Graduate Experience:
Isa Dijkstra

What led you to Aurora, and what did you do before?

I studied meteorology for my Master’s because I wanted to do something related to climate change and sustainability. I ended up doing my Master’s thesis on how weather variability affects renewable energy generation in India, which made me very interested in the energy sector and the role the energy transition plays in combatting global warming. While I knew I wanted to do work related to the energy transition, I was not quite sure yet what type of role I specifically wanted to have because I had never worked in a corporate environment before. Therefore, I decided to apply for the Graduate Programme which has 3 different rotations, enabling me to see different types of roles.

Can you describe a typical day in your role?

I usually have a check-in in the morning with my project team during which we discuss progress on tasks, issues/questions we’ve run into that might block certain analysis, and the work to be done that day. Much of the rest of the day I usually spend working on my work packages, which are often a combination of analysis in Excel (and sometimes Python) and creating slides to showcase the analysis. I keep in touch with my project team during the day and let them know of progress and questions that arise and let them know when I have finished some work that they can review. Most days are filled with various meetings. Some are client-focused, discussing their specific projects, while others involve the wider team for updates, coffee chats, or discussions related to my non-client work. For example, I serve as a trainer for a session at the Aurora Academy, which involves dedicating time to refining and delivering the training content.

If you were to pitch your job to someone, what would you say you enjoyed the most?

There are two main things for me, firstly I think one of the things I enjoy most about Aurora is all the amazing colleagues I have. I always really enjoy working with my teams and think there’s a great collaborative environment. Outside of work, everyone is also very social, and there are lots of social initiatives. I am, for example, part of the Aurora Book Club, and I’m part of a group that plays beach volleyball every week in the summer. Secondly is the variety of the work, there are so many different topics related to the energy transition, and the nature of the work at Aurora means you dive very deeply into a new topic very quickly. This means that the work is extremely varied, but because the projects usually go quite deeply into the topics, you are also able to build expertise in many different areas.

How would you describe the culture at Aurora?

Very social, collaborative, and international. I really enjoy working with colleagues from so many different places, and everyone is super nice and has a collaborative approach to problem-solving. Everyone I’ve worked with has also been very helpful and has never made me feel stupid for asking lots of questions when I didn’t know about a topic yet.

In what ways does Aurora support your sense of purpose in your career?

I think sustainability and the energy transition are very important, and it’s great to feel like my work is contributing towards this.

What have you gained from your time at Aurora, and what do you hope to achieve next?

I did not have a background in energy, but I’ve learned a lot in the past year about how energy systems work. I’ve also learned a lot about how to approach different types of analysis and how to come up with ideas on how to use data to answer the questions we’re trying to answer.

Reflecting on your start at Aurora, what’s one thing you wish you would have known, and what advice would you give a new starter?

Talk to people! People are often very happy to take some time out of their day to have a chat, and besides being able to have a fun chat, knowing what people are working on is often very useful when you start a new project and already know colleagues who have worked on something similar.