The strong women of our industry continue to go full throttle! In the past weeks, different women have given us insights into their professional lives. For our last power woman interview, we welcome Dr.-Ing. Elena Rudi (Head of the Central Laboratory at Basalt AG’s Technology Centre).

infraTest: Good morning, Ms Rudi. When I look at your CV, it seems to have gone perfectly. Did you have a plan from the beginning?

E. Rudi: I already knew in the 11th grade that I wanted to study civil engineering and also at which university. Architecture would certainly have been interesting, but I recognised the advantages of studying engineering after I informed myself more thoroughly. So I resolutely set out on my path.

infraTest: The degree programme consists of different modules. Which subjects were you most enthusiastic about?

E. Rudi: I really liked the road design module. It’s a great feeling to be able to plan and design a road from the very beginning. Mathematics, mechanics and statics were also very interesting. Surprisingly, building physics was also one of my favourite subjects. I would never have guessed that during my school days.

infraTest: After graduating, you started your professional career at Basalt AG. Have you worked towards a management position since then?

E. Rudi: No, it just happened. In addition to sound specialist knowledge, a bit of luck is also part of it. I was at the right time, in the right place and got the chance to prove myself as a manager because my predecessor was devoting himself to new challenges.

infraTest: You have been employed at Basalt AG for 8 years and have already gained a lot of professional experience. What do you enjoy most about your job?

E. Rudi: It’s the variety! My work is a colourful mix of field appointments at construction sites, office work and research. In our central laboratory, we carry out various performance tests on asphalt and I evaluate the results.

In addition, the exchange with other colleagues is very inspiring. There are many different personalities in our industry. So I always learn something new or get to know something new.

infraTest: And what could you no longer do without in your working life?

E. Rudi: Technical discussions are incredibly exciting and enrich my everyday life. Without communication with my colleagues, I would only enjoy my job half as much.

infraTest: Your consistent diligence has paid off. Looking back, which decisions led to your success?

E. Rudi: I am very happy that I chose Basalt AG at that time. Here I was able to develop steadily and have now found my place. In addition, the doctorate paid off, so that I was now able to take on a management position. In the end, all my decisions came together to form a coherent overall package with which I am very satisfied.

infraTest: How clearly does it feel as a woman to work in a male domain? Do young women have to do more for their success?

E. Rudi: No, I don’t see it that way! Thanks to great pioneer women, like Mrs. Hunstock, we can rather talk about a fundamental generation conflict today. Young people are growing up in a digital world. This inevitably leads to differences of opinion between the established leadership and the ambitious newcomers. Both men and women have to prove themselves. If you do excellent work and appear self-confident, this should be rewarded regardless of gender.

infraTest: In which areas of our industry do you think you meet more women? At least on construction sites I hardly see any women.

E. Rudi: No, construction site work is heavy physical work. Not every body can do it in the long run. I think that this work also does not correspond to a woman’s usual sphere of interest, although of course there are always exceptions and that is a good thing! Many of my former female fellow students now work for public authorities or in engineering offices. In my year of study, a relatively large number of women studied structural engineering and bridge construction.

infraTest: What do you wish young women who are now entering our industry and what advice would you give them?

E. Rudi: Stay true to yourself. If you really want it and fight for your goal, you will achieve it. Develop passion for your work and burn for what you do. Then success will come almost by itself. Weigh your strengths and weaknesses. That way you will find a position in which you feel comfortable.

infraTest: Thank you very much for these concluding words and the open conversation. With your interview, we have reached the end of our Power Women Month.
We would like to thank all the women in our industry once again for their commitment and look forward to repeating our women’s roundtable soon, even if this is only possible online for the time being.

Insight from research and the university is provided by our guest today: We welcome Dr.-Ing. Plamena Plachkova-Dzhurova from the Institute for Road and Railway Engineering (ISE) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

infraTest: Ms. Plachkova-Dzhurova, was it clear to you as a young girl what path you would take?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: No, not at all. I really wanted to become a military pilot and had also prepared myself for that. As luck would have it, no women were accepted in the year I graduated from school, so I looked around for an alternative.

infraTest: A special career aspiration. I can imagine that your parents are more appreciative of your current career choice.

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: My parents both work in road construction. My father was employed at the civil engineering office for a long time and now works for a construction company. My mother has gained many different insights into civil engineering and quality assurance. That’s how I grew up with our industry. My parents were happy when I discarded my wish to become a pilot. However, I now live over 2,000 km away from them.

infraTest: Which station in your professional career did you like the most and which did you find the most challenging?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: I am still deeply involved in almost all stations. My field of work consists of many facets such as research, teaching and working in the RAP Stra testing centre. I love the diversity and find it a luxury to be able to pursue a holistic activity. All these areas are challenging and complement each other. Findings from practice can be transferred to research and teaching and vice versa.

infraTest: You came to Germany as a young woman. Did you have the feeling that it is more difficult for young people to arrive in our industry?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: During my studies, I was able to gain various insights into road construction through internships and student jobs, but much more into hydraulic and structural engineering. After my studies, however, things really took off. It is always difficult at the beginning – you are new, come straight from university and have no contacts in the industry. It’s important to fight for every opportunity and to learn quickly. But I found nice colleagues, both at the institute and outside, who supported me and made the work fun.

infraTest: How were you able to gain respect?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: Through patience and perseverance. Respect and recognition are not earned overnight. Basically, it is something you have to work at all the time. If you have a solid expertise, it will pay off sooner or later. There are many paths that lead to the goal. You just have to keep going.

infraTest: You cover many areas. As a result, you spend a lot of time working. Does your circle of friends and private life also form accordingly after a while in our industry?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: Work already occupies a central place in my life. But I also have a great family and above all a partner who supports me very much. With time, the friends in the industry become more, but of course there are also others. Some of my private contacts date back to a time before my professional career began. Of course, we don’t see each other that often anymore, we’ve all moved on in different directions. As soon as we meet again, we can pick up where we left off. I am grateful for such long-term friendships.

infraTest: What fascinates you most about your profession?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: The idea of creating something that lasts. I don’t build roads directly, but everything I do serves to make them more durable and better in one way or another. In the end, the whole of society benefits from my work. It makes me proud when I drive over a road that I have contributed to.

infraTest: If you had three wishes for our industry, what would they be?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: First of all, I would wish that our industry would be more appreciated by society. Often it is not even known what exactly lies behind our work. Secondly, I would like to see more young people discovering our profession and more of them becoming interested in research. Finally, I think it would be great if more women dared to complete their training and studies in our industry.

infraTest: What do you wish young women who are now entering our industry and what advice would you give them?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: Our fields of work are many and varied. Have self-confidence and work tirelessly on your skills. Keep your eyes on the goal and don’t let setbacks drag you down.

infraTest: Thank you very much for the exciting interview. You do a great job at your university. We are sure that your students are also very satisfied with you.

For us, International Women’s Day is not just once a year! We dedicate March to our power women and publish an interview every Friday. Today we welcome Katrin Hunstock (Consulting Engineer at Eurovia Germany).

infraTest: Hello Ms Hunstock, you are a consulting engineer at Eurovia Germany. After leaving school, did you immediately know what profession you wanted to learn?

K. Hunstock: Yes, I approached my career in a very structured way. It was already clear during high school that I wanted to study civil engineering. Insights into practice have always been important to me. That’s why I did several internships while still at school. The impressions from the engineering office, road construction laboratory and traffic planning office helped me to find out which field I wanted to specialise in. In the end, it became road construction because the internship in the laboratory convinced me the most. I think it’s great to see what we can create. My career choice was a very conscious decision and I am still very happy with it! I have found my place at Eurovia Germany.

infraTest: Are there any subjects in the degree programm that you should particularly enjoy and what was the distribution between men and women?

K. Hunstock: I think you should definitely have an affinity for maths. You have to do a lot of calculations during your studies. In terms of the distribution of men and women, there used to be a male preponderance. I would estimate that there were 10% women in my degree programme. That has probably changed by now.

infraTest: What does your field of work involve now?

K. Hunstock: I advise branch offices and mixing plants on technical issues. This also includes support with tenders, planning and subsequent processing. In addition, I am responsible for technical training from the columns up to the branch manager. I particularly enjoy the variety in my job. I always learn something new. Designing interactive and exciting web seminars in this day and age was new to me, but I was happy to take on this task.

infraTest: You are in a managerial position. What qualities do you think a good manager should have?

K. Hunstock: Definitely social competence! Not every technical specialist also has leadership skills. It is important to be honest with yourself and to have the courage to admit your weaknesses. That way you can concentrate on your strengths and find the path that suits you.
In addition, self-reflection and self-confidence are important qualities, as is the ability to appreciate and honour work done. Not only strategic tasks are important for a company. Operational site work deserves just as much recognition.

infraTest: What makes us women? A widespread cliché is that women are sensitive. If that is so, would we be predestined for leadership positions because we would have a better sense for interpersonal issues?

K. Hunstock: I think our main motivation is rarely prestige. You can’t generalise anything and from my experience I would say that women first and foremost have to identify with their work and enjoy it. We decide some things on the basis of our gut instinct. But not without having informed ourselves in detail beforehand. However, this depends on character and not on gender. Self-confident women know where their limits lie and what their strengths are.

infraTest: How clearly do you feel it as a woman to work in a male domain? Do young women have to do more for their success?

K. Hunstock: I started in the construction industry 18 years ago and at that time it was still difficult for a woman to gain a management position. Women are also clearly outnumbered at events in our industry. You can’t deny that our industry is a “men’s club”. But I have gained insights into the most diverse areas through internships and my work experience, so I was able to convince with my know-how.

infraTest: Would you like to see more women in our industry?

K. Hunstock: It certainly wouldn’t hurt. I am convinced that more women would work in our industry if we had more applicants. Maybe it is a matter of education, social image, a marketing issue or a question of training content. The fact is that significantly fewer women apply for our field.

infraTest: Are there any prejudices that men particularly often confirm?

K. Hunstock: It is human to think in pigeonholes. Nevertheless, we notice it more often when a man serves a cliché. The fact that many men previously reacted differently quickly recedes into the background. We should not generalise. The upcoming generation in particular stands for openness and proves that it is time to break down rigid ways of thinking.

infraTest: Many educated young women strive for a successful career and still want a family with children. The urge for self-realisation is becoming stronger among the upcoming generation. How can both wishes be fulfilled?

K. Hunstock: It’s not easy, but it can be done. My job involves a lot of travelling. So I am rarely at home under normal circumstances. Without a strong and understanding partner, it will be a challenge to reconcile children and job. Every woman has to be clear in advance about her goals and coordinate them with her partner.

infraTest: How much private time does an executive have at all?

K. Hunstock: That depends on the situation. There are phases when you also work on weekends or holidays. Not only because you have to, but also because you are intrinsically motivated, interested in a topic or want to complete a task. On the other hand, a management position has more freedom and, of course, holidays belong to private life. It is not always necessary to do extra work, but it is part of it.

infraTest: What experiences would you not want to miss and what are you particularly proud of?

K. Hunstock: I would do everything the same way again and wanted to experience both my glory days and defeats. We learn from difficult situations and know how to do things better the next time. Maybe we women are a bit more self-critical or tend to be perfectionists.

infraTest: What do you wish young women who are now entering our industry and what advice would you give them?

K. Hunstock: You don’t have to be able to do everything right away. We grow with our challenges and that’s how self-confidence can grow. Don’t make yourself small, but still be self-reflective. Don’t give up and believe in yourself!

infraTest: Thank you very much for the inspiring interview. You are a role model for our next generation.

infraTest Prüftechnik invites power women of the asphalt industry for an interview

Approximately 51% of the German population are women. Reason enough to show them our appreciation on International Women’s Day and say THANK YOU! Because only a few work in male domains. infraTest admires the strong women of our industry and has invited three representative power women for an interview.

We welcome Dr.-Ing. Plamena Plachkova-Dzhurova (Head of the Department of Road Construction Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Elena Rudi (Head of the Central Laboratory at Basalt AG) and Katrin Hunstock (Consulting Engineer at Eurovia Germany).

infraTest: Good morning everyone! Thank you very much for welcoming us to our women’s round table. Ms Plachkova-Dzurova, did you already know as a young girl what path you would take?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: No, not at all. I really wanted to be a military pilot and had prepared myself for it. As luck would have it, no women were accepted in the year I graduated from school, so I looked around for an alternative.

infraTest: Military pilot – that’s a really special career aspiration! Ms Rudi, what was it like for you? When I look at your CV, it seems to have gone perfectly.

E. Rudi:I already knew in the 11th grade that I wanted to study civil engineering and also at which university. Architecture would certainly have been interesting, but I realised the advantages of studying engineering after I had done more research. So I determinedly set out on my path.

infraTest: I see, but what about the studies? Are there subjects you should particularly enjoy and what was the distribution between men and women?

K. Hunstock: I think you should definitely have an affinity for maths. You have to do a lot of calculations in your studies. In terms of the distribution of men and women, there used to be a male surplus. I would estimate that there were 10% women in my degree programme. That has probably changed by now.

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: I can confirm that. When I look at my courses now, the distribution is almost even.

infraTest: How clearly do you feel it as a woman to work in a male domain? Do young women have to do more to succeed?

K. Hunstock: I started in the construction industry 18 years ago and at that time it was still difficult for a woman to gain a management position. Women are also clearly outnumbered at events in our industry. You can’t deny that our industry is a “men’s club”. But through internships and my work experience, I have gained insights into the most diverse areas, so that I have been able to convince with my know-how.

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: In my everyday work, I don’t notice working in a male domain. Yes, at the beginning of my career it was difficult and I had to work for my position. But I don’t want to claim that this was exclusively due to my gender. Maybe it was also a generational conflict that contributed to it.

E. Rudi: I agree! Thanks to the great pioneer women, like Mrs. Hunstock, we can rather talk about a fundamental generation conflict today. Young people are growing up in a digital world. There are bound to be differences of opinion between the established leadership and the ambitious newcomers. Both men and women have to prove themselves. If you do excellent work and appear self-confident, this should be rewarded regardless of gender.

infraTest: Many educated young women strive for a successful career and still want a family with children. The urge for self-realisation is becoming stronger among the next generation. How can both wishes be fulfilled?

K. Hunstock: It’s not easy, but it’s doable. My job involves a lot of travelling. So I am rarely at home under normal circumstances. Without a strong and understanding partner, it will be a challenge to reconcile children and job. Every woman needs to be clear in advance about what her goals are and coordinate them with her partner.

E. Rudi: In a management position you have more responsibility. A regular 8-hour day is therefore rather the exception.

infraTest: What do you wish young women who are now entering our industry and what advice would you give them?

P. Plachkova-Dzhurova: I would be happy if more women had the courage to enter our industry. Our fields of work are many and varied. Have self-confidence and work tirelessly on your skills. Keep your eyes on the goal and don’t let setbacks drag you down.

K. Hunstock: You don’t have to be able to do everything right away. We grow from our challenges and that’s how self-confidence can grow. Don’t make yourself small, but still be self-reflective.

E. Rudi: Stay true to yourself. If you really want it and fight for your goal, you will achieve it. Develop passion for your work and burn for what you do. Then success will come almost by itself. Weigh your strengths and weaknesses. That way you will find a position in which you feel comfortable.

infraTest: You are all three strong, emancipated power women who are paving the way for our upcoming generation. I thank you very much for that! I also notice similarities between you, which are perhaps part of your “recipe for success”: Determination, discipline, perseverance, authenticity and competence. You inspire and encourage young women so that in a few years they will be standing next to you at the top.

Thank you very much for your time and the pleasant conversation! We look forward to seeing you again soon and hope that our contribution will encourage more women to realise their dreams.