When Aavelen read the description for the Evolve program, the words digital, data and transformation stood out – as well as that the work seemed quite flexible. Now after having had the role for a while, she can confirm that this aligns with reality.
“It's not just working with coding environments and it's not just working with data. It's a big mix of stuff, and that really appeals to me. The interdisciplinary-ness of it.”
Something she did not expect going into a graduate program was how much freedom she was given.
“You're usually given a set of tasks that they expect graduates not to be able to break. But here it was very much from day one “let's get you access to systems, let's get you into the actual nitty gritty and we'll teach you as we go along,”” Aavelen says.
A day in the life
The graduate program runs for two years and consists of six-month rotations. Aavelen takes us through a typical day at work, where scheduling to a degree is determined by time zones.
“There is another digital graduate in Korea. If I need any updates from him, then he's usually the first person I go to. Then there's a couple of team members in India. So, I catch up with all the work that's been done during my off hours from there. Usually in the afternoon is when you get the meetings from the UK and then your end of day is America.”
Time zones are not the only potential challenge when collaborating with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Aavelen, who grew up in Scotland with parents from India, shares her perspective.
"Balancing or juggling those two different cultural aspects, that's definitely given me an easier perspective on learning to recognize other people's boundaries. It takes a lot of paying attention and I'm glad I grew up with it.”
- Current Position: Edwards Evolve Global Digital Data and Transformation Graduate
- Upskilling in the last year: Communicating technical projects to people with varying levels of technical skills.
- Approach to intercultural collaboration: Paying attention and learning to spot other people’s needs.
Quick facts about Aavelen
A standout project
A standout project for Aavelen so far has been developing a machine learning solution to analyze the quality of oil in vacuum pumps. The oil, used to lubricate the machine parts, can get dirty over time and needs to be changed to keep the pump working.
As such, changing the oil is called predictive maintenance – it is done to avoid failure rather that fixing something that is broken. To build and maintain trust with customers, it is helpful to convey proof points for the value of predictive maintenance. Which is why Aavelen was asked to produce the computer vision solution.
“It was a huge learning curve. But it's really nice just knowing how applicable it is and knowing that it's something that people actively want.”
It is clear that Aavelen enjoys her work, but when asked about what she likes best about her time with us so far, it is the people she highlights.
“The amount of effort and intelligence behind the solutions that we're making. It's just incredible to see. The amount of technology and interest in technology that is present in this company has been overwhelming in such a good way.”
Aavelen’s advice
For students and young professionals considering an internship within Atlas Copco Group, Aavelen says not to worry if you do not know everything around industrial technology, such as vacuum which is what her work most often relates to.
“I think a manufacturing company can seem a bit overwhelming, because they're not advertised as much as other industries. So, it was quite difficult knowing what I was getting into when I was applying here. But there's so much opportunity. There's so much room to explore.”
