Five questions for Professor Christian Franck
"Inspired by the best": we are taking a closer look at what we claim to be. What are the sources of inspiration in continuing education, and where are they found? Professor Christian Franck, lecturer in the CAS ETH programme in Applied Technology in Energy, provides the first contribution. He says that the tremendous curiosity of participants and their high level of commitment took him by surprise.
School for Continuing Education (SCE): What drives your projects and your work?
Professor Christian Franck: One of the things which drives me is pure curiosity: I love getting to the bottom of things, understanding how the world and nature function and then applying this knowledge to something new. Another is my hope that the work of my group can contribute to the urgently needed transformation of our energy system, not only through our research and the training of young engineers but also by conveying knowledge to industry and the wider public.
What, or who, particularly inspired you at ETH Zurich?
Rather than any single person or thing, it is the incredible array of outstanding competences and facilities which repeatedly inspires me. Drawing inspiration from other disciplines for one’s own research is enormously fruitful. And the possibility to simply use the infrastructure of other groups, or for other groups to use ours, is extremely helpful in seeing beyond one’s own discipline.
Can you summarise the added value of your continuing education programme in one sentence?
With younger students I only have to consider what knowledge they will need in their future careers. CAS participants, on the other hand, ask questions during the course on topics which are already relevant to them in their current working lives. I can bring this dynamic into my lectures (and if applicable also into our research).
What has surprised or impressed you the most during the (current) continuing education programme?
The tremendous curiosity of participants and their high level of commitment have surprised me. The majority of younger ETH students are also very motivated and eager for knowledge, but CAS participants attend courses with a specific goal and context in mind. For this reason they ask many more questions – and more concrete questions – in lectures which diverge from the actual course content.
How will we transmit electricity in the future?
In my opinion the key question is not "how", but rather "how much electrical energy will we transmit in the future?". To achieve the required CO2 emission reduction targets, the answer to that question would be "much more than today". For this scenario we will need to use all the means at our disposal: existing and new cables, under- and above-ground delivery, and electricity which is both decentral from nearby and from regions further away where large amounts of renewable energy are available to us at reasonable prices.
Information about the CAS ETH in Applied Technology in Energy
