MSc. Production Engineering & BSc. Mechanical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology

My name is Amanda Dalstam and I am born and raised in a small town along Göta Kanal, Töreboda. When I was young I did not dream about becoming a princess or a pop star but rather about becoming a fighter pilot. That dream faded with time but I have kept my strong interest for technology which reflected my choice of secondary education. After three years studying technological science I was still hungry after more knowledge so I left the nest and moved to Gothenburg.

I continued my studies at Chalmers University of Technology where enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program. Even though I flourished at Chalmers and in Gothenburg I became restless and in need of a change so applied for a year abroad. One of my biggest interest is travelling so I decided on moving to a continent I never visited and moved to the American west coast.

Seattle became my new home and I did my first year as a Masters student at University of Washington. It was simply one of the best decisions I could to even though the pace was comparable to supersonic speed sometimes. I also got the opportunity to do research on Advanced Analytics and I ended up coding until I went squared-eyed. Naturally, it was a great experience and it also led me onto my interest in digitalization and Industry 4.0. I later depended my knowledge about the letter topics through my thesis were technical solutions and organizational requirements were merged to create an implementation plan for a virtual factory.

Even though I never became a fighter pilot it was that dream that paved the way to GKN Aerospace and the trainee program which today I am very happy for. I find the role as an engineer very interesting since it is not solely about technology but also about people who together can solve problems. I’m looking forward to the next 18 months as a trainee and I hope to face many interesting challenges and inspiring people along the way, and I hope that together we can find ways to work smarter not harder.