Well we have already had four of our new MSc students talk about themselves and why they came to Imperial to study Sustainable Energy Futures with us here at Energy Futures Lab. Well now we have another international bunch, hailing from Indonesia, Spain, France and Thailand (via the U.S.).


Merdiani Aghnia Mokobombang
I completed my bachelor degree in Bioengineering at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Indonesia. It was during my time in university that my interests in renewable energy and climate change arose. I have been actively involved in student organization and have worked in an event organisation company building on my passion for marketing and business industry. By studying for the Sustainable Energy Futures master’s degree I intend to broaden my knowledge due to its multi-disciplinary approach to renewable energy. I have been lucky enough to have been awarded a scholarship from Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education to pursue the MSc. I believe the future of energy belongs to those who can see the energy as a whole, including its technology, economy, policy, and industry. In the near future, I hope to bring a new perspective and make an improvement of energy sector in my country. My particular areas of interest are in bioenergy, solar technology, climate change and environmental policy, renewable energy business and economy and renewable energy in developing countries.

Aitor Soler Garcia
I am from Bilbao in Spain and studied mechanical engineering (Ingeniería Industrial) at the University of the Basque Country with a specialisation in energy science. In my third and fourth years I was part of Formula Student Bizkaia team, where we design, build and test an electric racing car to compete at Formula Student in the UK and Spain. I also spent one semester at the University of Maryland as an exchange student. Finally, I did an internship of six months at INDELCASA where I wrote my thesis about design and sizing of plate heat exchangers and, after finishing the degree, I worked at IDOM for 9 months as a mechanical engineer on the design of a combine cycle power plant. At that point, I decided that I would like to continue studying to improve my understanding of the big picture of the energy problem. So, I got a scholarship from Fundación Iberdrola to study the MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures, where I would like to study the impact of electric cars in electricity generation from renewable sources.

Vincent Cloitre
I am French and all of my previous study was in France before arriving in the UK for this Master Program. Because I was interested in science in high school I decided to enter a preparatory school. I had there a very intensive training in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science to take the competitive exams for the entrance into an engineering school (one of the French “grandes écoles”). After I took these exams I entered the École Polytechnique located near Paris. In my two first years I followed a very general engineer training. I took Applied Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics and Computer Science courses. In my third year at Polytechnique I decided to specialize in Energy Engineering. As a requirement for my engineer degree, I have to do a Master outside of my home university. I chose to do the MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures at Imperial College because I really liked my specialization at Polytechnique : The energy field involves important social issues that needs engineer solutions. After the MSc is finished I am not sure if I want to do a PhD to do research on a specific sustainable energy or if I want to work straight after that. I am particularly interested in working on energy policies and organization at the governmental level.

Jidapa Ratanayanon
I was born in Bangkok, Thailand but when I was 15 years old, I moved to the U.S. I studied for my bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota. During my undergraduate years, I got interested in the renewable energy topics so I took a couple classes about renewable energy technologies and had a school field trip to Norway, Denmark, and Iceland to see their methods of green energy production. I found the sustainable energy industry to be really interesting and decided to come to Imperial College to learn more about it. I am really excited to see where the sustainable energy industry is moving toward and I want to be a part of the movement as well.