Vestas Technology R&D launches a Global University Programme
Press release from
Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Randers, 19 May 2008
Press release No. 5/2008
Vestas Technology R&D launches a Global University Programme
Vestas sponsors a global university programme promoting greater cooperation with
leading universities worldwide.
Through the coming years, Vestas Technology R&D will sponsor an increasing
number of professors, PhDs, and master's thesis students from leading
universities worldwide as part of this programme.
The purpose of the Global University Programme is to expand Vestas' cooperation
with universities and thus accelerate its global innovative wind power research.
Thereby, Vestas strives to obtain the most recent knowledge within wind power
technology and the most qualified manpower in the future.
Vestas Technology R&D, the wind industry's largest research and development
unit, is experiencing a rapid growth. In addition to the expansion of the
Technology Research Centre's headquarters in Denmark, Vestas Technology R&D is
also expanding internationally. Vestas has already research centres located in
Singapore, India, UK and Germany, and in 2009, a new research centre will be
established in the USA.
It is Vestas' experience that independent university wind power research can
positively contribute to Vestas' development of highly innovative new wind power
solutions. Finn Strøm Madsen, President of Vestas Technology R&D, says:
“Increased cooperation with universities worldwide is a natural consequence of
our growth. We are highly interested in working closely with leading researchers
worldwide in order to ensure that we maintain our position as the leading
supplier of wind energy solutions and reinforce the recruitment of the brightest
students from these universities.”
Vestas is currently cooperating with several universities worldwide, including
the Technical University of Denmark/RISOE and Aalborg University in Denmark,
Cambridge University and Imperial College London in the UK, Delft University of
Technology in Holland, Tsinghua University in China and Nanyang Technological
University in Singapore.
For the last decades, Vestas Technology R&D has worked closely together with
Danish universities, which have some of the world's leading wind power research
groups. Frede Blaabjerg, Dean, Aalborg University, says: “Cooperation with the
business sector enables us to work with relevant issues that can be used in
practice. Together with Vestas Technology R&D, we are able to develop the best
high-tech wind power solutions of the future.”
Following Vestas Technology R&D's international expansion, the company is
continuously developing new cooperation agreements with international university
partners. As an example, Vestas has recently started to work with the School of
Materials Science and Engineering of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
in Singapore.
Professor Freddy Boey Yin Chiang, Dean, NTU, says: “Vestas is a world leader in
wind energy solutions and we are glad they have found it compelling to work with
NTU, leveraging on NTU's strong research competencies in clean energy
technology. Certainly, NTU is proud to be associated with a global player like
Vestas, and we believe our partnership will provide timely technological
solutions to today's urgent energy needs.”
The Global University Programme will sponsor professors, PhDs and master's
thesis students from leading universities worldwide that Vestas wants to
initiate and develop cooperation with. The programme will also intensify Vestas'
cooperation with the already existing university partners.
Global calls for applications under Vestas Technology R&D's Global University
Programme can be found at www.vestas.com / Jobs / Education and research /
Global University Programme.
For further information, please contact Finn Strøm Madsen, President of Vestas
Technology R&D, telephone +45 9730 0000, or visit Vestas' website:
www.vestas.com.
Yours sincerely
Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Finn Strøm Madsen
President, Technology R&D
Vestas - No. 1 in Modern Energy
Wind power is a renewable, predictable and clean energy resource. It has a fast
ramp-up and offers the energy independence demanded by some of world's largest
and fastest growing economies. This is why Vestas calls wind power Modern
Energy.
With a 23 per cent market share in 2007, Vestas is the world leader in
delivering Modern Energy. Vestas has already installed over 35,000 wind turbines
in 63 countries on five continents and it is installing a new turbine every four
hours. In 2007, Vestas turbines generated more than 60 million MWh - or enough
electricity to supply millions of households. During the last 25 years, Vestas
has improved the output of its turbines 100 times and is still continuously
improving turbine effectiveness. This is why Vestas is No.1 in Modern Energy.
