Over 300 students and 35 companies met in Stockholm during Master School Connect

The event had many interactive activities, such as team building and exploring the beautiful city of Stockholm, along with workshops on career development and entrepreneurship.

Students attended inspiring sessions with EIT InnoEnergy execs and were able to tap the leading experts during a panel discussion on building a carbon-free future through storage. Juan Franco Canepa, Master’s in Nuclear Energy year-2 student, shared: "One of the most insightful parts of the event was the interview session with Diego Pavia and Elena Bou regarding how EIT InnoEnergy can support entrepreneurial ideas from the alumni."

And all eyes were on the grand finale of the Battle of Green Talent – where the finalist gave their final pitch. As Juan said, "It was an amazing experience to see peers pitching creative ideas to important investors. Events like this one spark the students’ interest in thinking creatively and encourage them to transform ideas into tangible and profitable solutions. These great events set these master programmes apart from other universities."

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The Battle of Green Talent began last Fall, where participants registered for this 6-month competition to bring their innovative ideas for sustainable energy to life!

They took a journey through a virtual entrepreneurial ecosystem, transforming their bright ideas into promising businesses – surrounded by talents, virtual investors, and advisors. Manuel Andrade, Head of Open Innovation at GALP, one of EIT InnoEnergy’s ecosystem partners and sponsor of the competition, shared why his company wanted to be involved: "Galp recently launched Upcoming Energies, our programme and platform to connect with the Innovation ecosystem. We intend to be closer to startups and academia to create solutions that help us thrive through the Energy Transition. The Battle for Green Talent is precisely the kind of initiative that can help us do that."

The attendees watched as each team shared their vision, and one team rose victorious in this final pitch, NaturaWatt. Their idea to generate hydrogen from wastewater using a new technology won the grand prize of 10,000 EUR! Curious about their pitch? Watch the livestream of the finale!

Another winner, in the investor category, was Jin Hyung Cho from Said Business School, Oxford University. On top of his 10,000 EUR, he’s also won an all-expenses-paid trip to EIT InnoEnergy's flagship event, The Business Booster, in Lisbon!

Master School Connect was also home to a marketplace with companies from across the energy industry. The marketplace allowed students to network with 35 industry leaders – all an integral part of the EIT InnoEnergy ecosystem – such as ABB, Palau Project, N-SIDE, Battery Associates, KTH, Eneida Wireless & Sensors, Enerpoly, Azelio, Bin-e, Valmet, Hymeth, Spottitt, Vattenfall, Northvolt, CorPower, Samster, Lyv, Stella Futura, Galp, Samster, Nictocapt, Fibersail and Schneider Electric.

As a result, the students were able to make valuable connections for internships, thesis opportunities and jobs – as well as meet with the twenty successful alumni in attendance who are already out there making it happen! Arunava Acharyya, technical analyst at Azelio was amongst the alumni representing their company. He mentions "My time with EIT Innoenergy remains one of the best learning and personal experiences of my life. And coming back to the event where it all started was a humbling experience. I can say with confidence that EIT Innoenergy helped me find my way through my current work with Azelio and I highly recommend this to other students!"

EIT InnoEnergy strives to connect students with its ecosystem so that they can explore various career opportunities during their studies. Francesco de Marco, Master’s in Energy Storage year-1 student, shares: "It was great to connect with some of the major companies such as Fortum or Volvo Group – but also to discover many innovative startups within the renewable energy sector." Juan added, "It’s an amazing opportunity to understand the different industries where our knowledge can be useful. From the energy, robotics, and digital transformation sectors to consulting. It was also prime networking, as all companies are top tier in their respective fields."

As Manuel from GALP shared about the event: “It’s a great to see so much talent and energy devoted to making the world more sustainable – and EIT InnoEnergy really helps to prepare the future leaders of the Energy Transition. There’s a long road ahead to decarbonize the energy sector and the challenges that we face are very significant, but I can only be optimistic when I see so much talent, enthusiasm and brainpower committed to solving them.”