“My studies were a real enlightening experience”

From studies to work and back to studies was the way that led Alexander Mani to start his own company in India - Cleanbios.  Alexander was working as a Systems Engineer for India’s largest software exporter when he decided to take the next step in his career and travel to Sweden for a master’s programme. “I wanted to do something within innovation and management but there were only few master programmes in innovation at that time,” says Alexander. Then he found the Management of Innovation and Product Development programme at Linköping University, applied for it and got accepted.

Today Alexander runs Cleanbios, a technology transfer consultancy, which focuses on transfer of cleantech innovations from European countries to India. “I’m trying to work with various organisations in India to bring innovative clean technologies from Europe, especially Scandinavia and especially from Sweden,” he explains.

Studies that opened up new opportunities

The programme at LiU proved to be a good choice that helped Alexander further in his career. “My studies were a real enlightening experience. I didn’t explore much of what I wanted to do in life and I figured that out at the university in Linköping.” Sustainability was a new concept for Alexander, interesting enough to make him explore the area through a research study which became his thesis and a direction to his work after graduation. “I really fell in love with the concept of sustainability and I wanted to do possible business studies in that area. My teachers at LiU gave me the knowledge that changed my career and now I am happy with my current work,” says Alexander.

What he appreciated the most was the interdisciplinary approach and the freedom of taking courses across various divisions of the university. “The courses that I selected out of my own interest from other divisions built the ground for my current start-up. I took, for instance, internationalisation course from the Business Administration division (FEK) and sustainability courses from the Environmental Technology and Management (ETM) division.” Moreover, the entrepreneurship and project management knowledge from his own programme significantly improved Alexander’s management skills today. “They gave me practical coaching on how to start a company from a new idea and also a lot of other useful insights within organisational management,” he says.

Shaping the future

Coming to Linköping was a life changing experience for Alexander. Not only has it represented the starting point for a career in entrepreneurship, but also the beginning of long term relations with Sweden. “I didn’t have any connections to Linköping before coming here; I just applied for the programme I was interested in. I didn’t have any expectations either, as I was totally new to the international environment, but when I came to Sweden everything fell into place.”

Alexander would definitely encourage future students to come study at Linköping University, especially at the Department of Engineering and Management. “One main thing at LiU is that you can shape your career. You can study everything you want and gain knowledge from other disciplines to develop new competences. This cross-disciplinary approach will help future students to really innovate, to explore other areas and to come up with new ideas.”

Alexander is still in contact both with international students that he met in Sweden and with professors from his old department at LiU. He is considering coming back to Linköping University, either for a PhD or for a position as teaching assistant.