written by Jelena Stojković Terzić
SUNRISE is slowly approaching its final moment. Before the official closing post and the symbolic “sunset”, this feels like the right time to pause and look back, not through reports or numbers, but through experience.
SUNRISE started with a simple but ambitious idea: strengthen Serbia’s research and training capacity in modern power systems, especially in the context of renewable energy integration and energy transition. What it turned into was much more than a list of deliverables or milestones. It became a shared journey.
From objectives to real impact
On paper, the goals were clear. Build research capacity. Upgrade infrastructure. Train researchers and students. Connect Serbian institutions with leading European partners.
In practice, this meant long days in laboratories, detailed technical discussions, organizing events across countries, mentoring young researchers, and learning how to bridge different academic cultures and expectations. It also meant turning abstract concepts like “capacity building” into something tangible and lasting.
One of the most visible outcomes is the strengthening of real-time simulation and HIL-based research environments at the School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade. These are not just new tools. They change how we teach, how we do research, and how closely we can connect theory with real-world power system challenges.
Learning by doing, together
Education and training were at the heart of SUNRISE. Through workshops, tutorials, short-term scientific visits, and especially the SUNRISE Summer Schools, we focused on hands-on experience.
The summer schools were a highlight. Seeing students and young engineers work directly with real-time simulators, protection systems, converter models, and control algorithms reminded us why this project mattered in the first place. The energy in the room, the questions, the late discussions, and even the occasional debugging frustrations were all signs of real learning happening.
Just as important was the exchange with our European partners. Collaborations with institutions such as TU Delft, the University of Seville, and the University of the Basque Country went far beyond formal meetings. They shaped new ways of thinking, introduced different research perspectives, and helped us align local challenges with broader European energy transition goals.
What we really learned
If there is one key lesson from SUNRISE, it is this: technology alone is never enough.
You can buy equipment, install software, and write strategies, but without people who are confident, curious, and capable of using them, progress is limited. Investing in researchers, students, and educators creates impact that lasts far beyond the project lifetime.
Another important lesson is that building trust and strong cooperation takes time. Successful collaboration is not automatic. It grows through open communication, flexibility, and a shared understanding that everyone is working toward the same goal, even if their starting points are different.
SUNRISE also reminded us that smaller research ecosystems can play a meaningful role in the European research space, not by copying others, but by focusing on their own strengths and real system needs.
The end of funding, not the end of momentum
While SUNRISE has officially concluded, its results continue to live on. The infrastructure remains. The skills remain. The partnerships remain. Perhaps most importantly, the confidence to take on more complex research challenges remains.
New project ideas, joint publications, follow-up collaborations, and improved teaching programs are already emerging from what was built during SUNRISE. This is exactly what we hoped for when the project began.
A final note of thanks
Projects like SUNRISE are never the result of one person or one institution. They are built by dedicated researchers, motivated students, supportive administrators, reliable partners, and funding bodies that believe in long-term impact.
To everyone who contributed time, expertise, patience, and enthusiasm: thank you. SUNRISE may be ending as a project, but what it set in motion is only just beginning.