Hello all!
in the last two weeks I have been visiting two very different conferences back to back.
The first one is ICEM 2024, the international conference on electrical machines, a biannual conference on electrical machines and drives. I would dare to say that it is the most relevant conference on our field in Europe. It was this time held in Turin, Italy at the Politechnico di Torino. I went there to present preliminary results I got from an exchange stay at the University of Bologna. But this conference was more like a gathering of everyone. I met all the people I have met in all the conferences in the last five years including most of the professors from all the papers I was reading. This means that other than presenting and listening to potentially relevant presentations for my work, the breaks were times to say hello to known faces and get to know new ones.
A major part of research is collaboration since nobody can do everything. So, running around and find out what other people are working on is an integral part of attending a conference. Of course, it is also a good chance to meet people from industry and see which problems they are trying to solve. If you want, to break out from the academic bubble.
As you can imagine, such a conference day can be very exhausting. Luckily, the social dinner was held at MAUTO, the italian museum of automobiles. Since Turin is the city of the car manufacturer FIAT, there is a long tradition this industry. While receiving a fancy italian dinner with local dishes, it is a great opportunity to unwind and chat with the fellows.


After this week, I needed a break and spend the weekend in north Italy for some relaxing days before continuing to the STandUP academy in Luleå. STandUP for energy is an organization in Sweden funding research in energy related topics. On this annual gathering, researchers from KTH, Uppsala Universitet, Svenska Landbruks Universitet and Luleå Tekiska Universitet gather and discuss their results. As part of this, we visited the newly constructed hydro-power plant in Rengård, the wind-power plant in Markbygden and the larger hydro-power plant in Porjus.
I was very impressed by the implications of our energy production on the landscape and the environment but also by the technology and current questions.
Good to see you in Turino and Milano. Let’s look forward to the next reunion!