Embedded Files
Wednesday 5 February
Aaron Lad
In December, Iris and I travelled to Zaragoza in Spain for the Hydrogen Academy General Assembly (more about the project can be found here: The Hydrogen Academy). Being in Spain was not only a great chance for me to brush up on my Spanish, but also meet some of the other members of the consortium in person for the first time. Working online can make it difficult to form working relationships with colleagues on the project, so meeting other consortium members in a professional setting was a great way for me to get to know my colleagues and develop ideas for the project together.
I began working as the Technical Support for the Hydrogen Academy at Bertz Associates through a summer internship scheme at my university. As a student at the University of Birmingham, studying chemical engineering, I leapt at the opportunity to participate in a hydrogen-related project, especially one that had an impact in education and supporting the fight against climate change. After completing the hours for the internship, I continued working part-time on the project around my studies and have continued since then.
Tuesday 3 December
At 11am sharp I met Iris at Birmingham New Street. We grabbed a sandwich from M&S then caught a train straight to Birmingham International. Arriving at the airport, we waited in the long queue through security, and got aboard our plane to Barcelona.
Upon landing, we made our way into Barcelona city centre to catch our train to Zaragoza. With over an hour to spare before our train, Iris and I went to visit the Basílica de la Sagrada Família and grabbed some food from a German-Turkish kebab house with an Estrella in view of the stunning basílica. Rushing back to the train station on the underground, we made it just in time for the train to Zaragoza, and also saw one of our project partners Yousif Al-Sagheer on the same train. We were exhausted after a day of travelling, so upon arriving in Zaragoza at around 9:30pm, we caught a taxi to our hotel and went straight to bed.
Wednesday 4 December
With a 9am start looming, Iris and I met with our fellow work package partner Tiziana Altiero for breakfast in the hotel. One of my key aims of being in Spain was to experience some of the local cuisine, so when I saw pan con tomate and tortilla española at breakfast I was thrilled to try them. Over breakfast we discussed the upcoming presentation for our work package, and how best to convey to other consortium members how they can support the schools network. As the Hydrogen Academy is a European-wide project, understanding and contacting schools outside of the UK can be difficult, due to different education systems and curriculums. Therefore, knowledge of the education system in other countries is crucial to building our schools network, and so it’s something that we wanted to ask other partners for their assistance with.
We then took a short 10 minute walk from the hotel to the lovely restaurant La Buganvilla to meet the rest of the consortium for a small breakfast. After trying more of the local cuisine and having my second cup of coffee of the day, we spent the rest of the day receiving updates from each work package on their progress, broken up by lunch at La Buganvilla again. My increased understanding of the scope of the Hydrogen Academy from these work package updates has been invaluable! Schools that we contact often want to know more about what they will gain from being part of the Hydrogen Academy, so knowledge of what is currently occurring in other work packages is incredible to encourage schools to get involved.
Exhausted after a long day of work, myself, Iris and Tiziana visited the nearby Christmas markets for some relaxation. Whilst in the UK we have nativity scenes that you can interact with, nothing prepared me for the immersive walk-through nativity scene we experienced, filled with stunning scenery and even a real river. In the background of this was the incredible Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar, containing 2 unexploded bombs that were dropped on it during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Returning to the hotel, we had a short break to relax before heading out for dinner at La Buganvilla again with the rest of the consortium. I had engaging and insightful conversations with many of our partners, including Markus Lermen, who is Head of Vocational Training at DVGW, and Daria Vladikova, Chair of the Bulgarian Hydrogen, Fuel Cell and Energy Storage Association. In particular, we discussed creative ways that we can reach schools and universities across Europe, and the importance of appreciating and catering to different languages in the network.
Thursday 5 December
Another early wake-up beckoned us, with an 8am meet at a bus stop for a trip to Fundación para el Desarrollo de las Nuevas Technologías del Hidrógeno en Aragón in Huesca. Following workshops on our website and social media channels, we had a tour of the facilities and equipment, including a PEMWE electrolyser, PEM fuel cell and hydrogen refueling stations. This was particularly interesting for me, as my dissertation subject is around recycling PEMWE electrolysers, so I took keen notes on the subject. It was also interesting to see a hydrogen refuelling station, as the technology has been discussed in my university lectures and by Professor Robert Steinberger-Wilckens (the Hydrogen Academy lead) in an upcoming hydrogen video produced by Bertz Associates.
After lunch we all headed back to the Zaragoza train station, where many of the consortium members headed back to either Barcelona or Madrid for flights or to explore the cities. Myself, Iris and Tiziana, however, had decided to stay in Zaragoza for another day so we could discuss more ideas and work together on the project for longer, so we headed back into the town centre with Markus for a coffee, before heading back to the hotel briefly.
That evening, Iris, Tiziana, Markus, Davide Trapani (another of the consortium members) and I met in the city centre. After a look around the Christmas markets and Zaragoza highstreet, we grabbed a few drinks and some food on El Tubo - a very narrow street in Zaragoza, famous for having the best tapas. We talked the night away, eating incredible tapas and talking about the project as well as differing cultures in Europe. After saying our goodbyes to Davide and Markus, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.
Friday 6 December
Tiziana’s flight was around midday, so myself and Iris met her for breakfast in the hotel in the morning. More pan con tomate was definitely the perfect way to reflect on the past few days and also plan our next steps for recruiting schools into the project. Upon saying our goodbyes to Tiziana, Iris and I went to pack our bags before meeting in the hotel lobby to do some work together. After sending some emails to interested schools and creating a document for all consortium members to add their social media accounts that they would like to be tagged in for content relating to the project, we then left our bags at the hotel and headed out into the town centre.
Whilst looking up and down the streets, we found Churrisimo, a cafe specialising in churros and hot chocolates. Nothing could prepare me for the insane taste of churros and an authentic Bailey’s hot chocolate made with lots of chocolate and a lot less sugar than in the UK. Walking along the river after, we enjoyed the Spanish sunshine and a park just outside of the main city centre, whilst reflecting on the benefit of the general assembly for us and what we would like to accomplish before the next general assembly.
We walked back to the hotel to collect our bags before heading off to Zaragoza station to catch our train back to Barcelona and our plane to Birmingham.
The Zaragoza Blog
I’ve had an incredible time in Zaragoza, meeting all of the project partners and exploring the local culture. Between the authentic food and trying to improve my Spanish, I’ve definitely loved Zaragoza and I will definitely visit again, given the opportunity. The benefit of the general assembly on my understanding of the Hydrogen Academy and my improved relationship with our project partners has been indescribable and I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to work with such passionate and inspiring people. Thank you Zaragoza, and hopefully I will be back one day!
Page updated
Report abuse