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Matilda Lidfeldt works with life cycle analysis.
Hello Matilda Lidfeldt who's been working for three month at IVL:s office in Beijing!
Matilda Lidfeldt usually works with life cycle analysis at IVL in Gothenburg. However, this fall, she decided to move to Beijing to work for IVL in China. When she now travels home again, she looks back on three exciting and educational months.
– I recommend everyone at IVL to experience working abroad, it's something you get a lot out of, says Matilda Lidfeldt on a video link from Beijing.
Matilda Lidfeldt started at IVL in August 2021, after graduating from Chalmers, and since then has mainly worked with life cycle analysis (LCA). She has been keen on working in projects abroad and when the opportunity arose to go to China, she grabbed it immediately.
LCA is growing in China
In China, the LCA market is growing strongly and IVL is one of the leading players in the field.
– We can learn a lot from each other. I have held some internal trainings about the software GaBi and various projects I worked on in Sweden. At the same time, I have been taught how they work in China. It has been a very good exchange of knowledge.
What have you experienced as the biggest differences in working in China compared to Sweden?
– Here there are other demands from customers. Everything moves much faster in China, and customers also expect work to be faster. There is vey stiff competition here, there are loads of people who want to work with LCA. The field has become very heated and it is in that market that IVL competes.
Matilda Lidfeldt together with colleagues at IVL's office in Beijing. "The colleagues have become like friends, and we've had many fun experiences together" says Matilda Lidfeldt.
Friendly colleagues
Matilda says that she doesn't speak any Chinese, but that living and working in Beijing has worked out well.
– I have been living with a colleague who speaks English, which has helped me in everyday life here. But if I were to do it all over again, I would probably have tried to learn some Chinese before I went, because out on the street, hardly anyone speaks English. But the colleagues in the office speak English.
What will you remember most from your stay in China?
– It is the employees here, because they are the ones I spent the most time with. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. They took me on various activities, helped me when I needed to know where to go shopping or what you can do on a Saturday afternoon here. Their warmth is what I will remember most.
Finally - what do you think is the best thing about working at IVL?
– I think it's the combination of research and business, as well as being able to work with colleagues who are all passionate about sustainability. There is so much to learn from everyone at IVL, it's exciting.
With colleagues on a day trip to Datong to see Buddha statues in the mountains.