Become part of the InnoEnergy ecosystem, gain access to a network of like-minded individuals, startups, scaleups, innovation projects, universities and industrial partners across Europe by applying to InnoEnergy PHD School before 12 May deadline.
For Students
Co-funded by the
European Union
25 March 2019
I feel prepared for my next challenge, which is to start my own business in the energy sector!
Apart from having a great time making friends and expanding his network in the energy market, PhD graduate Ali Fotohi has learned a very important lesson about being innovative. The creativity required to create innovative products and services is not something that you must be born with. It’s a skill that can be learned, cultivated, and sharpened – and the InnoEnergy PhD programme is the perfect environment for this.
What are you working on at the moment?
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.
How did your time in the programme prepare you for your current work?
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.
What do you think are the main qualities needed to launch a business project? And how does the programme help with this?
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!
What were your personal highlights from the programme?
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.
Where will the skills you have gained take you in the future?
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.
Anything you’d like to share about the programme?
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.
