Beckie Cargill (above centre) tells us about her trip to an international wind energy exhibition.
As if the Norstec Academy carousel wasn’t enough – I found myself flying to Hamburg for three days to attend WindEnergy Hamburg 2014! Flying at 8:30am, I was lucky enough to bump into Julian Brown, Chairman of Norstec, who helped me find my way to the Messe.
The building wasn’t one you easily miss. I wasn’t sure what to think at first – I couldn’t believe how many hundreds of companies had invested in this. The stands ranged from small and simple to meeting areas, presentations and demonstrations – all in aid of the on- and offshore wind industry. I’d never seen anything like it.
I was based at the UK pavilion, helping to meet and greet people and point them in the right direction for information. This was a huge international trade fair, where people showed their interest in working with and investing in other companies and countries.
The first night, I was in bed as fast as possible, having been awake for 36 hours. The second night, however, I was lucky enough to attend a high-level industry networking dinner hosted by Senvion. As a student, it was very exciting to encounter this new corporate world, and I had conversations with many interesting people. The evening was even rounded off with a visit to to the bar where The Beatles first played!
On my last day, Andrew Bellamy from AREVA Wind UK took me round several stands to help me to talk to people about a potential career in the wind industry. I found that being with a a company representative meant that a lot more interest was shown in me a s a student, and I was able to talk to a few companies and get a few ideas on what area of the industry I might like to work in when I graduate.
A glamorous introduction to the wind industry for a student!
