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Life at GÉANT: Helga Spitaler, Senior International Engagement Officer

Life at GÉANT is an initiative to attract new talent: it provides a closer look at the people inside GÉANT’s organisation and what excites them about their working lives. Here’s the latest employee story to give you a flavour of this initiative.

Helga Spitaler, Senior International Engagement Officer, Cambridge

‘Making a difference’

What do you do at GÉANT?

As part of the International Relations team, for over 10 years I have been involved in adapting the GÉANT model to other parts of the world in the context of EU-funded regional networking projects. Specifically, I drive and coordinate the visibility efforts for these projects, including mentoring colleagues to build up PR capacity locally.

I always want to understand the WHY that is behind what we do. I am therefore keen to demonstrate our impact through the eyes of the actual network users, and in particular the less traditional ones who have a huge societal benefit potential. And I am proud to be involved in the In The Field blog project which depicts such a powerful picture of the difference NRENs make around the world.

Why GÉANT?

Again, it’s about making a difference. Like the caretaker at NASA who replied when asked ’What do you do?’ with ‘I am helping put a man on the moon’, we should proudly say ‘We are helping advance scientific research and make education more accessible’.

And it’s about the people. I really value the multi-cultural atmosphere here at GÉANT. I work with and learn from amazing colleagues, both in this organisation and in the wider community and have made real friends along the way.

To read the full story click here.

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