A summer of trying a little and learning a lot

As an MSc student of Marine Technology, Felix Dietrichson says it is his dream to work in shipping, an industry with a great history and full of possibilities, and to be involved on projects that focus on making the planet greener. Alexander de Groot, an MSc student of Financial Economics is a big believer in the power of data and economics and the role it has to play in shipping. Completing the team is Olav Andreas Fog Braathen, an MSc student of Business Economics, who states that he wants his future to be playing a role in an industry where the focus on clean and healthy oceans is considered a top priority.

On spending their summer with us, the students commented the company values were a big motivator. They point out, “the values speak highly, especially ‘curiosity’, having the freedom to take our own initiative and to explore possible new solutions and business opportunities means to ‘try a little and learn a lot’ fits very well for us this summer.”

Working on today’s challenges

The students agree that getting to zero is the biggest challenge shipping is facing right now and say, “such an energy-demanding industry is dependent on innovative solutions and the emergence of either greener fuels or alternative sources of energy in the future. Stricter requirements from authorities and business partners are likely, and a great challenge will be to meet this challenge while creating lasting advantages over competitors.”

Dietrichson, who be lending his analytical skills to KCC’s ongoing energy efficiency program adds, “at the same time, it cannot be too costly that the economy cannot stand it,” and teases he is researching several potential new solutions that may hold promise.

De Groot and Braathen will primarily work on data fueled initiatives to explore potential new business projects, build financial models, and optimize existing workflows in KCC.

How can we improve the future of shipping?

For the industry to reach its goals, the students are firm believers in two things – collaboration and being smart with resources.

They agree, “we have to work together to reach the net zero goal, the whole shipping industry together with governments and regulators needs to rally around this and realize we cannot afford not to help each other, nor wait for the right solution to just appear.” They added, “the effective allocation of resources will also be crucial, the role this has played over the last two centuries has seen a tremendous increase in wealth seen across the globe, and shipping is all about allocating resources. Data and economics will play a vital role in understanding how efficiency measures can be implemented in cost efficient ways that lead to real differences.”