Interview by Shaun Weston Nystrom

Jens Christoffersen is the lead organizer of the VELUX Daylight Academic Forum and joined the VELUX Group in 2010, where he works in the Daylight, Energy and Indoor Climate group (DEIC), Stakeholder Communications & Sustainability.

What is the VELUX Daylight Academic Forum and what does it offer PhD students?

For the 4^th time, the VELUX Daylight Academic Forum will provide an opportunity for PhD students to receive constructive feedback on their daylight research while establishing and strengthening their academic and professional network. The forum strengthens collaboration, globally, with PhD students working with daylight, their supervisors and the universities while encouraging quality daylight research.

This year, students will share presentations of their PhD projects individually in smaller groups and engage in constructive discussions with other students and a panel of scientific experts to receive valuable feedback and direction. Keep in mind, only ongoing PhD projects at the time of the event are eligible for participation.

Students who attend the VELUX Daylight Academic Forum will also have the opportunity to register and take part in the 7^th VELUX Daylight Symposium. The theme of the symposium will be “Healthy & Climate-Friendly Architecture – from knowledge to practice” and will include presentations from research, as well as experiences and viewpoints from engineering and architectural practice as well as policy makers – covering a range of aspects related to the use of daylight, while considering people, politics, economy and scale.

How is the Academic Forum different than a conference or seminar?

The VELUX Academic Forum offers each PhD student a significant session devoted to their research and includes constructive discussions with senior researchers. These sessions will focus on the aims and methods of research, instead of the results, so the student can produce better outcomes. We have also tried to make the forum more accessible by removing all registration/admittance fees and ensure a relaxed atmosphere so the students can collaborate readily and have a productive dialogue around their work.

What kind of research projects are ideal for the Academic Forum?

All PhD students currently working with daylight in their PhD research are relevant to the VELUX Academic Forum.

What is the best part about the VELUX Academic Forum?

We see the forum as a great opportunity to encourage the next generation of researchers to improve their daylight research and to advance the knowledge of daylight, so that we can continuously improve the quality of buildings, where we normally spend up to 90% of our time inside. It is always exciting to see the daylight research of students from around the world and to experience the positive energy they bring with their projects.

How can PhD students register for the VELUX Academic Forum?

We invite all PhD students working with daylight in their projects to come and share their experiences with fellow students as well as an invited panel of leading scientific researchers on 2 May 2017 at Technische Universität Berlin.

Students can submit their abstracts by email to thedaylightsite@velux.com before 1 February 2017.