‘Being part of IDCORE has been almost too good to be true.  The first year of the programme was one of the best years of my life, and now, working for QED Naval, I am in a place I want to be, doing what I want to do.  The work is challenging but the project is really well defined and I know that the outcome will make a difference to the company and potentially the tidal sector.'

"Getting to the point I’m at now with my project hasn’t been straight forward – I had a few false starts along the way and working in a small organisation with limited resources isn’t easy. However, I have finished up with a really interesting project that has the potential to make a significant difference to my sponsors’ business, and the support from IDCORE has been immense throughout.”

Nian wasn’t looking for a career in renewables, it found her. During the COVID pandemic she had been reflecting on her options with the careers service at her university who suggested an EngD as a good compromise between pursuing a research post and seeking a role in industry. It was in looking for an EngD in a suitable location that suited her skill set that she discovered IDCORE.

Jonathan joined IDCORE in 2021 to enter the offshore renewables industry and kick start his career in that sector. The IDCORE programme provides structured training and the opportunity to undertake research on projects with leading industry companies.

IDCORE has always offered sponsoring companies the opportunity to bring their own staff into the programme, but Tara is the first example of this happening. After graduating from a five-year integrated Masters programme in Mechanical Engineering at Heriot Watt University, during which she was sponsored by Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN), Tara secured a graduate role with the company. She then persuaded them to support her through an EngD. It was the industrially focussed nature of the IDCORE programme (and the case studies of previous cohorts) that persuaded both Tara and SPEN that they would derive value from this process.

As members of the former Energy Technologies Institute, which funded the first phase of IDCORE, EDF has been the most consistent sponsor of IDCORE Research Engineers. The advantage of this for Prokopis is that he is able to build on the work of other IDCORE projects that have gone before.

After graduating in 2018 from a degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge, Demitri joined a strategy consultancy in London. However, this work didn’t allow him to pursue his interest in sustainable energy and he started to look for ways into the renewables industry.

Katie has been sponsored by the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility (FloWave), a wave and current simulation tank which is a part of the University of Edinburgh. FloWave offers hydrodynamic testing services that support the development of offshore renewable energy technologies. Her project combines aspects of both numerical modelling and tank testing.

Calum is working with Sustainable Marine, a tidal energy firm with a demonstration installation in Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada. Headquartered in Edinburgh, it was convenient for Calum to stay close to the university and work within a small team with greater visibility. The project outline was appealing as it was flexible and offered the opportunity to develop his interest in electrical engineering.

Ben’s project is with Xodus, a global energy consultancy with its head office in Aberdeen. Xodus have been expanding into the renewables space for the last seven years, especially in relation to floating wind. They were offering an open-ended project and the opportunity to work in multiple locations where they have offices, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. It gave Ben the opportunity to enter the space in his interest area of materials science and data analytics without requiring a heavy engineering background.

Alyona came to IDCORE to pursue an interest in offshore renewables, after having spent a period in banking following the completion of a Civil Engineering degree. She was attracted to IDCORE by the nature of the EngD qualification and the training it offered, alongside the opportunity to undertake an industry-based research project.

Anita came to IDCORE from a job as an energy and waste manager in the NHS. She grew up in Portugal where she originally trained as an Environmental Engineer before moving to Suffolk on an international internship scheme participating in renewables projects for Suffolk Council, before taking up the management post at Suffolk NHS Trust. These experiences developed her interest in renewable energy and drove her to seek out PhD opportunities.

The IDCORE training is very broad creating a breadth of knowledge that has been invaluable to Nicholas when working with his project sponsor, EDF, who have been strong supporters of IDCORE since it was first set up. They have sponsored students in most cohorts, and a number of times they have sponsored more than one from their R&D centres in London and in Chatou, France.

Mujahid has a background in Mechanical Engineering, which led to an MSc in thermo-fluids for the petrochemical industry. Following this, he worked as a research engineer at the Centre for Engineering Research, a research institute in Saudi Arabia, focusing on industry-academia projects involving multiphase flows in the oil and gas industry. He was attracted to IDCORE as part of a personal response to the climate crisis, seeking to apply his experience to something new and meaningful. He saw the interaction with industry offered by IDCORE as holding the potential to realise his dream of becoming a research engineer in the burgeoning renewable energy sector.

Lubica developed her passion for the geosciences while working with the British Geological Survey. She subsequently completed an MSc in Reservoir Evaluation and Management at Heriot Watt and wanted to continue studying in this area. She came across the IDCORE programme at the right time, viewing it as an opportunity to go deeper, building her field of expertise by applying her skills to offshore renewables. In this way she could produce research directly applicable to the industry.

Mac is working at the ‘sharp end’ of device development in the offshore renewable energy sector. He is sponsored by Mocean, where he is exploring a ‘hybridisation’ concept for their wave energy converter (WEC). This involves the installation of photo-voltaic (PV) panels on the WEC to reduce the need for diesel back-up in off-grid and micro-grid locations, the likely early market for Mocean’s products.