Fiji-Indian student’s chance visit leads to a full-time career

For Raynil Ram, an opportunity to visit an electric vehicle workshop while he was still early in his electrical engineering studies has led to a full-time career with WM New Zealand.

Three years after joining the company, Raynil has completed his Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electrical) and is now working as an Electric Vehicle Technician, helping maintain WM’s existing electric fleet, supporting new vehicle builds, diagnosing faults and developing design changes to prevent problems from recurring.

“I’ve always had a high level of interest in electrical things, and I like to build things as well,” Raynil says.

His journey began with an internship supported through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)-funded High-Power Electric Motors for Large-Scale Transport programme.

The programme connects emerging technology with engineering education and industry experience, providing paid work placements and scholarships for engineering students.

Raynil’s internship developed into a part-time position with WM and later full-time employment.

His lecturers and representatives from MIT and Unitec recently came together for a lunch to celebrate his achievement.

For Raynil, the move into electrical engineering followed several years working as a telecommunications technician before he returned to study.

“I was halfway between electrical or mechanical [engineering], and then I was like, well, mechanical is cool, but electrical is that invisible force in the background.

The opportunity with WM came while Raynil was still early in his studies, after he spotted an announcement on the MIT website about a tour of the company’s electric vehicle workshop.

“I was still very fresh in the course, and I was like, wow, this will be cool — electric vehicles. Let’s go have a look at it.”

Raynil attended the visit simply wanting to learn more about the work taking place at WM.

Organised by the Industry Partnerships team, the visit gave students the chance to tour the workshop and complete a technical challenge.

Raynil’s performance caught the attention of the WM team. After returning to Tech Park, he received a call from Principal Lecturer Nick Kusari asking him to submit his CV for an internship.

Making an impression

Adriaan Botha, a Project Engineer at WM who has managed Raynil for around two years, says his potential became apparent almost immediately.

“His very first day with us we were working through a very technical issue.

“He spent two days with me figuring it out, and I was actually impressed after the very first two days working with him, and I went to my manager and said, ‘This is a needle in a haystack. I want to make sure we take care of it.'”

Adriaan says Raynil’s approach to problem-solving has become an asset to the team.

“We could see his capabilities right away and just the way he thought through the problems we had, he had a different perspective than we did, especially myself.

“He thinks in a very different way than I do. And so it’s been very interesting and very, very good to work with him.”

Jitesh Singh, Head of Fleet at WM, says Raynil’s progression demonstrates the value of bringing emerging engineers into industry.

“Ray is a self-learner. He’s obviously very interested in the technology, and he has grown himself with the help of the rest of the team as well.

“He’s blended in really well with the team, and that’s really important when you’re in this kind of work, because there’s a lot of people here with a lot of experience in electrification of electric fleets.”

Balancing work and study

Raynil completed his bachelor’s degree while continuing to work, balancing his study requirements with his responsibilities at WM.

He says support from his lecturers and flexibility from both Tech Park and WM helped him manage the two.

“MIT was amazing. Awesome lecturers. They do engage you a lot. So if you have questions, they’re always willing to help you, which is what I’ve always liked.”

“MIT has been very helpful. They have been accommodating and then Waste Management have been doing the same, which made my life a lot easier.”

Maureen Prasad, Recruitment Consultant in the Industry Partnerships team, says Raynil’s progression from industry engagement to a career demonstrates the value of connecting education with industry needs.

“Raynil’s success shows what can happen when strong industry partnerships are combined with the practical, hands-on learning our ākonga receive at MIT and Unitec,” Maureen says.

“It demonstrates that our programmes are relevant to industry and gives our current students an example of where their studies can take them, including into emerging areas of work they may not previously have considered.

“Successes like this also help employers see MIT and Unitec as a partner of choice and create opportunities to continue building relationships that can benefit our students and industry.”

The experience has also left a positive impression on WM, with Jitesh saying the company is considering working with more students.

“It’s been extremely successful, so much so that I’ve actually already spoken to the team about potentially approaching us with other students for not only the electrification, but also for our mechanical workshop, for our operations team, our logistics teams,” Jitesh says.

The programme behind the opportunity

Raynil’s internship was one of eight paid work placements provided through the wider MBIE-funded programme, which has also funded twelve scholarships for engineering students.

The opportunity is part of the High-Power Electric Motors for Large-Scale Transport programme, a $15 million research fund developed under the Strategic Science Investment Fund – Advanced Energy Technologies.

The programme was established in response to the challenge of reducing emissions from large-scale transport, including planes, boats and trucks.

Transport accounts for around 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with large-scale transport responsible for about half of those emissions.

Tech Park Principal Lecturer Nick Kusari says one of the goals of the programme is to take the research to the “grass roots”, connecting emerging technology with the next generation of engineers through specialised learning, scholarships and industry internships.

Raynil’s progression from engineering student to Electric Vehicle Technician provides an example of that approach, connecting education with practical industry experience and the skills needed to support the transition to new transport technologies.