energy. And advances in this pivotal field are set to drive an unprecedented boom – and a worldwide demand for as-yet-unavailable talent. In Europe alone, battery represents a €255billion opportunity. To service this opportunity, the European Battery Alliance estimates that in excess of 100,000 new jobs will need to be created every year from 2020. The demand for professionals with the advanced engineering skills and management competences to fill these jobs, experts, is set to become acute.
To meet this demand, EIT InnoEnergy has announced a new addition to its sustainable energy learning portfolio. The Master’s in Energy Storage, which was launched in September 2019, aims to equip students with a raft of technical competences that covers the full spectrum of storage technologies from battery to thermal, magnetic and electromagnetic, pumped hydropower, synthetic and biofuels. In tandem to this, the programme is designed to accelerate business management, entrepreneurial and digitalisation skills –and what its designers call, “an innovation mindset.”
As with other Master’s programmes in the EIT InnoEnergy portfolio, the Master’s in Energy Storage will be delivered over two years by a number of leading-edge European universities with input from some of the continent’s foremost business schools. Students will also have access to industry practitioners for project and field work and will be exposed to case-based learning opportunities. EIT InnoEnergy expects demand for the new Master’s in Energy Storage to be high as students understand the personal and professional benefits and advantages of the programme, along with the potential for global impact in the market.
Frank Gielen, Education Director, EIT InnoEnergy
This is an industry in transformation. Energy storage is set to totally reshape the grid in coming years. And as this market expands and the technologies themselves evolve, there is going to be an unprecedented need for professionals who have both the technical clout and the kind of entrepreneurial capabilities to answer immediate challenges, spot new issues and opportunities and join the dots with speed and flexibility.
EIT InnoEnergy
Kennispoort 6 th floor John F. Kennedylaan 2 5612 AB Eindhoven The Netherlands info@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy Benelux
Kennispoort 6 th floor John F. Kennedylaan 2 5612 AB Eindhoven The Netherlands info@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy France
Immeuble L’Alizée 32, rue des Berges 38000 Grenoble, France france@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy Germany Albert-Nestler-Strasse 21 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany germany@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy Iberia
Edifici Nexus II Oficina 0A Jordi Girona, 29 08034 Barcelona, Spain info@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe
Equal Business Park B 28 Wielicka Street 30–552 Kraków, Poland central.europe@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy Scandinavia
Torsgatan 11, 8th floor 111 23 Stockholm, Sweden scandinavia@innoenergy.com
EIT InnoEnergy is the trading brand of KIC InnoEnergy SE
