Osaru hails from Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. He began his studies in June 2018, completing his viva in June 2021.
Osaru had a background in both Electrical Engineering and Software Engineering. Before embarking on his PhD, he served as a Lecturer in Electrical Power Systems at the University of Benin for three years. He also worked with several electricity network companies and consulted for several renewable energy projects. Osaru also founded a Software Development Company with a Code Academy, where he worked as a Senior Software Engineer, developing desktop, web and mobile applications.
Osaru’s PhD focused on ‘Assessing Demand Flexibility as a new Business Model for Decarbonizing Social Housing’, with the aim of developing new non-traditional business models for capturing the value of consumer-owned flexibility and tackling issues such as fuel poverty.
What attracted you to complete your PhD in this area?
Electricity is one of the most important enablers for industrial development and better standard of living. It is the backbone of any thriving society. However, we need to generate electricity from cleaner sources to avoid major environmental and climate issues. Technological advancement in computing, machine learning and distributed systems could help solve the problem of integrating renewable energy.
I decided to do a PhD to gain expertise in smart energy systems and evolve my research and software development skills in the sector.
What attracted you to study at Ulster University?
Ulster University is one of the top research and innovation universities in the UK, with 100% satisfaction from students between 2014-2019. The Centre for Sustainable Technology is filled with experts in the research area and has strong ties with the industry. The project was developed in strong collaboration with businesses and research institutes.
What were your expectations for study and were these met?
I began my study with expectations of becoming an expert in smart energy systems, publishing in high impact journals, and creating impact beyond academic publications by developing innovative software tools to solve energy system problems for businesses and stakeholders.
My expectations were exceeded, and I enjoyed the program. I received support from my supervisors, colleagues, and other members of staff. I was consistently provided with training, networking platform, opportunities for self-development. All these helped me deliver my thesis within the specified time.
What were the highlights/lowlights of the programme?
I developed the Northern Ireland Demand Flexibility Map, an interactive tool for spatio-temporal assessment of demand flexibility needs, opportunities and response potentials to help system planners develop an effective flexibility strategy and implementation pathway for Northern Ireland.
I collaborated with several stakeholders (NieNetworks, Northern Ireland Housing Executives, SONI, Eirgrid, Utility Regulator, Energia, Climote Grants, Dimplex, the Electricity Storage Company, across several projects (HandiHeat, Energy Cloud, RULET, GIRONA)
I published 4 journal papers and made two conference presentations.
I also developed course materials and taught three modules for the MSc in Energy Storage course.
With support from the Doctoral College, I achieved the Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy certification.
How has the PhD influenced your career aspirations?
The PhD equipped me with the expertise needed to research, innovate, and build solutions that would deliver a cleaner, smarter and more resilient energy system.
What’s next for you?
I am currently working as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Reading, developing expertise in energy demand optimization and machine learning. I hope to apply his wealth of knowledge and experience spearheading smart energy system projects in the future.