Francesco Merlini on the ENPOWER Summer School Experience
The ENPOWER Summer School at KU Leuven welcomed researchers and practitioners from across Europe from 9-12 September. Among the participants was Francesco Merlini, an economics graduate at UNIMC and young entrepreneur.
Francesco arrived eager to expand his toolkit in sustainable energy and found the programme both practical and transformative. He highlighted the AI workshop as a standout moment: “I found it fascinating to understand how these models, which can seem almost alive, are actually based on very specific configurations and rules. Learning where they come from and how they are created was truly eye-opening”. That new clarity has prompted Francesco to consider developing and training an AI system within his own startup, an outcome he describes as directly useful and unexpectedly attainable.
Beyond technical learning, Francesco emphasised the value of interdisciplinary exchange and international collaboration. He cited lively discussions with participants from diverse backgrounds (engineers, social scientists, and policy students) as a key benefit, and singled out the informal group dinner as a memorable moment that deepened personal connections and fostered future cooperation. “The best way to tackle energy poverty is by joining forces and working together”, he said, reflecting the Summer School’s core message.
The ENPOWER Summer School combined lectures, hands-on labs, and site visits (including EnergyVille), offering participants a balanced programme of theory, practice and networking. Francesco described the overall experience as “life-changing”, and expressed hope that ENPOWER will continue to grow and support future cohorts of interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners.
