My name is Raïssa La douce IRAKOZE, I'm 27 years old. I was born and raised in Rwanda. I arrived in France in 2015 to pursue my higher education. Today, I'm Study Project Manager Ile de France (French region) at SNCF Réseau (French railway infrastructure manager), where I've been working for almost 2 years.
My missions
The Study Project Manager's role consists of managing, coordinating and monitoring several players to meet a customer's needs referred to as General Project Management in corporate language. The Study Project Manager is the link between the client “General Project Management” and Study production. She plays the role of orchestra conductor, driving activities forward while respecting deadlines, quality and costs.
In the transport sector, for example, the Study Project Manager receives a request to modernize railway lines, build stations or create new transport lines.
Her role is to gather all the necessary information, listen to the customer and understand his requirements.
Once the requirement has been defined, the Study Project Manager turns to the various teams known as Trade Groups: these are specialists in the production of the documents needed to carry out the work.
The Study Project Manager checks the feasibility of the project with the Trade Groups, and together we define the documents that will be needed to complete the project.
Once the project has been validated by the customer, the Study Project Manager must ensure that the Trade Groups respect the schedule, avoid cost overruns and check the quality of the deliverables provided by the business groups.
A concrete example
The Mayor of a village located between two large cities, each served by a TER (Transport Express Regional, i.e. a regional train in France), wants to build a station to serve its village, which has several residents who need a TER to travel quickly to the neighboring cities.
To carry out the construction work for this station, feasibility studies and execution studies are required.
The Mayor assembles a General Project Management team, which will perform the construction work for this station. This team approaches our company and requests studies concerning their needs.
The Study Project Manager receives this request, contacts the General Project Management team, and listens to their needs. The Study Project Manager requests the necessary input data (site measurements where the station will be built, local particularities to be known, topographic surveys, etc.) needed to start the feasibility study.
Through a report, the Study Project Manager has the client's need validated by the General Project Management team. Once validated, the Study Project Manager presents the project to the study teams, together they establish a schedule to complete the studies.
The Study Project Manager organizes a site visit where the construction will take place. Then the study production begins: drafting detailed notices outlining the work and recommendations to follow, cost estimates for the work, pans production, listing the necessary materials, and so on.
As deliverables are produced, the Study Project Manager organizes presentations of these deliverables to the General Project Management team. Finally, an assembled file containing all the approved deliverables is handed over to the General Project Management team so they can build the station they want. The whole process can take more than 2 years !
My academic and training background
As mentioned in the introduction at the beginning, I grew up in Rwanda where I did my schooling up to the end of high school. I went to a traditional elementary school in Rwanda, then started secondary school at a nuns' school in Kigali.
At secondary school, my parents decided to enroll me at the Antoine de st Exupéry French school in Kigali, where I followed a French brevet + baccalaureate coursework through the CNED (French remote learning platform).
So in 2015 ,I obtained a Scientific Baccalaureate, specializing in Physics Chemistry.
From September 2015 to 2018 I started university at the Fac de Grenoble ( formerly Université Joseph Fourier) where I obtained a Licence (equivalent to a Bachelor's degree) in engineering sciences.
To pass my degree, I did a 6-month internship on a project to build a reconnaissance structure, to see if it was possible to build a railroad under the Alps (creation of the Lyon-Turin railway line); it was thanks to this project that I discovered the railway world, which was completely unknown to me at the time.
From September 2018 to January 2021 I did a Master's degree in Civil Engineering with two specializations: one in engineering structures and the other in construction in seismic zones. At the end of the Master's program, I did a final internship on an airport construction project.
In September 2021 I was hired by an engineering consulting firm to become a consultant. My first assignment was with SNCF where I was recruited as a consulting engineer in charge of input data acquisition. I worked closely with the Study Project Managers, and I really liked their job: the exchange with the outside world, managing relations with customers, the feeling of being part of a team that makes things happen... all this attracted me, and when the opportunity arose... I applied for the job, went through the interviews and entrance exams... to my great delight, I passed everything and was hired internally in Sept 2022, in the position of Study Project Manager.
I wouldn't say that this job was my first objective, in fact when I left school I wasn't very convinced of the place I wanted to occupy in the world of work. I wasn't sure of myself and of the choices open to me.
However, I did have criteria for my job:
I wanted to work for a company that works for the public.
I wanted to be part of those who contribute to making everyday life simpler.
I wanted a supportive work environment.
I wanted to learn new things and work on projects that aligned with my values.
I didn't want a job that was repetitive, without novelty, I needed challenges all the time.
I wanted an employer who trusted me and allowed me to be free.
I wanted an employer who values diversity and inclusion.
I found all these elements in the company where I am now, and that's why I stayed.
The importance of my work
The work I do is important for society, because it's part of a long chain that enables people to get from point A to point B.
We work to provide the right infrastructures to keep public transport running at low cost and at regular times.
Public transport also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so we're indirectly helping the environment !
Being a woman in the rail industry
Railway jobs are still men-dominated, and from time to time I find myself the only woman in a meeting or on a worksite. But everyone is benevolent and sensitive to gender diversity. In the 3 years I've been on the job, I've had no particular difficulty to report due to the fact that I'm a woman.
My hobbies
I'm a big adventurer! I love traveling, seeing the world, discovering new cultures, tasting dishes I've never tasted before... For me, traveling is a way of escaping, educating myself and broadening my vision of the world.
At work, we don't have as much time off as when we were in high school, which is a challenge for making big trips, but with the little time off I have, I do my best. I plan an average of 3 trips a year outside of Europe, and sometimes on weekends I escape to countries that are less than 2 hours' flight away.
During my travels, I'm sometimes confronted with situations I hadn't anticipated, and I have to adapt and deal with the situation without getting stressed. This also happens during the life of a project, there are always unforeseen circumstances and you have to be able to adapt quickly and find appropriate and effective solutions.
My current goal is to visit 30 countries before I turn 30 !
My second hobby is reading. Like traveling, books are a great source of wealth for me, allowing me to discover the world through the eyes of another person.
This year I'm doing a challenge to read 52 books, so one book a week! I don't manage to finish a book every week, but I'm currently on my 20th.
Work-life balance
Work-life balance was the first challenge I had to deal with at the start of my career.
But I quickly realized that you have to know how to disconnect your brain to be able to rest better and be efficient later on. So I had to set myself limits such as: not working at weekends, not opening my computer or checking emails during vacations, being disconnected by 7 p.m. at the latest and so on.
In addition, I do sport, I also try to see friends or go to the cinema in the middle of the week to have a life that doesn't revolve around work alone.
A few words of advice
I'd tell her to go for it and see all the wonders the world of transportation has to offer !
I'd tell her not to be afraid of taking the plunge, the great thing about this field is that there are so many different jobs to choose from, depending on what you like best! and on your personality too.
When the time comes to choose a profession, don't hesitate to try anything that makes you dream! You're capable of doing anything, but choose a profession that has meaning for you, a profession that will make you want to get up every day and of which you'll be proud.
Above all, never stop dreaming !
Edited by Mazzarine D., Léa C. and Sylvana S.
Find it here:
Instagram: @r.irkz (where you’ll find an highlight of all the books I’ve read this year)
Raïssa IRAKOZE: building tomorrow's rail network
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