Geo-Spatial Technologies play a vital role not just in saving lives during emergencies but also in developing sustainable solutions that keep climate, environment and biodiversity at the center of developmental goals!
Jyoti Rahodia, our next pathbreaker, GIS Specialist at Enel Green Power, supports project teams in performing spatial analysis to avoid any potential risk with respect to development of renewable power plants.
Jyoti talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about an extensive land cover analysis that she did which contributed to planning strategic locations for installations in and around power plants which ensured that bird life was not harmed.
For students, the future prospects of Geospatial field are huge because these technologies can be integrated with new/existing technologies to address problems at a larger scale !
Jyoti, what were your initial years like?
I hail from New Delhi, India and am currently working as a Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist for an MNC in Rome, Italy.
My parents have played a pivotal role in shaping my character and career aspirations since early days. Their strong emphasis on education, has been a driving force behind my pursuit of knowledge and personal growth. Both my parents were born and brought up in Delhi. They work diligently in the Indian public sector. My mother – a strong woman she is, has broken many glass ceilings and proudly became an Account officer and my father, the most hard-working guy in the family, works as a Tech engineer at a fertilizer firm.
I am very fortunate to be born and brought up in an environment which motivated me to dream big and be unapologetically ambitious. Not once, I felt I was limited, my family provided me with the wings to fly high and always believed in me.
Engineering came naturally to me given my interest towards science, innovation and technology, probably inheriting it from my father. In school, I always enjoyed participating in science quizzes & workshops. I was particularly more interested in coding since early high school days. However, I was never attracted to pursue clichéd STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) branches as my career path.
I was very clear from the start that I wanted to pursue something out of the box, something unique and niche. And as serendipity would have it, I stumbled upon a brochure of UPES (University of Petroleum and Energy studies) which had specialized branches in various domains. I immediately found my inclination towards Oil & Gas/Energy related specialized branches and landed up in BTech in Geoinformatics, given my ever-so-curious mind and fascination for exclusive fields. This branch was the beautiful culmination of geo-spatial & remote sensing technology along with earth sciences. The whole course structure was intriguing to me, and I took no time to finalize it.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I pursued a Bachelor of Technology with a specialization in Geoinformatics from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies 2012-2016, Dehradun, India.
Since, it is not everyday that someone hears about such new-age engineering specializations, I would love to briefly explain this emerging field of science which is rapidly growing – Geoinformatics deeply revolves around spatial science and remote sensing technology. It combines geography, information science, and computer science to collect, analyze, and visualize spatial data.
When I chose this engineering journey, my primary focus was to explore, learn, work hard and deliver my best. And with honest efforts made, I was awarded the silver medal for being the top performer of the branch in 2016.
During this course, I was taught by many renowned teachers focusing on the fundamentals of this next-generation technology and its wide applications. Thus, making it a transformative experience overall.
While in 2nd year, I was fortunate enough to be selected for the prestigious summer research fellowship by Indian Academy of Sciences and went to National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad for 3 months. This is where, for the first time, I was exposed to the field of Earth Sciences and worked on a real case of Cambay Basin in Gujarat. We studied the crustal structure of Cambay basin by analyzing the satellite gravity anomaly data acquired over the region. At a regional level, gravity data is utilized to identify major tectonic features and at residual level, gravity data is used for preliminary investigations for exploration purposes to obtain depth and structure of basement underlying sedimentary basins. At the same time, I also got a chance to interact and learn from many other research scholars about Geophysics and Seismic data collection used in such related studies.
Later, during my last year of engineering, I got an opportunity to intern at Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, ISRO at Dehradun under Late Dr. Champati Ray where I analyzed continuous data from the GPS stations to identify pre-earthquake ionospheric TEC (Total Electron Content) anomalies over Northern India with respect to 25th April’15 Nepal Earthquake. It has been reported that strong earthquakes (M>5) can cause anomalous total electronic content variations and can be a precursor to large magnitude earthquakes. I mapped and analyzed these anomalous data to produce insightful findings for the entire organizational research.
All these enriching experiences had not just groomed my knowledge but had also spiked my interest in the use of Geoinformatics in real world applications by a hundredfold.
Given my curiosity for advanced technologies, in 2020, I decided to pursue Postgraduate Certification in Machine Learning and Deep Learning from the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. This course eventually made me realize that the integration between Geospatial technology & Artificial Intelligence could be path breaking with endless possibilities for innovations.
What were some of the influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional and unique career?
My decision to take up this course was mostly led by my inclination towards STEM domain but also, I wanted to pursue one-of-a-kind or a specialized stream. So, I chose this course for myself as it had a lot to offer, and the fact that I would be uncovering the whole world of spatial technology was encaptivating.
But choosing an offbeat stream comes with its own sense of insecurity and stigma. However, with the unwavering support of my parents & my best friend (now husband) motivated me to do my best and made me believe that sky is the limit. Not once, did they doubt my decisions, and provided constant encouragement.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
I was among those privileged students who were able to secure a job during the college placement drive in the last year of engineering. It was a role of Geographic Information System (GIS) analyst at Cybertech Systems and Software Ltd in Mumbai, Maharashtra. GIS is a technology and methodology used to capture, store, analyze, and display geospatial data.
I feel the first job is a very crucial steppingstone and can make or break your career, if chosen correctly or incorrectly. That being said, at my first job, I got the opportunity to learn, implement and master various GIS software, platforms and applications.
I typically provided technical solutions to ESRI Inc. clients where I used GIS software to solve complex spatial problems related to proximity/distance, spatial data management, land cover – land use, satellite/drone – image data processing, topographical risk assessments like flood mapping etc. I also got the opportunity to work for emergency services sometimes, where GIS tools played a vital role in saving lives, for example, in solving fastest route for ambulances & fire brigades.
I tried to grasp everything from what was thrown at me and slowly and steadily, I started to get hold of things and made a name of myself in the organization.
One important factor which played a prominent role in my career development was the decision of continuous learning. I feel this is how a person evolves which helped in my professional growth.
How did you get your first break?
I got my first career break early during my last year of college and had an early joining in Maharashtra. It was like taking upon a whole new edifying adventure, on my own, in the city of dreams – Mumbai and entering the realm of financial independence.
The next career transition in my life came when an incredible opportunity knocked at my door via LinkedIn, an important tool in any professional’s life, and one should never underestimate the power of it. This opportunity looked like a dream job as it was a role of GIS specialist in a renewable energy & utilities based MNC called – Enel Green Power. I felt that it was that one unique opportunity where I was able to apply all my knowledge and experience in the Green Energy field. Without giving it a second thought, I jumped on to this exciting journey which was a gateway to a whole new world of energy.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
I think the biggest challenge in my career path was my domain itself. As many of you would realize, the Geoinformatics sector is not a conventional stream, and GIS-based jobs are not seen or talked about on a day-to-day basis. It could be a little bit challenging to find a core GIS/Geospatial job and not get stuck in a job which might be just remotely related to GIS/Geospatial technology. But thankfully, there are quite a few Indian companies & MNCs alongside some reputed government agencies which are doing incredible work in the Geospatial sector. And fortunately, I was placed in one of those companies and got core GIS implementation exposure.
Lately, I see many government funded projects popping up which are GIS driven and our respected PM Modi has recently introduced a Geospatial data policy ensuring better data availability for all GIS driven projects. Hence, I am very confident that upcoming years would bring big boom in this sector with countless career opportunities.
Another recent challenge which I faced was when I relocated to my current employer’s headquarter in Italy and had to encounter a language barrier. However, I didn’t think that as much of a problem, but saw it as an opportunity to learn a beautiful foreign language. I began taking Italian classes to ensure better exchange of ideas at this new office and for comfortable living in this wonderful country.
Where do you work now? What problems do you solve?
I currently work in Enel Green Power S.p.A, Rome, Italy. I support our project teams in performing spatial analysis to avoid any potential risk w.r.t development of any power plant. For example, scouting areas best suited for solar/wind power plants. I also develop innovative tools using GIS automation and lastly, manage existing internal GIS platform, tools, and databases.
What skills are required in your role? How did you acquire the skills?
The foundational knowledge about geospatial and remote sensing technologies was acquired during my BTech. The hands-on experience of various GIS based technologies, platforms and applications was acquired during the early days of my jobs. Breaking into the field of Machine Learning and AI was led by my love for coding and I took it to the next level by pursuing a Postgraduate program.
Another integral part of my job is to be proactive, to have a problem-solving attitude, to be able to build trust and to ensure effective communication between teams/stakeholders. I have learnt all this through my corporate journey.
Lastly, always staying up to date in my field, networking with industry experts, taking online courses/workshops and continuous learning have contributed in building my expertise in my domain.
What’s a typical day like?
I typically start my day by checking my task to-do list and prioritizing those tasks because given the nature of my role, I manage several GIS operations in multiple countries, and contribute to multiple ongoing innovative developments and initiatives. Additionally, I do cross functional collaborations, which are crucial for my job, hence attending alignment calls with colleagues across the global is a must on day-to-day basis.
What is it you love about this job?
Geospatial technology can be integrated with almost any existing/new technology and in almost any domain. Hence, the versatility of this technology blows me away and makes me delve deeper into it every day to be able to develop innovative solutions to solve real-world problems. Moreover, I enjoy integrating GIS with different functions/technologies and build sustainable solutions which are important for our business.
How does your work benefit society?
I believe that by working in the renewable energy sector and striving towards developing sustainable solutions driven by GIS to ensure that we prevent any harm done to our Climate, Environment and Biodiversity, I feel I am doing my fair share to make a difference and contributing towards making a better today and tomorrow.
Also, lately I have been guiding students who are pursuing their master’s about the future prospects of Geospatial field, and it has been an immense pleasure sharing my experiences and knowledge with them.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
It was an extensive Land cover analysis I did where I contributed to planning strategic locations for the installation of some devices which ensured that bird life is not harmed in and around our power plant. It was memorable & significant because it was done during covid time, and it was nearly impossible to visit the actual site. And since it was an urgent need to protect the biodiversity of the area, GIS technology came to the rescue.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
It is a very specific opinion of mine, but I would like to suggest that one should not follow the rat race and must explore distinctive and niche fields as well. Additionally, never take your career decision under the pressure of your family or friends. Find your own calling and decide based on your interests. When you do what you love, reaching your pinnacle is not impossible.
Future Plans.
I don’t have any specific plans, I just want to explore deeper into my field and continue learning new technological advancements done in Geospatial domain.
Although, I do aim to reach a certain position in my life, where my work can reach bigger audiences and has greater scale impact locally and internationally.