International STEM Day aims to encourage young people to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) subjects. To celebrate this day we’ve asked two of our EKE employees to share their STEM journey and talk about the work that they do at EKE-Electronics
Condition Monitoring Expert
What do you do at EKE?
I’m doing data analytics and product development for the railway industry. This includes rail infrastructure, track and various train components such as bogie and traction motors. Typical daily work includes analysing data from trains and developing tools for condition monitoring of various railway components.
Describe how your career path led to EKE e.g. qualifications, experience etc.
I studied technical physics at university, and after graduating worked in a technical research centre mostly analysing, modelling and measuring vibration from rotating machinery. I then worked for 5 years in the industry as an R&D engineer in the product development of electric motors, rotor dynamics and magnetic bearings. Before joining EKE, I worked for 3 years in condition monitoring in the marine industry.
What is the most interesting thing about your work at EKE?
I think the most interesting thing within EKE is developing new products and finding new solutions to technical problems. Before joining EKE, the railway industry was very unknown to me so it has been very interesting to learn new railway-related things.
It is also been interesting to couple data analytics with the physical understanding of dynamic systems. In EKE there has been a very positive drive and atmosphere in product development which strongly supports R&D work.
What advice would you give someone trying to get into this area?
The area is very multidisciplinary. There is a need for understanding both mathematical tools for analysing data and also industrial equipment. I think practical work with industrial equipment is important so that one can couple measurements and modelling/analytics together.
Product Owner
What do you do at EKE?
I work as a product manager for the various train computing modules that EKE develops. This consists of e.g. product requirements management, product configuration management, product road mapping and market analysis. I work also as a product owner in our agile product development teams. Additionally, my work also includes some project management and product marketing tasks, whenever needed.
Describe how your career path led to EKE e.g. qualifications, experience etc.
I have a long work experience as a product manager of various embedded products and solutions. I am familiar with the many cross-functional tasks and duties generally and typically associated with product management. My educational background in electrical engineering, digital signal processing and control systems gives me a good theoretical background for understanding the technologies developed at EKE.
What is the most interesting thing about your work at EKE?
It is interesting to see how our actions in developing railway electronics contribute to the current mega-trends of urbanisation and smart city development, and how our products help in developing more sustainable traffic solutions.
What advice would you give someone trying to get into this area?
From the educational background, the things that EKE develop require a good understanding of e.g. industrial electronics, automation systems, and communication technologies combined with good software development skills. From the product management perspective, the work also requires a basic understanding of the commercial aspects, marketing and the “soft sciences” in order to interact efficiently with the many stakeholders involved.
