Søren Sørensen - Assistant Professor

Why did you choose to work at the Department of Business Development and Technology?

At the Department of Business Development and Technology, I get a unique opportunity to work in fields where I can apply, exploit and combine my work experience and my educational experience as an engineer and as a graduate of the MBA programme and the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD). 

What is your area of expertise and what will you be doing here?

I will be teaching and supervising on the Business Development Engineer programme among others. I will also be supervising and offering advice to students in the student incubator Business Factory.  In other words, I will be using a technical conceptual framework to contribute to teaching and supervision in relation to developing new business opportunities, entrepreneurships and strategies. I will also be teaching in fields where it makes sense in relation to my work experience and educational background. 

What is your educational background?

I graduated as an engineer specialising in high voltage from Aarhus Teknikum, now Aarhus University School of Engineering. Since then, I have supplemented my studies with the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD) from Aarhus School of Business and an Executive MBA in change management also from Aarhus School of Business/University of Southern Denmark. In addition, I have supplemented my MBA with degree programmes at e.g. INSEAD and Board Governance. 

What have you done before?

I have worked in the field of energy and green tech for most of my career. In my very first engineering job, I worked as an energy consultant focusing on how to optimise the energy consumption of large electricity customers. I was one of the first people in Denmark to be employed in this field when the energy companies began to focus on how to optimise the electricity consumption as an alternative to expanding the power plants. My job was to initiate activities, develop strategies and targets as well as implement the concept of integrated resource management. 

When EU began liberalising the market for electricity, I was appointed chief engineer for the electricity and water supply in the City of Aarhus. Here I was responsible for optimising the two supply areas. In relation to the water supply, we focused on the water quality and on extending the capacity of the water works. In relation to the electricity supply, we focused on technical optimisation and preparing the system for the future liberalisation of the electricity market.

In 2000, a number of energy companies in and around Aarhus merged into NRGI A.m.b.a. I chose to become part of the new company, initially as technical director and later on as the head of business development and finally as the CEO of the entire company. In NRGI, the liberalisation of the sector contributed to creating a significant focus on strategy and business development. This includes the start up of brand new business areas such as WUPTI.com, Waoo and investments in wind projects, etc. 

Since completing my MBA just over ten years ago, I have wanted to make a move into academia. For this reason, I made an agreement with the board of NRGI three years ago that allowed me to explore these new possibilities from May 2017. I still have a few board duties at NRGI, but I will be completing these within the next year.

In 2017/18, I have had the pleasure of working as an external lecturer teaching strategy on the GMM and the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD). I have also been teaching innovation and entrepreneurship at Business Academy Aarhus.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, your family and your leisure activities.

I’m originally from Varde where my parents had a farm. Today, I live with my family in the small village of Stenderup between Horsens and Hedensted. We live in an old house from 1870, which is called Teglværkshuset(the Brick House). I live with Hanne and we have two girls; Katrine who’s 20 and Emma who’s 17. In our spare time, we mainly spend time with family and friends or go on extended trips e.g. to Burma and China.