Killian McKenna, a UCD PhD student from Dublin, and member of the UCD Engineering Graduates Association Board, has fought off competition from students from across Europe to win a
prestigious European award in Berlin.
Killian, who is representing the all-island electricity sector at
a European level, was awarded the 2015 EURELECTRIC Student Award. At the
official award ceremony in Berlin, he presented his winning submission to the
400 delegates.
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| Pat O'Doherty, ESB Chief Executive, Killian McKenna, and Hans ten Berge, Secretary General of EURELECTRIC - the European Electricity Association |
Aged 25 and from Glenageary, Killian was chosen as the Electricity
Association of Ireland (EAI) entrant for this year’s Award. It followed his
success in the national competition sponsored by ESB in which students from
Northern Ireland and Ireland participated.
Entrants to the European stage of the competition were invited to
submit an essay with the title ‘Dinosaurs of the past or innovators of the
future? Designing digital strategies for electricity companies to engage
domestic customers.’ An expert panel judged Killian’s entry to be the overall
winner from among those entered across Europe.
EAI Chief Executive Owen Wilson said: “We’re delighted to see
Killian win this award. It’s a wonderful recognition of the standard of young
graduates on the island, on a par with those across Europe. Delivering
sustainable energy is critical for the future of all our economies and the
environment and it’s wonderful that we have a new generation of people, like
Killian, with the knowledge and enthusiasm to help solve some of the many
challenges facing the industry.”
Killian, a PhD student at the Electricity Research Centre at
University College Dublin (UCD), said: “I’m thrilled to receive this award.
It’s a real pleasure to represent my island and our electricity industry in
Europe. I’ve found the whole experience extremely thought provoking and
enjoyable. I’ll be leaving Berlin with lots of ideas, which I hope to be able
to apply to my own research.”
ESB Chief Executive, Pat O’Doherty added: “I would like to
congratulate Killian on winning this coveted award. We at ESB are immensely
proud to see such talent from Ireland being recognised on the international
stage. The 2015 EURELECTRIC Student Award is just the beginning for Killian and
we wish him enormous success in his career.”
Introducing the award Hildegarde Mueller, Secretary General of the
German electricity industry association said “the finalists today are the
future of the industry. They will provide the innovative solutions to the
challenges of delivering a sustainable, secure and affordable energy supply”.
EURELECTRIC is the sector association which represents the common
interests of the electricity industry at a pan-European level. EAI is the
representative body for the electricity sector operating within the Single
Electricity Market (SEM) on the island of Ireland.
Killian’s own research looks at the potential impacts for the
distribution network of customers taking greater control over their electricity
demand.
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