Researchers

Johanna Zeller (TUHH)

Seconded from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) to UPTEC, Porto and to RMIT Europe, Barcelona

1 month, Winter 2022 and 2 months Summer 2022

The focus of my research is on the process of implementing the Circular Economy (CE) in companies and cities. More specifically, I am analyzing how innovation and cooperation between different actors can facilitate CE, using the construction sector as an example. Seeing how other countries implement CE concepts and comparing the process with my experiences from Germany is very inspiring and brings new exciting insights.

As a research assistant at the Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at the Hamburg University of Technology, I spent one month at UPTEC in Porto and two months at RMIT EU in Barcelona. These partners were the perfect choice to get insights into the work of international researchers and to benefit from an interdisciplinary network also with industries.

I enjoyed the secondments a lot. I was able to meet like-minded people from all kinds of organisations such as research institutions, start-ups, collaborative partnerships, and independent companies in different countries, learn from them, and gain new insights for my current and future research.

I can definitely recommend an OpenInnoTrain secondment to all those researchers and practitioners who want to broaden their horizons and learn new perspectives from industry and academia in different countries and environments.