Celebrating Women in STEM

To celebrate Women in STEM Day on 11 February, we are shining a spotlight on some of our incredible female innovators who are pushing the boundaries at SSEN Transmission and helping to deliver a network for net zero.  

We spoke to Mini Nambiar, Innovation Project Manager in our Policy and Standards team at SSEN Transmission. Here’s what Mini had to say about her STEM career journey so far… 

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background 

“After graduating in Electrical and Electronics engineering from India, I have worked globally in a variety of industries ranging from consumer electronics, electronic manufacturing services, oil and gas, defence sector and now in electricity transmission.  
 
“I started my career in Taiwan as a Hardware Design Engineer and moved through various engineering roles into project management. I am passionate about innovation and support SSEN Transmission to deliver technical innovations accelerating our pathway to Net Zero.” 

Q: When did you choose a career in STEM?  What attracted you to innovation?  

“I loved Maths when I was at school. At the time I was looking for undergraduate studies and you could only become a teacher if you studied Maths. So, I was steered into Engineering with my love for Maths. If I didn't join Engineering, I might have been a Mathematician now!

“I am an innately optimistic person (my glass is not only half full but literally overflowing), and at the same time passionate about helping solve engineering challenges. This passion brought me into the world of innovation, supporting teams to solve constraints or problem statements, which are used by teams to address issues and find solutions. What interests me most is that even wording the problem statement differently can lead to different solutions being developed.” 

Q: What is a typical day like in your role as an Innovation Project Manager? 

“The purpose of what we do as a business also motivates me every day. It might sound cliché, but no two days are the same for me. It varies from meeting our suppliers to discuss our challenges and the breakthrough innovation they are working on, collaborating with academics to research our problem statements, working with cross-functional teams to deliver innovation projects successfully, and supporting the management team on strategic priorities.” 

Q: What project are you working on now to help SSEN Transmission’s journey towards net zero?  

“Our TReNDS (Transmission Network Digital Substation) project is the big project I am currently working on. This project aims to expand our deployment of digital substations – a substation where information and control signals are transferred digitally (using fibres). Digital substations play a crucial role in scaling up and improving productivity, functionality, reliability and improves the safety of the professionals working within substation facilities. 

I recently participated in a Utility Week webinar called ‘Robots that can, do: The future of automation for the power sector.’ You can learn more about the types of robotics projects we are working on at SSEN Transmission by watching the webinar.” 

Q: Do you have any career advice or tips for those aspiring to pursue a STEM career?  

 “Believe in yourself - we all have different career pathways, and no one size fits all. Always remember ‘The only thing standing between you and your dreams is you’.”  

If you're looking to power change and passionate about a career in STEM, search our careers page.