I’m Eva SAMBA and I am currently a Civil Engineering Engineer at EDF Renewables in Paris-La Défense 😊 My role is to provide my civil engineering expertise in renewable energy projects (solar and wind) primarily during the study and construction phases.
In short, I participate in calls for tenders (a procedure by which a potential buyer asks different bidders to make a commercial proposal in response to the detailed formulation (specifications) of their need for a product, service, or performance. source: definitions-marketing.com) in France and internationally to define the civil engineering infrastructures of wind and solar farms, and I draft the specifications for the contracting companies. I am also consulted for necessary verifications on projects under development or already built to analyze risks, make recommendations, and evaluate budgets.
I am very passionate about my job, and this passion began when I discovered in the media a woman who, at the time, was leading a Senegalese agency responsible for implementing major infrastructure projects for the State of Senegal. I researched her career path, and from there, my desire to pursue scientific studies with the main goal of becoming a civil engineering engineer was born 😀! It was also a personal challenge to show that women, just like men, have the ability to succeed in this field!
To achieve this, after my BAC, I continued my studies at the Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar (Senegal), where I graduated with a Professional License in Renewable Energy Technology and an Engineering degree in Civil Engineering. I then worked as an apprentice in a company that provides solar micro-grids (autonomous energy systems that operate independently of the traditional electrical grid). Six years later, I joined a Senegalese state agency responsible for implementing rural electrification programs, particularly through the installation of solar mini-grids in areas far from the existing electrical grid. Finally, at the beginning of 2019, I came to France, where I continue to work in the field of renewable energy.
My move to France was for family reasons. The hardest part was, of course, leaving my friends and colleagues after so many years together. Fortunately, I had no apprehension about my professional reintegration in France.
Being a woman in the field of civil engineering is certainly not an easy task, but I am fortunate not to have experienced any particular “sexist” situations with my colleagues. Okay, I admit that sometimes during site visits, some tease me about the working conditions and offer to go in my place, believing I won’t manage, but of course, I always do 😉!
Also, it can happen that some workers on sites have difficulty accepting instructions from a woman, but when it happens, you have to manage to impose respect without direct confrontation.
I would be delighted to chat with those interested in my field to give you more details because, in my opinion, the percentage of women in scientific professions is low because the promotion of scientific fields is not systematically done by women!
The advice I can give you is to believe in yourselves, girls, and give yourselves the means to succeed because where there’s a will, there’s a way! Personally, I have never met a person who failed in their studies or professional career because they were a woman. On the contrary, we are generally the best at what we do with passion and dedication. This quality is not negligible, and employers do not hesitate to highlight it. So go for it!
Written by Monika
