People and projects from around the PETROFAC world

PEOPLE

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SALINI VINOJ, Instrumentation and Control Manager in Sharjah, and her daughter Gururagha

“To tell you frankly I wanted to be a doctor,” she laughs. “If you are good at your studies, your family look to you to take up a profession like a doctor, engineer or chartered accountant. I was a little disheartened when I didn’t get into medicine, but later on I was very happy to be in engineering.”

In fact she has never looked back. After graduating from college, Salini began her career as a trainee engineer in Mumbai with the German-based company Thyssenkrupp UHDE, before progressing to become deputy general manager in instrumentation. She joined Petrofac in Sharjah in 2011 as an instrumentation engineer and now leads on a number of projects.

Salini says that she loves the variety of her role: “There’s change and something novel every day – whether it’s working with and managing junior colleagues or solving technical matters. It’s quite inspiring.”

It was Salini’s passion for what she does that inspired her daughter Gururagha to study chemical engineering. Gururagha is now a Shift Field Engineer at one of Reliance Jamnagar’s plants in India.

“When I was small I was sceptical about doing engineering – my dad is a mechanical engineer so I thought there were too many engineers in the family!” she says. “As I grew up my mum always gave off the vibe that she loved what she was doing. So, I thought let’s try it and my interest grew from there.”

Salini believes that International Women in Engineering Day gives women engineers an opportunity to be heard. “Engineering is still regarded by many as a man’s world, sometimes it can be difficult for a woman to come in and establish herself,” she says. “Sometimes colleagues can be protective of you without asking what you want. You have to put in a lot of effort to be heard and get established.”

Having a good role model like her mum has been crucial, adds Gururagha: “When I joined Reliance most of the women were doing office work, rather than being in the field. I’ve now been in the field for about eight months. I’ve seen that I can grow and hopefully in two years I can move to the next post of superintendent.

“Seeing other women as successful engineers can boost your confidence. My mum is doing very well in her career – so I always knew I could too.”








“Archimedes – the Greek mathematician and inventor who discovered buoyancy. His principle helped to develop ships so people could travel. He is a true reflection of a scientist and engineer. He shows how engrossed you can become in your own thinking.”

Salini Vinoj

WORDS CHRISTINA McPHERSON

PUBLISHED JUNE 2020

“The company I work for is very inspiring. They have shown there is no limit to what you can do. The plant I work in is trying to change Pet coke (a waste product found in refining) into something useful. So, the company always believes you can go further.”

Gururagha Vinoj

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Gururagha singing at an International Women’s Day event

Gururagha is also a dancer and artist

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