FEATURE INTERVIEW
Interview with NURUL NOOR
Special Project Leader for Cybersecurity in Siemens Energy Malaysia
We are working towards a sort of an energy ecosystem in which we will all collaborate and help each other.
Dorotea Filipan
Hello. My name is Dorotea Filipan. I am the Project Manager of Women in Power Systems, an APC Media global organization that advocates for women in all different positions in the energy industry. My guest today is the wonderful Nurul Noor. She is a Special Projects Manager of Siemens Energy Malaysia. Nurul, welcome, thank you for being here.
Nurul Noor
Thank you for having me, Dorotea.
DF
Now, you are a Special Project Leader for Cybersecurity in Siemens Energy Malaysia, is that correct?
NN
I actually work together with a counterpart in Singapore. We work hand in hand, very much looking into strategic alliances and partnerships. We work very closely with researchers and universities, and we look forward to working closely with stakeholders in the energy industry. We are also working towards a sort of energy ecosystem in which we will all collaborate and help each other. Regardless of what business somebody is in. If they are in the energy industry, we would want to work toward a partnership.
DF
That sounds ground-breaking! Something that we as WPS strongly advocate for is this interaction and collaboration. We believe that networking is the way to a better future. Now, would you tell us a little bit about your journey? What inspired you to dive into a career in the energy industry?
NN
The power industry is actually one of the largest in the world and it is a sector that's vital to the life of a lot of people across the globe. Our economy and culture are only possible thanks to a steady stream of energy. This means, that in this industry you are automatically a part of something big. Therefore, I was truly inspired to be a part of it with the hope that I could be involved with energy innovation. Currently, I'm involved with several special projects for the company, which we’ve called the Online Energy Shop and Strategy Alliance and Partnership. Our current focus is on cybersecurity as the pandemic has taken the world to a totally different level of digital presence. This represents a major potential threat that needs urgent attention worldwide. So here again, part of my team’s effort is to build a solid ecosystem of collaborations and together to tackle this and other problems in this field. That is what inspires me every day.
DF
Wow, that really is a vital cause you and your team have taken on. Not to mention a big one. What were some of the greatest challenges that you have had to face and overcome, specifically for this cybersecurity project and in your career in the energy industry as a whole?
NN
My greatest challenge was actually curbing my own drive. I was doing a team project and taking over too much responsibility on the management side. I was a little too enthusiastic and started trying to handle as many items for the group as possible, believing that the more I did for the group, the better it would be. But as a result, I stretched myself too thin. So I started sacrificing a lot of my personal time and ended up being sleep-deprived. In the end, I realized that I could not do everything by myself and that having a competent team to divide the tasks of a large project is the best thing you can have and I'm very thankful for my team. We work very closely with everyone across the globe, especially with the US team. They have a totally different perspective in terms of cybersecurity and are very generous in exchanging information with us.
DF
This is excellent and it brings us back to the importance of networking and global collaboration to create a better energy future for everyone. I would like to go back to what you said about stretching yourself too thin because you felt that you have to do more and more for your team. It’s something we’ve all had to happen to us at least once. So it is very important to be conscious of it and try to nurture a healthy work/life balance.
NN
Exactly, this balance between home and work and work and pleasure is something that we try to promote as well because we are aware of the problem since we're all guilty of it in some way or another.
DF
That is so important, isn’t it? To have that sort of support from your professional environment.
NN
Very much so. I started off this career journey with my manager, who has been very motivating and supportive. She encouraged me to complete my Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer Associate certificate. It was difficult but she was there for me every step of the way and I cherish that support to this day. And even more recently, because of all my participation, the VP has been very kind to write me a personal letter of recommendation to apply for the Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Program Scholarship 2022. So that's the kind of amazing support that I get from my company and the reason why this topic of support and acknowledgment is very close to my heart. I would encourage women in our industry to keep doing their best, keep vibing, good energy, and sooner or later the universe will place all the right people around you who will see it and who will help you to fly high.
DF
That is fantastic. Congratulations on this letter of recommendation and on this acknowledgment, because that is what being valued and supported looks like: Your superior acknowledging your effort and your quality and rewarding it.
NN
Thank you. Yes, exactly, it makes all the difference.
DF
But this Cambridge program is not the only way in which you have been expanding your abilities if I remember correctly. You also quite recently returned to school and started your PhD in sociology.
NN
Yes, this is a very personal thing for me. I've always had this question about people understanding people. So that is why I decided to study humans through sociology. My recent research was based on understanding millennial women.
DF
That sounds very interesting. And do you feel that you will be able to apply this knowledge to the position and the business that you're currently in?
NN
Oh, definitely. I'm currently handling strategic partnerships and alliances and am deeply involved in relationship-building. We have been meeting a lot of universities recently, talking about numerous kinds of relationships and collaborations. We agreed that our experts would visit each other and exchange knowledge and skills. The universities have got grad students working on new inventions, so they want the industry to be part of it. Strategy, alliances, and partnerships are not just straightforward, they also involve a lot of understanding and people skills and reading people's body language. So this knowledge and the scientific perspective will definitely help me strategize when I meet people in a business capacity.
I'll give you one simple example. We have many engineers on the team and when they communicate, they used to speak in technical jargon and our Managers couldn’t understand them. But when they were asked to simplify and explain, it was difficult for them. That's where the communication breaks and it will create unnecessary frustrations. But that is something that can actually be worked on successfully.
DF
Yes, that is a very frequent issue in our industry. Technical people talking to salespeople and vice versa and each side has its own language so to say. And then when those two worlds collide, communication issues happen. It is excellent to hear that companies and individuals are becoming aware of it and are looking for solutions. I would like to go back to the letter of recommendation from your VP, commending you for your work. Would you consider that to be the proudest moment in your career or would you like to add another one?
NN
Oh, yes, that was very heart-warming for me and definitely one of my proudest moments. But the proudest moment in my career would be when I was put in charge of a new team and was able to present my interpersonal skills and deliver the best that I can. I was able to prioritize large workloads and share learning across diverse teams. I was immediately able to communicate all the problems, present potential solutions, improve interpersonal communication and improve problem-solving, all with a clear head in a fast-paced environment. We handle a lot of requests, we have to analyze a lot of details when it comes to coming up with a proposal for big companies, for big clients. But at the same time, I was appointed as the main committee for the launch of a ground-breaking ceremony of a cybersecurity hub in Asia Pacific for Siemens Energy. This was the first step for me into cyber security. And that same VP saw me being passionate about it. That's where he started to pull me into the next project, which is the strategy, alliance, and partnership focusing on cybersecurity. So this is my most recent achievement that I am very proud of.
I love it that even though I am their mother, I am still learning from my children. There’s a saying that you kill people with kindness. That’s something I learned from my daughter.