Carolina’s journey, from attending a STEM Women Insight event as a student to returning to present as an employer

Carolina studied BEng Chemical Engineering at Aston University, followed by an MS in Advanced Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester. She attended our Assystem Insight Event in January 2021 as a student and secured her dream role as Graduate Commissioning Engineer, HPC. In January 2022, she returned to present a talk at the following STEM Women Assystem Insight Event!

How Carolina got her role in nuclear

Carolina first heard about Assystem whilst studying her masters in Advance Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester. However, most of the exposure she’d had to the nuclear industry was all about the theory, safety and importance of nuclear to achieve energy transition. It wasn’t until she attended the STEM Women Assystem Insight event that she understood the magnitude of the role that nuclear and Assystem play to support the UK’s Net Zero targets.

“Learning about the technology that’s available to change the way we power our lives made me want to get involved and find out more. The STEM Women Insight Event opened my eyes to this exciting industry.”

Carolina Alvarez Pena

“I attended the STEM Women Assystem Insight event as a student, applied for a role at Assystem and secured my dream job in nuclear!”

“I was lucky enough to return to the Assystem Insight event the year and present a talk to attendees on my experience!”

“Because of STEM Women events and the advice I heard, I’m in the position where I’m working for an amazing company.”

How did you find the Assystem event as a student?

“The event last year was very interesting because it gave me an insight into the nuclear industry and what the focus was at that moment for Assystem, and it also showed me that Assystem has women in positions of authority across the whole organisation. It was nice to speak to people of different backgrounds and across different projects and feel that Assystem is a family at its core.”

Returning to a STEM Women Event as an employer

“I really loved returning to this event as an employer, I was able to share my experiences with attendees and talk about the graduate scheme. I covered what they can expect and what different opportunities they can get involved in as graduates.

“In my work at HPC, I’m currently focusing on the Nuclear Vents and Drains System within the power plant to get ready for the commissioning phase. There’s a lot of training at this stage, but it’s exciting to be part of the project. Since joining, everyone’s been supportive, and I’ve been made to feel really welcome.”

Find your dream job at a STEM Women event

We run a number of in-person and virtual careers event across the year, covering the UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. These events are a mix of general STEM careers event and industry specific for attendees looking for careers in technology, engineering and financial services.

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