Get to know us: Matej Malenšek, energy services development associate
What is your day like at GEN-I?
Working from home, we meet for a virtual coffee in the morning to have a relaxed chat and discuss the challenges of the day.
At the moment, I am focused on managing a development and demonstration project involving seven partner companies from Slovenia in addition to GEN-I (lead partner). The main objective of the project is to enable more electric vehicles to be charged without overloading the existing electricity grid. To this end, we will install charging infrastructure, a solar power plant, an advanced user registration system, and data capture and processing at the demonstration site. When a project moves from the development phase to the pilot phase, I spend most of my time on coordination, supervising the execution of the work, negotiating with partners and external contractors as well as preparing documentation and schedules.
Photo: Erazem Gliha
What tasks do you enjoy the most?
My favorite tasks are those where the solution is initially complicated and requires a new approach. This is when the ingenuity of the individual and the knowledge and experience of the team come to the fore. The satisfaction of successfully completing the task is also much greater.
You are also an active member of the GEN-I Sports Club, which brings GEN-I colleagues together in a more informal context. What GEN-I Sports Club activities do you take part in?
The Sports Club offers us a wide range of activities, and the Club President, Robert Vilhar, always encourages us and, together with the Section Leaders, takes care of the excellent organization of the events. In a relaxed atmosphere, you can get to know your colleagues better and strengthen the team spirit within the company. I take part in fitness classes, trampolining, skiing (or snowboarding) and cycling. I took part in the first GEN-I cycling marathon from Ljubljana to Nova Gorica, which was a great experience.
Photo: Erazem Gliha
This year, for the first time, GEN-I decided to create the GENIUSES of the Year statuettes in-house in order to recognize the talents of our employees. You are behind this year’s design. This year our statuettes are made from old skateboards; they are handmade and sustainable. Could you tell us a bit more about this project?
I have been skateboarding and woodworking in my spare time since I was a kid. A few years ago, I combined the two hobbies when I realized that used skateboards are a great material to work with. The boards are made up of layers, and in most cases, one of the layers is colored. This allows me to make random color patterns, which makes the final product all the more unique. I have to prepare the basic materials before I start working, so I spend a lot of time cleaning, sanding, and sawing the boards into smaller pieces and gluing them together. I laser engraved the logos of the Geniuses and the names of the winners. Several hours of handwork went into the finished product to make sure all the angles and curves were just right.
See a video of Matej’s work:
Video: Erazem Gliha
At first glance, all the statuettes look the same, but they all differ in the structure of the color pattern. In this way, I wanted to show the unity that all GENIUSES are part of the same organization and the diversity that each of them contributes in their own way to the success of GEN-I.
