So. Okay. My name is Jos and I’m working on research in circular economy and automotive sector. And I would like to know your point of view. If you accept, I’m going to record our conversation, transcribe it, and put to transcription with a pseudonym, not your real name, in a repository of text documents that will be used for the research. If you do this and you change your mind and no longer want to participate, get in touch with us and we will immediately remove your interview from the repository. I’m leaving you information sheet with contact information and if you accept it, then please tell me your name and that you accept it.
Yes. My name is Shima. Shima?
Yes. Okay. Shima. First question. Can you tell me a bit about your educational and professional background and interests?
Yes, for sure. I’ve studied physics. I got my PhD in material science and physics. I’m now a product manager at a company called Solaire. We’re developing new materials for the next generation of solar cells. My interest is generally in, yeah, material science, new materials, specifically renewables such as solar technology.
Is that also your area of expertise?
Yes.
The theme of this conference is the future of Electronics Reshaped. And what does the idea of reshaping electronics for the future mean to you?
To me it means simplifying things. So finding easier, finding easier processes, being able to introduce new applications quicker to the market at affordable price point, and of course also the renewable aspects of things. So finding more applications for renewables and of course keeping in mind the sustainability reshaping means also making everything sustainable.
What do you think is the relationship between electronics and sustainability?
The relationship. I guess it goes hand in hand because we do use electronics to create sustainability, but then we also have to relate sustainable electronics. So I don’t know. Yeah.
Could you define circular economy in your own words.
Yeah. So circular economy means basically everything that goes in will be reused. So nothing comes out of the production or usage circle. Yeah.
Do you participate in the circular economy yourself in any aspect of your life?
I don’t think fully circular, but it’s getting more and more circular, so I guess. Yeah. Personally, I try to do that professionally as well. I can see it at my company, but it’s definitely far from circular. Yeah, we’re trying to step away from linear, but far from circular.
Do you think electronics can play a role in making the car industry more sustainable?
Yeah, I’m not too familiar with the car industry, to be honest, but I’m sure they can. So from what I’ve heard already in day one here at this conference, there was a lot of talking about the hardware and the software in that industry and what could. And there was a range of areas that could have improvements. So I believe it’s possible, but I don’t have expertise on it to speak more about it.
The same question about circularity or circular economy to be that the car industry could be more circular. What do you think about that?
I think it’s possible, but that’s all I can say.
Yeah. What can the automotive industry do to promote circular economy, in your opinion?
I think it has to come to a personal level, to the consumer level, because that’s where the pressure will come from, because at the end of the day, they will market or make products that the consumer would want. So if the consumer level would put pressure on it, I think that would help.