Success stories

Period of exchange: 07/2009 until 06/2010
Duration of exchange: 6 months

Fabio participated in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs pilot phase in order to to develop the product idea that was the result of his PhD studies in engineering. He established therefore a match with a Portuguese company that operates in high tech field with qualified managers and engineers. Bruno was looking for people that could bring fresh ideas to broaden the scope of the company and develop innovative products. Active Space Technologies offered him an internship position under its corporate social responsibility plan, where Fabio could test his readiness to run a company and understand the skills needed to operate internationally.

Fabio benefited from working with the host company to develop a product to recover energy, which is also the result of Fabio's previous research activity. The investigated new system could be placed in the facades of buildings or in the coverage of large industrial plants, with the dual purpose of shading and producing electricity. Fabio also had the chance to work directly on aeronautics projects helping Bruno, and exploring different aspects of business management and marketing (i.e. how to present a business plan according to the strategic targets and long term goals of the company and how to manage the team work). During the exchange, Fabio designed and developed an innovative system to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels. A prototype of the system is currently under development in a follow-up activity between Fabio and Bruno.This project enabled Bruno to enter the energy market having developed a green product (passive solar system) and left it very close to the market

Both Fabio and Bruno agree on defining this a win-win exchange. Fabio is satisfied with his improved language skills, understanding the business environment in other countries, a different engineering approach towards problems and challenges. Bruno admits that the programme brought benefits to his staff as they have been subject to a more international environment.
Bruno: "In particular, Fabio brought innovative ideas and philosophies, that he successfully used to develop his project and that allowed us to brainstorm and improve our ongoing projects.” The partnership with Active Space Technologies continues. The intention is to develop and patent Fabio’s prototype. The first thing Fabio and Bruno need to do now is to draft a request to access European funds to continue and extend the product improvement.