Etibar Mikayilov (he/him)

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact. 

I use education as a tool to build climate literacy and sustainable practices across diverse communities, reaching students, teachers, and consumers through hands-on, accessible programmes. As author and project manager of Solar4Future+, I lead a EU-funded consortium spanning six European countries, combining STEAM education with community science projects to teach solar energy concepts to students and train teachers in renewable energy topics. Building on this, I identified the opportunity to scale our work into CLIMACT (CLIMate Awareness & Communication through Transnational News Practices in Higher Education) , a larger, eight-partner climate education consortium including the Technical University of Munich, expanding our reach from school-level into higher education.

Equity is central to my work: through EGFL (Eco Food Labelling for Sustainable Consumption), a VET programme, I help adults and vocational learners understand ethical and sustainable consumption choices, making sustainability education accessible beyond formal schooling. Across these projects, I have personally authored the funding proposals, built the partner consortia from scratch, and led curriculum design and delivery, translating complex sustainability concepts into practical, engaging learning experiences.

Together, these programmes have reached thousands of students, teachers, and consumers across Europe, building genuine, lasting capacity for sustainable thinking in the communities they serve.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like? 

My journey started in Baku, Azerbaijan, where I studied Chemical Engineering before moving to Italy for further study. My Master's thesis on raw-materials mining and the energy transition at Politecnico di Torino opened my eyes to the resource trade-offs behind the clean energy shift.

Before founding my own organisation, I worked across several small nonprofits, learning how to turn ideas into real, funded projects—contributing to UNITY, Dear Future, EI4Future, IT-ARGF, Game4Skills, InfoCare, ECHOING+ and EUNE-CPTRA, together spanning 18 countries and reaching 250,000+ beneficiaries. That experience gave me the grounding to later co-found the Innovation and Digital Development Association, though no one believed I could do it alone—no grant-writing track record of my own, no network, no funding. I kept going anyway, and eventually developed Solar4Future+, EGFL and CLIMACT, among others.

Alongside this, I pursued a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Bari, with research at Imperial College London. Selective fellowships—including Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers and the Melton Foundation—connected me to a global community of changemakers. My path has been shaped less by a straight line and more by learning through other people's projects before daring to build my own.

How can people learn more about or support your work? 

The best way to learn more about my work is through the Innovation and Digital Development Association (idda-erasmus.com), where I co-found and lead our EU-funded climate and education projects, including Solar4Future+ (solar4future-erasmus.com) and CLIMACT. You can also find my ongoing work as project manager at Höfði Horizon (hofdi-horizon.eu), and my contribution to the BRICS Youth Energy Outlook 2024.

I welcome connections from educators, researchers, universities, and organisations interested in partnering on climate education, solar energy or sustainable consumption projects—whether as consortium partners, funders, or collaborators on new initiatives. I am also happy to mentor early-career professionals and founders navigating EU funding for the first time, drawing on my own experience starting with no grant-writing track record, no network, and no funding, and building from there.

The easiest way to reach me directly is via LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/etibar-mikayilov-6bb212178) or email at mikayilovetibar6@gmail.com. I'm always glad to hear from people working on climate education, youth empowerment, or sustainable development, and to explore how we might collaborate.

A Little More About Me

What makes you most excited to be an EE30U30 awardee?
Connecting with a community of people who turned climate education from an idea into real, tested work—I'd genuinely love to trade notes on what's actually landing with students on the ground, not just what looks good on paper.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?
Keep going even when you have nothing to point to yet—no grants, no network, no proof it will work. The two years before my first funded project taught me that persistence, not credentials, is usually what actually gets you started.

What's a passion project of yours outside of your work?
Learning physics for fun, one curious rabbit hole at a time.