Unite! Spring School inspired students for further studies in sustainable energy

The three days of online activities included lectures by internationally renowned scholars from the seven Unite! partner universities, presentations of M.Sc. thesis proposals on the spring school topics, testimonial sessions by PhD students, “serious games” on energy, and networking sessions with online social events and virtual “business” lunches with external stakeholders.

The Spring School was organized by Task Force 8 in Unite!, a key objective of which is to create an international Energy PhD programme across the network. On the Aalto side, Sam Cross, Manager for Aalto Networking Platform, was part of the planning committee. Sam commented “The Spring School is a first step towards the international Energy PhD programme. By showcasing the excellence across the universities, M.Sc. students gain new knowledge and insights, and are inspired to collaborate across the network. We hope that some of the participating students will take up the exciting M.Sc. thesis proposals presented at the school, and thus advance active and concrete collaboration. Our dream is that several of the participating students will be the very first “pioneer” candidates in the foreseen PhD programme!”

Spring School offered a broad view on new energy solutions  

Si Nguyen-Ky, one of the Aalto University students who participated the spring school, is interested in the energy performance of buildings, its important role in an energy- and resource-efficient community that we are building in the near future. Si is majoring in building performance and takes a minor in advanced energy solutions (sustainable energy in buildings and built environment).

”Energy efficiency is a multidisciplinary subject, thus, attending the Spring School had helped me expose my knowledge to a broader view on other new energy solution topics, especially building related services and systems such as smart grids and energy storages. Different professors from Unite! institutions had given me ideas about how the climate conditions, available resources, political status, research and innovation cooperations affected the advancement and development of new energy solutions. To me it was very intriguing to attend the energy storage and smart grid sessions as they are of my personal interests as well as my current study (possibly in my future study too!)”, said Si.

Si found the testimonial sessions by PhD students also insightful. ”I got to know a little bit about how it is like to work in the academia so that I can better prepare for my doctoral study. The most important thing I have learnt through the school is that there is neither best solution nor one solution fit all in this field, but a good combination of all, for a more energy-efficient and a cleaner future”, Si concluded.

Spring School students get support for finding diploma thesis topics