Sener culture

What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering and production?

I would love to be able to say that I have been passionate about engineering since I was a child. But I wasn’t the typical child who liked to build things. In fact, I preferred to deconstruct them. I chose this career for a more practical reason: of the options I was interested in, engineering offered the best job opportunities.

Today, with more than 20 years’ experience, I can say that I am passionate about being an engineer. I have managed to incorporate aspects of myself into my work: creativity, enthusiasm, innovation and a desire to keep learning. I believe in the power of teamwork, and not only does this lead to better results, it also makes everything much more fun.

Being an engineer makes me happy.

What got you enthusiastic about Sener as a company?

What caught my attention about Sener was the combination of sectors, projects and technologies. I thought: this is the ideal environment to continue to grow in innovation.
For me, Sener is like a sweet shop for engineers: there is everything!

There is room for innovation here, the vision is transversal and the learning potential is enormous.
From the first day I knew that I could learn, grow and contribute.

What business area do you belong to and what do you do? What is your day-to-day life like?

At corporate Innovation, we work to unlock solutions and turn them into business. Because innovation without execution… is pure hallucination.

We seek to align ourselves with the strategy of each business to invest in projects that can be transformed into real value. We support them with methodology, tools, governance and connections inside and outside Sener. And in this way we foster a culture that turns ideas into action.

We are also part of the team that is working on the project to reinvent Sener’s spaces. A transformation project that updates and transforms our offices to make them more modern, flexible and with spaces that adapt to our needs and enhance teamwork.

What has been your progression since you joined Sener?

I joined Sener’s Innovation department two and a half years ago, and since then I have had the opportunity to work on some very interesting projects.

Working with the Energy team, I have contributed to strengthening the hydrogen ecosystem and reviewing the Zabalgarbi 2029 plant’s operational plan. In the Mobility department, I helped define the vision, and I am currently helping to ground the innovation vectors in specific projects. I have also worked with the digital team in the data science office, as well as connecting the Respira solution with the automotive sector.

In order to reinforce our open innovation strategy, it is essential that we share knowledge, access technologies, and collaborate with other players in the ecosystem. This is the only way we can innovate faster, better, and more efficiently. In this regard, I have participated in defining collaboration frameworks with technology centres such as Tekniker, Tecnalia and Eurecat, as well as with universities such as UAX. I have also collaborated on launching challenges in energy, mobility and aerospace aimed at university research centres.

Last year, I coordinated the UNE 166002 audit to ensure that our innovation system effectively supports, manages and improves R&D&I activities.

I have also promoted an innovation culture from within by being part of the organising committee of the Innovation Forum, which we hold every two years. To promote collaboration between businesses, I help organise the Sener Synergy Summit, which has already been held twice.

Currently, I am leading two artificial intelligence initiatives to enhance the innovation process during the ideation and technology watch phases.

Best of all is connecting with Sener´s people! After all, we, the people, are the ones who turn ideas into reality.

How do you think the projects you work on influence the world or society today and in the future?

In the Innovation area, we are just another cog in Sener’s wheel. Our role is to be at the service of businesses to help them unlock new solutions that can be transformed into the businesses of the future.

If we do it well, we generate impact not only for the company, but also for society, providing more sustainable, efficient and technologically advanced solutions.

How do you keep up to date with general knowledge and trends in your sector?

I am absolutely certain that knowledge is multiplied when it is shared. Just as in the brain, it is not just the neurons that are important, but the connections between them, in our work what enriches us most are the networks we create with other people.

So by opening doors, creating synergies, collaborating and getting in touch with people, we weave connections that broaden knowledge and keep you up to date.

During the pandemic, a group of innovation professionals from companies such as Alstom, Nestlé, AstraZeneca, Mediapro, Acciona, Nissan (where I worked), Vodafone, AXA and Sener came together to share real experiences, without smoke and mirrors. Success stories, useful tools and honest learning.

This initiative gave birth to a living community that today continues to help us learn, to anticipate trends and to grow together. We even wrote a book with all that collective knowledge. An incredible experience that keeps me connected, curious and up to date.

Apart from reading and following people of reference, teaching is another thing that keeps me connected. It forces me to organise and explain what I do in a clear and useful way. The best thing about it is that I always learn something new from the students.

Therefore, when I need to learn something for a specific project, I approach it in a structured and methodical way. I analyse the technological state of the art, what competitors are doing, market trends, and the regulatory and normative framework. In fact, I am currently working on a project to enable artificial intelligence to perform this analysis automatically and eliminate repetitive tasks. With technologies evolving so quickly, it’s almost impossible to keep up with everything without support.

In your opinion, what distinguishes Sener from its competitors?

Its people, definitely, its people. And, as an added value, cross-sectoral and technological transversality. And this, frankly, is not to be found everywhere. At Sener, transversality is the competitive advantage and its people are the real engine of transformation.

What new challenges do you see yourself working on in the medium term?

I would like to be able to translate innovation vectors into concrete projects that become new businesses.

An innovation vector is a strategic area of work that shapes Sener’s vision of the future and is incorporated into three business plans.

It is a specific solution that we want to develop, with a clear objective of having a defined customer base and a viable business model. In other words, we stop thinking of innovation as a technological development that we want to sell and start viewing it as a real value proposition with market potential and a business model.

These vectors emerge from analysing trends, technology, regulations and listening to the market. They help us identify opportunities, anticipate change, and create new avenues of growth for the company.

In short, innovation vectors transform strategy into action by connecting ideas with real results.