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Knowledge transfer partnership: Person of the year

It is with great pleasure and pride that we announce one of our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) associates, Dr. Olivia Zeng, who has been working at Powerstar as a Power System Engineer throughout the project has been nominated for the KTP person of the year award.

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership is a three-way working relationship between a company, a graduate and a University. The partnership receives Government backing from Innovate UK and is a national scheme designed to help companies innovate and develop new products or services to gain a competitive advantage in their environments whilst providing the graduate with the support to deploy their specialist knowledge and skills through real-life applications throughout the lifecycle of a project.

In her role as a Power System Engineer, Olivia has worked tirelessly to transfer and embed her knowledge gained from her PhD in Control and Power Electronics from Sheffield Hallam University to the benefit of Powerstar. Olivia’s skills in leadership and project management have been pivotal in helping the business to further refine its commercial project offering.

This is best demonstrated through Olivia’s work as an integral commissioning team member for a 1MWh VIRTUE solution in which she helped coordinate the international project team and develop the detailed task plan, resulting in a shortened period for production of the VIRTUE which was welcomed by all involved parties.

Additionally, Olivia’s expertise enables her to solve complex problems rapidly and this has been something which she has put to good use through her customer liaison responsibilities. Through this, Olivia has been fundamental in identifying the solutions that are required to improve the energy profile of a site and how such solutions can and should be implemented.

Commenting on her nomination Olivia said, “I am very proud to be nominated for this award and to be recognised for how I have applied my knowledge commercially.”

The Knowledge Transfer partnership has benefitted both Powerstar and Olivia hugely and we consider ourselves privileged to have Olivia working with us and being able to put her expertise to such creative and effective use.

Chief Technical Officer, Solon Mardapittas, who leads the research and development departments of the business commented: “Aside from her professional qualities, Olivia is a joy to work with and we wish her all the best following her nomination for this award.”