From maintenance of missiles and cannons to tests of materials in the laboratories of DTU Wind Energy. Research technician Kenneth Algart is going to celebrate his 25 years state anniversary on 18 July.
With 23 years in the Navy, Kenneth Algart has a background which is a little different than most of his colleagues at DTU Wind Energy. Here, he is a Research Technician in “Testlab” at DTU’s campus at Risø but originally, he served his apprenticeship as an electrical engineer in the Navy. “When I was young I wished to go to sea to see the world”, says Kenneth Algart. Consequently, when a friend encouraged him to apply for an apprenticeship at the Navy, he did so. After the apprenticeship he continued working in the Navy as an electrical engineer, maintaining the weapons of the Navy, cannons and missiles among other things. After six years as a weapons technician on land, he changed course to ship electrician and began working as such on board one of the navy's ships. Two years later, he went ashore again to work for a mobile logistical unit that, in Kenneth's words, "went out and repaired ships close to conflict zones, yet without being in the front line". After a total of 23 years of service in the Navy, once again he wanted to grapple with somewhere new. One day - when he was on a mission in Cyprus - he applied for a new job and joined the company Scanbur. Here he installed machines and worked as a foreman.
From his home in Gundsømagle he often drove past Risø and curiously looked at the row of wind turbines. "I liked the idea of sustainable energy and the idea of making a difference", Kenneth says. In 2018, he got a job as a Research Technician at DTU Wind Energy, where he currently is working on testing materials in collaboration with the researchers in the Section of Composite Materials at the Department of Wind Energy or with customers from the industry. He has indeed settled in: "I got a very good reception and today, I have got many good colleagues", he says, elaborating: "You are always part of the team, and I like that." He is also pleased with the content of the work: “I have got an interesting job with the opportunity of developing my skills. For example, I have been asked to start designing in a so-called CAD program, which is a 3D program. This means that I have to attend courses”, says Kenneth.
When asked about similarities and differences from the Navy to DTU Wind Energy as a workplace, Kenneth soberly answers that “DTU is not a command system. Here, we discuss matters more, compared to the culture at the Navy, and it fits the environment that we are in: Research takes time. You cannot accelerate results in research because some processes simply cannot be speeded up. For example, if you are testing a material and you have got to pull the workpiece two million times, then you just have to wait for it. I had to get used to that way of doing things”, says Kenneth. At the end of the interview, we talk a bit about Kenneth's life after his working hours. Here, he takes care of his house and garden and he finds the time to play badminton, too.