Vanessa Sele took a master's degree in Industrial Asset Management. She highlights a perfect combination of courses that makes one prepared for a wide range of positions and roles.
- Name: Vanessa Sele
- Study programme: Master in Industrial Asset Management
- Occupation and employer: Maintenance Engineer at Oceaneering
What was your initial motivation for choosing maintenance and reliability engineering as a discipline?
I have a bachelor in petroleum engineering, and when I was thinking about my future master, I wanted to choose a study that gave me a more interdisciplinary background, in case it would be difficult to find work in the O&G industry in the future. When I saw that UiS offered a master study that included reliability and maintenance engineering as part of the programme, and it would even be possible to write a master to that, I thought it would be a smart direction to take. In this way I would not just be limited to the O&G industry.
How did the Industrial Asset Management programme at UiS help in nursing your ambition for career development in maintenance and reliability engineering?
The courses were very comprehensive, and we were given several examples from different kinds of industries. A positive aspect of the programme is that all students have different backgrounds, coming from different countries, with different bachelor degrees and working experience. This is very similar to what I now encounter in the working place, so the group dynamic is not that different. Another thing that this study is very good at is developing your communication skills, which are vital in the working life as a maintenance and reliability engineer. The study gives the student the freedom to choose among a wide variety of subjects for the master's thesis, allowing the student to further explore the field or industry they find more appealing. A lot of companies come each year with interesting subjects to write about.
What improvement opportunities, if there are any, did you realize within the program for attracting more women into the maintenance and reliability engineering fraternity?
I was surprised, when started working after completing the study, how many women are working within maintenance and reliability engineering in Norway. In fact, most of my colleagues are women, making this choice feel even more right. If anything, making the students aware of the number of women working in this discipline should attract even more women. Maintenance and reliability engineering encompasses a wide range of roles, so there will always be possible to explore new roles and to be part of different interesting projects.
Any words of wisdom and encouragement to women who are looking to join or are already in the Industrial Asset Management programme and looking forward to take on a career path in maintenance and reliability engineering?
This study is the perfect choice both for Norwegian and international students, offering a perfect combination of courses that makes one prepared for a wide range of positions and roles. Especially, if coming with a bachelor's degree from another country, this study will make you very attractive both if you want to work for a Norwegian company, but also if you want to look for work abroad. Another good reason is that companies seem to be struggling to find competence for hire within maintenance and reliability engineering, so if you choose this path, you will become highly attractive to them.