DREAMING BIG
Marwa Al-Ansary has always known that she wanted to be an engineer. After seven years at Shell, she鈥檚 still living her dream every day and inspiring others to do the same. She shares her story.
Growing up in Egypt as one of three children, Marwa Al-Ansary enjoyed collecting unused old items from around her neighbourhood and repurposing them to make gifts for her family and friends. To her, it was the foundation of what she does today 鈥� inventing new uses for waste materials.
Initially, her parents didn鈥檛 agree with her dream of becoming an engineer. 鈥淚 had other plans, though,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 knew they wanted me to become a doctor or a journalist, so I studied engineering in secret for two years. But when the truth finally came out, I explained my passion to my parents and they understood and surprisingly were very supportive afterwards. They were really proud when I received my PhD from the University of Cambridge.鈥�
Marwa enjoyed the academic process, graduating with first class honours in Construction Engineering at the American University in Cairo. She holds master鈥檚 degrees in Construction Engineering and Environmental Science. She also completed her PhD in Geotechnical and Environmental Research at the University of Cambridge, where she also taught before joining Shell in 2007 as a research lead.
She appreciates the supportive culture in Shell. 鈥淚t feels like a family. Working here, I get a lot of opportunities to travel and interact with different nationalities 鈥� it鈥檚 made me more sensitive to other cultures. A diverse workspace calls for a high level of tolerance and kindness 鈥� professionally and personally. A lot of people also work virtually, leading to a modern, dynamic workplace. The Shell environment allows me to connect with local expertise as well as work on cross-regional and international projects to gain knowledge, share ideas and ultimately move forward together.鈥�
According to Marwa, Shell has always been attentive to employees鈥� needs and the flexible working policy is just one way in which they stay true to this value. 鈥淧eople work flexibly for all kinds of reasons 鈥� some have elderly relatives to look after or want more time at home with their kids. Thanks to the Shell working policy, people can work flexibly, virtually and part time, and this helps them maintain a better work-life balance.鈥�
Marwa Al-Ansary"The internet makes my life so much easier. It鈥檚 great to think that you can be anywhere in the world yet still stay connected to your family and colleagues."
However, Marwa admits to not always balancing her personal life and career. 鈥淢y definition of a workday does not fit into the constraints of 9 to 5. I feel that I can work at any time of the day, as long as I don鈥檛 do it at the expense of my personal life. I鈥檝e realised that the best way to strike a balance is to delegate. If you trust others to do their job instead of trying to micromanage it all yourself, life becomes a lot easier,鈥� she explains.
Listening to her speak, it鈥檚 apparent that she鈥檚 a dreamer 鈥� always striving to do more. 鈥淚 like out-of-the-box thinking. It鈥檚 not as simple as going to plan B if plan A doesn鈥檛 work 鈥� what about plan C, D, E? Had I not followed my dreams when I was younger, I would have had a very different life. I couldn鈥檛 imagine living someone else鈥檚 idea of what my life should be,鈥� she says.
And that鈥檚 also her advice to others: 鈥淵ou need to be who you want to be. Forget about society鈥檚 stereotypes. At Shell, the opportunities are limitless.鈥�
Marwa Al-Ansary"I consider myself a citizen of the world 鈥� I was born in Saudi Arabia, grew up in Egypt, studied and worked in the 麻豆传媒, married an Indian man and recently moved from the Netherlands to Qatar."