Everything is 'figure-out-able'

Hi, I’m Nnaemeka. I work as a Power System Engineer at National Grid ESO, the electricity system operator for Great Britain.

I have one mantra that works for me – everything is ‘figure-out-able’. When I arrived from Nigeria and started my Masters in Applied Instrumentation and Control Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University, I was really thrown in at the deep end. I was petrified for the first month, until I realised everything is figure-out-able if you have time, interest and can use the knowledge you already have.

I’d worked as a trainee engineer in Nigeria, but studying in the UK helped me consolidate my knowledge and pick up artificial intelligence and data science skills to further improve my engineering.
 

Problem solving

There’s nothing more gratifying and exciting than seeing your solutions actually working. As a child I wanted to know how things worked and loved fixing my bike and remote control car. Now my job is to ensure the right kind of generators, with the right kind of specifications, are able to connect with the UK grid – a different sort of problem-solving.

There’s nothing more gratifying and exciting than seeing your solutions actually working.

I think there are three engineering inventions that have had a huge impact on the world: the internet; the aeroplane; and, electricity, which is the lifeblood of modern development. Coming from a place where we have frequent power outages and are forced to rely on mini petrol and diesel generators, I know first-hand how important electricity is.

I wanted to be part of a team responsible for bringing us cleaner energy and reducing carbon emissions, and our company is at the forefront of achieving net zero and enabling the switch to renewable energy in the nearest future.