ROD Design Engineer, Giovanni Battista Ragusa.
I studied civil engineering at Universita’ degli Studi di Messina, in my beautiful hometown in the north eastern corner of Sicily. I specialised in infrastructure and territory defence and gained a sound knowledge of transportation, hydraulics and structures.
After completing my master’s degree, I spent a year working as a junior resident engineer on an underground extension project linking Catania’s city centre and railway station. I enjoyed the experience of working on site, facing daily technical challenges and attending meetings with contractors, stakeholders and the client.
In late 2016, my then girlfriend – now wife – and I moved to Ireland to improve our English skills and search for better job opportunities. While I attended classes at an English language school in Cork city, Elisa, who is also an engineer, applied for jobs. She secured a place on ROD’s graduate programme and, within a few weeks of starting work, was so enthusiastic about the company that she pushed me to submit my CV. I didn’t feel confident enough to face an interview in English, but she eventually persuaded me to apply for a position within ROD's transportation team, and I got the job!
I am currently working on BusConnects, one of the biggest transport projects in Dublin. The project aims to upgrade the main road networks in Dublin to enhance the city’s sustainable transport facilities and encourage road drivers to embrace cycling or buses in favour of private cars. My responsibilities include road modelling some of the city’s bus corridors, which is both challenging and rewarding in that it has given me the opportunity to strengthen my Civil 3D skills.
One of the things I enjoy most about working with the transportation team at ROD is the collective focus on developing better solutions for the most vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, who are often neglected or forgotten about in the pressure to relieve traffic demand.
When I first joined ROD, I was afraid of being judged for my mediocre English skills, so I kept to myself. Over time, I realised that my colleagues were happy to support me, and my confidence improved enough to join in conversations over coffee in the canteen. I am lucky in that my wife speaks enough for both us, so I never feel too much pressure to be more out-going than I am!
I am well settled in Ireland now, but I don’t know if I will ever get used to the absence of a proper, warm summer here.
For any Italian looking for a high calibre experience abroad, I can highly recommend ROD - not just on account of the valuable project experiences I’ve been given here, but also because of the well-rounded continuing professional development (CPD) plans promoted and sponsored by the company. The canteen’s new coffee machine, which makes a great espresso, is just a bonus!
