Dr Nicola Marchetti, Professor in Wireless Communications at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), recently spent one month on secondment in Volue, Espoo, Finland as part of the COALESCE project. Volue is a leading supplier of technology offering software, insight and services that lead the European markets’ transition to robust and sustainable services critical for society. The aim of Dr Nicola’s secondment was to establish a common understanding on what the industry focus and views are in terms of joint communication-energy systems operation, with respect to linking energy systems and markets.
During his time in Finland Dr Nicola discussed collaboration opportunities between TCD and Volue with Development Manager Dr Amir Safdarian, elaborating on the technical areas that future secondments of TCD PhD students to Volue could focus on. This included promising topics such as energy efficient techniques in 6G, and an AI-based communication system for smart grid networks. Volue can provide optimal device operating conditions from an energy viewpoint, and help define specifications, practical assumptions, and business motivation for research conducted by the students.
Dr Nicola also visited LUT University in Lappeenranta and worked with Professor of IoT in Energy Systems Pedro Nardelli’s team, mainly on refining the description, data and models, key performance indicators, and requirements for the four COALESCE targeted use cases.
Dr Nicola explained, “The secondment helped me to better understand Volue’s business perspective on energy systems and markets, and what their main problems of interest are. I also made progress on the use case and requirements definition by discussing this with colleagues at LUT University. I became more aware of many nuances in relation to energy systems, especially with respect to energy markets.” He added, “I also had the opportunity to travel to Helsinki, Espoo, Kouvola, and Lappeenranta, enjoying the beauty of the Finnish forests and landscape. I visited the international food market, and explored the Lake Saimaa in the Lappeenranta region, among many other landmarks.” Going forward Dr Nicola looks forward to collaborating with Volue and LUT University further, working on defining research problems for the relevant TCD PhD students to ensure they are aligned with the project and company’s objectives and interests, in view of secondments planned in the coming 6 to 12 months. He will also work to continue refining and consolidating the COALESCE use cases, including their architecture and requirements.
Main photo caption: Dr Pedro Goria Silva (LUT University), Dr Nicola Marchetti (TCD) and Prof Pedro Nardelli (LUT University)
