Nicole Bird, Iceland

Engineering, Reykjavik University

I worked on the Compile on the Luče Energy Community project during my internship at LEST as part of my thesis research. It was a new topic for me so I was worried about feeling lost, but I gained a lot of knowledge and experience working with solar energy and batteries that I probably would not have learned in a classroom. I gained experience coding in Python with the help of Chloe Fournely, who guided me through the data cleaning process and helped me with any errors that occurred. Additionally, I learned new terminology and concepts regarding energy supply and solar energy production and how the integration of batteries and energy production, and different loads affect the grid.

I also had the opportunity to write a paper regarding this research for the upcoming EEM22 conference. I enjoyed the work environment of the office and everyone was friendly and helpful, and unless there were meetings, you were able to ask questions and get help when needed without having to schedule meetings, which was very nice as it allowed me to make more progress on my research.

The Compile Project hosted a winter school at the university that I was able to participate in where I was able to meet people from other countries who have similar interests in this field and learn more about energy communities and solar installations and do a site visit to Luče. I really appreciate the opportunity I was given to work on this project for my thesis.

Additionally, Ljubljana is an amazing city.  I enjoyed walking downtown along the river and eating at one of the cafés or restaurants along the river. Preseren Square is really nice and I always enjoyed walking through there because there is this man who plays the accordion almost every day and I enjoy walking around there and hearing him play it. It is also a great location because you can easily hop on a bus or train and see the amazing sites in Slovenia for just a 1 to 2-hour ride so it is a great location for doing day trips on the weekends.

It was also nice meeting other international students. The international office (ESN) plans a lot of trips and activities for students and it is a great opportunity to meet other people and see and experience new things in Slovenia. I also really enjoyed trying new foods and going into the Julian Alps for skiing and eating delicious foods at some of the small restaurants and lodges there. I really enjoyed my time in the country and in the office.