About Jan

Jan studied an integrated Masters in aeronautical engineering at the University of Southampton. He wanted to apply this in a renewables focused role but found the sector difficult to access. He was leaning away from an academic, desk-based PhD when he came across IDCORE, which enables you to gain an EngD alongside three years of industry experience.

Jan values the diverse cohort of fellow students in IDCORE, who have become friends especially during the residential courses like the one at Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban. Learning from some of the best lecturers in the field has also been hugely motivating, which his project sponsor, Orbital Marine Power, is also able to benefit from.

Jan's Sponsor

Orbital is an innovative engineering company headquartered in Orkney. They are developing a floating tidal technology, for which they have a 2MW demonstrator, the O2, which is the world’s most powerful tidal turbine in operation.

Jan was with the Orbital team during the installation of the tidal device at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), and has since become involved in ongoing assessment analytics.

This has involved working with on-board sensors to understand what data can be collected, which will help optimise the standards of performance analysis for floating devices.

The detail of Jan’s final project is still being developed, as the original project brief was quite open. This has created an exciting opportunity to shape something with the team.

Jan has enjoyed being part of a small team of 35-40 people and has become an important member of the company. He is getting a lot of first-hand experience in data analysis and has knowledge of how data is being used across teams.

IDCORE is viewed as a respectable and well-known affiliation amongst colleagues, with the first year of modules providing a good overview on offshore renewables.