I have always preferred playing with “open cards”, telling things as they are, avoiding sugar-coating, being open about pros and cons in topics and in myself. So let’s just put it out there as it is: I have stepped out of my comfort zone by starting a company. Main drivers are (1) trust in the topic I want to improve (efficiency in desk research related to Renewable Energy) and (2) trust that I will overcome the challenges as they appear.
First time for everything: Don’t panic!
eWEning star is the first company I have ever started. https://eweningstar.com/ is the first website I have made in my life. This is the first blog post I have ever written. The list goes on and on. Already so many “first times” done and for sure there are still many to come. In short: “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED”
Sustainability and economics are buddies
I have always been interested in environmental topics and from very early on had a solid belief and trust that this theme will only become more important. I also believed from very early on that economic growth and sustainability are not topics opposite to each other, but that there will be a shift in our system, industry and policy where these two compliment each other instead of compete with each other.
My interest in chemistry and sustainability led me to study Chemical Engineering (BSc) with focus on Environmental Engineering. This was in Finland between 2001 and 2006. It tells something about the atmosphere back in those days that the Programme had made a conscious choice to name the study “Chemical Engineering” instead of “Environmental Engineering”, because they were worried about industry (potential future employers) seeing the students and graduates too “green”. Luckily we are nowadays far aways from that type of attitude and sustainability is Business as Usual in every self-respecting company, organisation and country.
What is “research” anyhow and five important aspects of any new innovation and development
Word “research” is understood very individually. For some it means something that leads to a scientific publication. For many it is almost a synonym to “information search”. Despite how you define it, for me, searching and finding new information has always been very interesting. In my Energy and Environmental Science (MSc) studies in the University of Groningen (NL) and in my position as Project Manager at Virol I have done a lot of both: research in the scientific and business development sense.
Most of the research that I have done has been multidisciplinary and cross-industrial. Personally, I enjoy that type of research the most, because I find interconnections and collaborations not only interesting, but also essential when developing something new. When building something new, several aspects need to be in line at the same time in order to implement it successfully. These I call STEER-aspects of development:
Most challenges in Energy Transition are related to one or several aspects mentioned above. The maturity of these aspects need to increase in a balanced way before the new development can be fully utilized. These aspects also influence each other and it is therefore extremely important to compare the development phase of them to each other and then adjust accordingly.
Sport metaphor → translating scientific concept through sport example
These five aspects are like a sport team of 5 people, all with different strengths, in a long lasting obstacle run at unknown terrain. In order to “win” ( = implement new innovation or system change successfully), all team members need to cross the finishing line. One is not more important than another, they are all equal. Therefore, it’s better to know where your team members are at all moments and whether it’s necessary to adjust the strategy in order to get to the finishing line.
And what has this sport-example to do with desk research (which is actually basically the opposite of sport, if you think about it…)? Often these different aspects of the same topic are assessed, researched and reported by different organizations and universities. The information is scattered around and therefore making a good overview is very time consuming and requires preliminary information regarding “who has which information”. For sure information sharing could be done more efficiently, if it would be collected to one place and it would be easier to choose the aspect that is in interest. This way “topic specialists” and “generalists” can find information from the same platform. More about STEER-aspects in Blog 2: STEERing hamsters.
As Energy Transition towards Renewable Energy Sources is more important than ever, eWEning star wants to contribute to the acceleration of the transition by developing a digital platform, which makes desk research part of it as efficient as possible. No matter if you cheer for the whole team of five or whether you have a favourite, the platform will support you.
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