DENMARK: WHERE ENERGY GOES GREEN

If you are interested about renewable energy technology, one of the best places to see and learn about it is Denmark. This country has committed itself to an ambitious target of 35% share of renewable energy in the total energy production by 2020 and also promised to increase this share to 100% by 2050. This implies significant investments and innovations in wind turbines, solar panels, which are also called photovoltaics (PV), biomass, smart grids, and so on. However, there are also benefits that motivate the Danish energy sector to go “green and clean”, in particular new profitable business opportunities, leadership on the renewable energy market, more jobs, and independence from fossil fuels and their prices.

In exploring the potential of renewable energy Denmark relies mostly on wind power. Indeed, strong winds, access to seas, and lack of sufficient solar radiation for PV make wind turbines a good choice to pursue. No wonder that the most efficient 3-bladed wind turbine design was “born” in Denmark (the so-called “Danish design”), as well as the most productive wind farm is situated here. Currently there are 12 offshore wind farms in the country.

But what is even more exciting in my opinion is that in Denmark renewable energy technology is open for all… literally. During the year you can find plenty of places and events related to informing public about the “green” energy. The most recent one called “Mind Blowing Copenhagen” and organized on 14^th – 15^th of April in Copenhagen displayed a good variety of electric vehicles, different applications of wind turbines and PV, as well as the real wind turbine transport and installation ship. Each visitor could find something matching his/her interests. For example, as I am doing an international research project on waste management called “Non-state Cooperation in Environment Protection Area in Developed and Developing Countries: The Case of Waste Management in Moldova”, I got interested in waste bins/compactors equipped with PV and thus working on solar power. Of course, children had most of the fun, as they had plenty of opportunities to play with solar and wind power.

So, if you are excited about the “green” energy, do come and visit Denmark. And if you are in Denmark, do look for such opportunities to learn about how we can implement renewable energy technology in our energy production and consumption. And when you learn this, do implement your knowledge in practice. Because it is high time for our energy to go “green and clean”!

 

Sources:

Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building, 2012. DK Energy Agreement, March 22 2012 [Online]. Available at: http://www.kemin.dk/Documents/Presse/2012/Energiaftale/FAKTA%20UK%201.pdf [Accessed: 15 April 2012]

Iscenco, A. 2012. EU Climate Change Policy in an International Context. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen

Mind Blowing Copenhagen, 2012. Home [Online]. Available at: http://mindblowingcopenhagen.dk [Accessed: 15 April 2012]

THE AMBITION OF 2015

As an alumnus already I have little to say regarding the newly created organizational strategy called AIESEC 2015… Nevertheless this period brings significant push to my own ambition and goals. Needless to mention they are possible with the support of my experience in AIESEC, in particular the eXchange stage.

It is due to my internship within the environmental project “Learn to Change the Future 2009” in Craiova, Romania (details are revealed in the post “PRICELESS GEM IN MY COLLECTION”), that for the first time I have been able to present my idea and ambition to establish the BioSciences Research Centre (BSRC) – an international organization aimed to combine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), scientific research and contribution to the environment protection in my home country and all over the World. The presentations took place last summer in two Romanian cities: Craiova and Timisoara. They allowed me to practice presenting the idea of BSRC, gain self-assurance, as well as obtain several valuable contacts to use in the nearby future. So, according to the well-known concept “The Right People on the Bus” (read about it in the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins), I have the “Bus”, and now I am in process of getting the “right people” on it.

Thus, the internship through AIESEC has significantly contributed to the establishment progress of another organization that by the year 2015 should be officially registered and actively developing to realize its vision, mission and goals.

This is how the cumulative growth is done: one success brings another… one victory leads to more on other battlefields… and so forth. And in the end, the Ambition of 2015 is turned into the Reality.

Additional information about the presentations of the BioSciences Research Centre (BSRC) is available in the post “NO MORE AMBITION… TIME FOR ACTION!“.

PRICELESS GEM IN MY COLLECTION

A month has passed since the end of my internship experience in Craiova, Romania mentioned in the previous posts (“MY SUCCESSION – REALIZATION!” and “THAT IS MY X WORLD!”). Nowadays it shines like a gem from its stand in my collection of the X Worlds.

A marvellous and, truly, priceless item!

But there is much more to admire. Just come closer and take an attentive look for yourself.

See, this facet reflects what we had DONE there as a team of seven foreign trainers within the sixth edition of the environmental project “Learn to Change the Future 2009” organized by AIESEC in Craiova. 

Here it is possible to make out the trainings on Ecology and Volunteering for last year pupils done, here is some volunteering in practice in building houses for unprivileged families and cleaning the City Botanical Garden, and here you can see the city march and closing event with promotion of pupils’ ecological initiatives on the Central Square. Certainly, the last event was the most exciting and memorable: you can read more about it in the articles HERE and HERE (both of them are in Romanian) and watch the video reporting presented below: 

 

The next facet reveals you all places of interest we had DISCOVERED during the two-month period of our internship: the modern Science Museum of Oltenia and the grand Nicolae Romanescu Park in Craiova, the exciting Village Museum in Sibiu, the beautiful Botanical Garden in Cluj-Napoca, the rich Peles Castle in Sinaia, the astonishing view of the city and the Black Church in Brasov, the nearly eternal beauty of the mountain chain in Busteni, the large Victoria Square in Timisoara, and much more. 

And this colourful facet here displays the backgrounds and skills we had DEVELOPED while performing the above-mentioned activities. Observe the training and facilitation skills, knowledge about major environmental issues and sustainable development, effective communication with people from other cultures and with different mentalities, volunteering and teamwork skills, and further on. 

Certainly, there are many more photos made during this amazing experience. You can have a look at the two photo albums available for visitors near the gem stand: “My Visited Places” (photos 61 – 79) and “Craiova, Romania”.

If you wish to find out more about the flow of the project “Learn to Change the Future 2009”, I offer you to listen to the spots on the Radio Oltenia HERE, HERE and HERE and watch the video presented on the concluding press conference in July 2009: 

And in conclusion, there is one more video to show – the one with me telling about the internship experience during the last days of it:  

Well, these are just some of the visible parts of the treasure obtained through the “eXchange” programme of AIESEC. It contains much more than meet the eye: challenges and valuable lessons learned from them, small and big victories, new wonderful friends, huge gratitude to the ones, who helped us realize the internship there, in AIESEC in Craiova, and back at home, and other hardly noticeable, but still highly important facets that significantly contribute to the overall shine of the gem. 

Nowadays this X World represents an admirable addition to my collection. Perhaps I will add some more in the nearest future. 

And what about you?

How many X Worlds will you have? 

THE SCIENCE OF AIESEC: CONTINUED…

 

In the post “THE SCIENCE OF AIESEC” it was written about the third scientific article with the description of AIESEC and the “eXchange” programme to be published in summer 2009. And here comes the update: this article called “Entrepreneurial Preparation for Young IT Specialists in Moldova” is published and available for anyone to read in the book “Promotion of the Information and Communication Technologies in Education”.

 

 

In order to inform you of its contents, here is the abstract of the work:

“The article displays the challenge of lacking business preparation for IT students in the Republic of Moldova. As a solution the project “OPEN i” is described: general overview, goals, main stages and actions, impact, etc. In the end the list of actions to establish the entrepreneurial preparation for young IT specialists in the country is presented”.

The article “Entrepreneurial Preparation for Young IT Specialists in Moldova” has been added to the Library of the X Worlds, so that you could download and read it (available only for AIESEC members registered on www.myaiesec.net).

Thus, there are three scientific articles about AIESEC published so far. But I suppose it is too early to put a “point” here. Therefore, the concluding phrase of this post is:

 

 

THAT IS MY X WORLD!

Several weeks have passed since I began my internship experience. There are many people interested in hearing about the country and city I am in, the project we are engaged in, the reception activities here, etc.

So, here is a short video about the past weeks of my internship in Craiova, Romania. Enjoy!

So, do YOU have YOURS?

MY SUCCESSION – REALIZATION!

“The Status of the EP CODE: EP-In-MD-MD-2009-1010 has been changed to Realized” – this short sentence might be a bit unclear and meaningless to the one not involved in the “eXchange” programme. However, for those, who had or currently having their internships through it, the phrase contains a good load of emotions, feelings, experience and successful results. Basically, it indicates that the respective person had arrived in the country of internship and started his/her work here – in other words, the agreement of internship between this person and certain company / project has been realized.

Talking about my realization, it is comprised of some interesting and sometimes humorous moments and events.

First thing to say here is that I had finally succeeded in obtaining the visa to Romania. On the same day I boarded a bus to Bucharest and was off to Moldova’s western neighbour. During the trip the bus driver had decided to add some “hot and spicy” entertainment to it and had showed us several funny videos with naked people and sexual background. I had watched them with an old lady from Italy, who had not shared driver’s preferences and humour.

At the Moldovan border another unexpected thing happened. The PC of the customs officer, who checked up and scanned our passports, shut down completely exactly after scanning my document. So, we had to wait for the officer to reboot the PC and restart the software.

The adventures continued not far away – at the Romanian border. Customs officers found two packs of cigarettes in the bus, which no one had claimed to be in possession of. The officers considered it to be a part of the contraband, so they arrested the bus and verified all luggage. Not finding anything they let us go in peace in about one hour.

Next on the schedule was a walk in Bucharest with a never-seen-before-girl, who had travelled to the western city of the country – Timisoara. Together we visited some interesting places in the Romanian capital, ate chicken crisps at the train station and played cards in the train to Craiova.

All this was the start of my “eXchange” experience. Nowadays I am fully involved in the project “Learn to Change the Future 2009” here, in Craiova, being a member of the international trainers team. We have already met all participants and attended the first Craiova City Tour, visiting the Science Museum of Oltenia with the exhibition of the local biosphere and the beautiful Nicolae Romanescu Park (formerly Bibescu Park) – the largest and most well-known park in the city.

Although the project “Learn to Change the Future 2009” is an Education Traineeship (ET) that usually means providing interns with salary enough to cover accommodation and meal only, the conditions here are quite good: a nice and cosy apartment with free Internet access and a fridge full of different food products is provided and some pocket money is given at the end of each month. Thus, the conditions are suitable both for a nice holiday and productive training work.

This is just a first quick look on my X World in Craiova, Romania. There are more exciting moments to experience, more interesting things to discover, more exciting events to attend… Therefore, more X World stories to post here.

THE SCIENCE OF AIESEC

 

“Entrepreneurial Preparation for Young IT Specialists in Moldova” – this is the name of the third scientific article of the AIESEC Moldova members, where the “eXchange” programme is indicated. The article displays the challenge of inadequate business preparation for IT students and describes the international project “OPEN i” as a solution here. It is written by the consortium of authors: Alexander Iscenco (that’s me) representing the Institute of Economy, Finance and Statistics; Ilie Dercaci as the president of the organizing committee (OC) of the project; Iulian Gulea, Tudor Tarlev, Elena Rurac – members of this organizing committee. The article is going to be presented at the scientific conference on the topic “Information and Communication Technologies in Education” of the State Institute of Continuous Education on 26^th – 27^th of June, 2009.

 

Stating that the above-mentioned article is the third one, I mean there are already two scientific publications about AIESEC and “eXchange” released.

The first one was presented at the First International Scientific Conference of Young Researchers in Moldova on the 27^th of June, 2008.

 

 

Its name – “New Opportunities for Moldovan Youth in Conditions of the European Integration” – indicates that the article reveals the advantages of the European integration for a country regarding the situation of its youth. The “eXchange” programme of AIESEC is mentioned here as an example of the opportunity to obtain practical experience in the European companies and organizations. The data on available and realized internships in the EU member countries in 2008 is presented. The article was published in the anthology of the conference publications in winter 2008.

The second article is dedicated to the international IT project of AIESEC Moldova “OPEN i”, as the third one already mentioned here. It was written with the scope to present the idea and concept of the project at the large-scale international scientific conference “ICT+ 2009: Information and Communication Technologies” that took place on the 18^th – 21^st of May, 2009. The event was organized by the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova and dedicated to the World IT Week.

 

 

The article is called “Opening the IT Business to the Moldovan Youth: Problems and Solutions” and tells the reader about the challenge of linking IT business and young specialists working in the respective field. The project “OPEN i” is given as an example of a system of actions aimed to solve the existing problems and overcome the challenge. There is a detailed description of the project implementation process with vision, mission, objectives and analysis of its impact on the development of IT business in the Republic of Moldova. The article is published in the book “Proceedings of the International Conference “Information and Communication Technologies 2009”. 1^st Edition” in May 2009.

Both articles are available in the Library of the X Worlds.

 

 

In conclusion, AIESEC with its “eXchange” programme definitely succeeds in delivering positive impact in society, which allows writing scientific articles about it. I hope these three works are only the beginning of a fruitful collaboration of Science and AIESEC in various domains. And I intend to contribute to it further on.