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Matilda Lidfeldt works with life cycle analysis.
Hello Matilda Lidfeldt, who's spent three month at IVL's Beijing office!
Matilda Lidfeldt works with life cycle assessment at IVL in Gothenburg. But last autumn she relocated to Beijing, China, to work at IVL's office there. As she prepares to returne home, she can look back on three exciting and educational months.
I would recommend working abroad to everyone at IVL; it really has a lot of benefits
, says Matilda Lidfeldt via 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 assessment (LCA). She has been keen to work in projects abroad, and when the opportunity arose to go to China, she seized 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 courses on the software GaBi and various projects I worked on in Sweden. At the same time, I have learned how they work in China. It has been a very good knowledge exchange.
What have you experienced as the biggest differences between working in China and Sweden?
Here the clients demand more. Everything moves much faster, and the clients expect the work to be done faster too. The competition is vey tough, and there are loads of people who want to work with LCA. The field has become very hot, and IVL is competing in that market.
Matilda Lidfeldt together with colleagues at IVL's Beijing office. "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 do.
What will you remember most from your stay in China?
The co-workers here, because they are the ones I spent the most time with. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. They took me on various excursions, 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.