Sezgi is enjoying her work in the energy sector

Hi Sezgi, what are you working with at the moment?

I am currently working as an asset performance engineer at Gama Enerji, an energy company in Turkey. I am working in the operations department, so our team is responsible for tracking the performance of the assets owned by the company and ensuring that they are functioning optimally, taking into account technical, economic and social factors, among others.

What does a regular day look like at your job?

Well, I guess there is no regular day at my job as we need to respond to the power plants’ needs as soon as possible, so my job is rather dynamic. What we do regularly is review the daily performance of the power plants using the reports submitted and real time dashboards that we created last year. Setting up these dashboards was both challenging and fun. I generally spend the mornings reviewing these reports and participating in internal meetings. During lunch time, there are yoga classes available to us twice a week. Taking your mind off work for an hour feels great. I don’t really have regular tasks for the afternoon so I pretty much work on improvement projects for power plant performance etc.

Have you worked with anything else since you graduated?

I have worked as a project engineer at a small EPC company in the solar energy sector. As I wanted to familiarise myself with energy technologies as well, I started working at Gama Enerji, where I am now working on combined cycle natural gas plants, wind power plants and hydropower plants.

Why did you choose this programme at KTH?

After getting my Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, I was a bit lost to be honest, because there were so many options to choose from! So I decided to take a gap year to figure out what to do. I did some research and asked people about their jobs. Finally, I decided that I wanted to be in the energy sector as there is currently an exciting transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system. I wanted to pursue a Master’s Degree to specialise in energy systems, and that’s when I came across the double degree programme in Innovative Sustainable Energy Engineering. I had friends who did their Erasmus studies in Finland and Sweden and they had great experiences. I reviewed the curriculum of the programme and knew that this was the perfect programme for me!

Is there any knowledge you acquired during your studies that have been extra useful for you in your career?

At KTH you are constantly learning, and this kind of becomes a habit! This an amazing trait to have in your career. My job includes addressing problems at the power plants and finding out how to solve these problems. This is actually what we did in our university studies. The projects you are involved in at the university prepare you for your work life. I am also lucky that in my current job, I apply the technical knowledge I’ve gained within energy systems analysis at KTH. I sometimes still use my course notes!

What was the best aspect of your studies at KTH?

I really appreciated the group work at KTH. We did projects with people from different departments as well, and this is something that really broadens your horizons as you get to see very different aspects of the topic that you’re discussing. This really helps me in working life since my current job includes liaising with all the departments in the company. Another thing I really liked at KTH was the involvement of the industry. We had trips to power plants, guest lecturers from energy companies and worked on projects that were supported by companies active in the energy sector. This was a great opportunity to familiarise myself with the Nordic energy sector.

What is your best memory from your time at KTH?

When I was writing my thesis, we were working at the computer lab at the Mechanical Engineering department, and we had ping-pong breaks. This was a great way to blow off some steam! During the summer, we also went for a dip at Brunnsvikbadet during lunch time. It was super fun!

What are your plans for the future?

I enjoy my current job, but in the future I would like to get more involved in energy system planning, as I want to be more active in the ongoing global energy transition.

What would you want to say to a student thinking of applying for this programme?

I would say just click on the apply button! I definitely recommend this programme as it really prepares you for a great career in the energy sector. I also loved studying in Sweden and in Finland as I fell in love with the Nordic culture.