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International Women in Engineering Day – Ana Rodriguez
Ana Rodriguez
Tell us about your career so far
During my engineering degree at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, I took part in an internship program, I was very lucky because I had the opportunity to work for the onshore renewable department. During this internship, apart from learning a lot about wind turbines, transmission and grid connection, I had the chance to meet the people and projects involved with offshore wind. This woke my appetite of wanting to know more and more about offshore wind, so I opted to do a masters in Offshore renewables. I worked for a short time in distribution in Paris, but my career really started in offshore in Scotland. 10 years on, I have had the opportunity to work on projects at different stages of development up to construction, to work with people from different countries, to negotiate contracts, to exchange knowledge and innovative ideas. But the most exciting part of my career so far is to see constructed in the water all the designs and drawings that I was working on. And of course, to be part of a team that can exchange all that lessons learnt and challenges.
What do you enjoy most about your current role?
What I enjoyed the most of my current role is to have the opportunity to be involved in so many projects from different geographies with a great team. Working with colleagues from different countries and exchange the knowledge and experience with them, different country regulations and grid networks risks and challenges. Also, it is very excited being responsible of the electrical corporate department with an ambitious team looking always for ideas and innovative solutions to create efficient projects.
What excites you about being part of the team leading OW?
I’m excited to bring my knowledge and experience from offshore wind projects and enthusiastic mood of continuously learning from my colleagues, and the industry. Every day is a learning day!
I am happy to work with a fantastic team as we have in OW Corporate, a great work environment and brilliant minds with innovative and challenging ideas
How has the engineering approach at Ocean Winds changed throughout its projects?
Since I started in Ocean Winds, we have been working from Corporate on guidance, standards, procedures, collecting LLs using the in-house knowledge and lessons learned from the current pipeline, but this is a long-term and life process with the intention of supporting the new projects under development.
Does Spain have the engineering capacity needed to reach offshore wind targets?
In general, in the industry, there is an issue with the resources, the experience people and the required personnel is a challenge at the moment but OW has the engineering capability, the experience and the knowledge to influence and impact positively on the development of the offshore wind.
It’s International Women in Engineering Day. How have you found your career as a woman in the energy industry so far?
The first thing that comes to my mind: Challenging, but rewarding. As a woman, I find that more often than not I am part of the minority of female engineers.
However, I feel that this is changing slowly but surely with more females being attracted to the engineering sector. What matters most for me is that I have been recognised for my work as an engineer and I’m supported when needed regardless of my gender. So I would like to encourage more girls to study and work as engineers with the intention of being part of something big as it is offshore wind.
What can be done to encourage more women and girls to consider a renewable energy career?
The main thing is to explain that we usually have the prototype of an engineering as an isolated person in front of a laptop, working on him/her own, but that is very far from the truth. The reality is that there is a diverse and huge available range of engineer careers and jobs It is important to explain them about this and let them know about all the options.
What advice would you give to those starting their career in offshore wind?
Enjoy every second, absorb all the knowledge and share any idea.
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