07/03/2023
At IE University, we believe in offering our students as many real-life experiences to complement their studies as possible. To that end, we have recently signed an exciting collaboration agreement with Axión, paving the way for student internships in data and sustainability.
Satoko Murata, who has two IE University degrees under her belt, is currently completing an internship with Axión.
Originally from Japan, Satoko worked in the renewable energy sector for 12 years before coming to Spain. A published author, Satoko studied environmental science and wrote numerous papers on environmental production and wildlife before going on to work for a consulting firm.
However, the 2011 earthquake in Japan made Satoko change her mind about her career, driving her to swap the policy side of sustainability for the business side—shifting her focus toward renewable energy, power generation and power plant construction.
Having heard about IE University from other graduates in Japan and being inspired by their entrepreneurial spirit, Satoko decided it was the place for her. Throughout her impressive journey, Satoko has completed her MBA and is currently finishing her Master in Business Analytics & Big Data. Plus, she has found ways to continuously immerse herself in IE University’s international environment and is flourishing in the challenge of a program and methodology that is different from her undergraduate program.
Satoko’s experience, while challenging, has also been rewarding. She highlighted how studying with a highly international student body allowed her to have experience with people from multiple different backgrounds, stating, “Learning to work with a range of people with different backgrounds and ideas has been a useful learning curve for my professional path.”
In fact, as part of her second degree at IE University, she is honing skills that she takes into her internship with Axión—a telecommunication company that promotes data-driven management.
In her role, Satoko works as part of a team to build data architecture, including a data lake. She began by making a plan for the project, deciding which cloud service was best and how to connect each data source to the cloud environment. Her team is also working toward a prototype using MicrosoftAzure, which they will then connect to Microsoft PowerBI to visualize the data and make many different types of reports, such as ESER reporting.
The main challenge that Satoko faces in her internship is taking her existing knowledge of theoretical concepts and tools to use MicrosoftAzure, something she hadn’t used before her internship. Satoko uses every day as an opportunity to learn more, saying, “This opportunity is a very good learning experience. As a student from a non-EU country, having an internship opportunity is a great thing because I have only worked in Japan. Through this internship, I can learn how to work with Spanish people or people from other countries, so it’s a great advantage.”
Even though Satoko is still learning a lot with Axión, many other companies have reached out to her on LinkedIn thanks to her new knowledge of data architecture and data governance. Of course, Satoko’s program also provided her with useful insights such as the fundamentals of big data architecture, where she learned essential theoretical content. She also learned key skills such as data visualization, which she uses in her internship every day. Her current class in data governance will also give her an edge when trying to relate to the company culture at Axión and any future roles.
Looking to the future, Satoko hopes to return to the renewable energy sector, but this time, in a more senior position.
Many companies across the globe are trying to shift their business to use more data, and Satoko has primed herself for success in this dynamic sector. Gaining experience before having graduated will be a great asset for Satoko—these hands-on skills can’t be learned solely in the classroom. She says, “My plan after graduation is to return to work in the renewable energy sector. However, I want to work in a more senior position. In this case, techniques related to data governance are very meaningful because many companies, not only in Japan but in the world, are trying to shift their business to use more data. Digital Transformation is very important for all companies.”
Satoko would recommend her experience with Axión to future students, especially those interested in data governance or cloud architecture.
If they’re considering a career in this field, Satoko highlights that Axión is an excellent company to help you off the ground. She says, “I would recommend this internship opportunity to other students, especially for students who have a strong interest in data governance or cloud architecture and are thinking about a career in this field. Axión is a very good and supportive company. They allowed me to study during the internship because I didn’t have detailed knowledge about data lakes. This kind of interesting opportunity is great and can help students in the future, as they can learn in a real business environment.”
The experience of hosting an international student in this very local company is very positive to foster our diversity culture. On the technical side, Satoko is developing from scratch a pilot of a data platform based on PowerBI, which is a strategic direction the company is taking to replace its legacy reporting capabilities. The pilot will allow us to understand the capabilities of the new data platform to the directors and managers of the company and therefore to get them on board with the power of a modern data approach.— Antonio Nuñez de Arenas, manager of IT Development and Satoko’s mentor.
Although she initially hesitated to apply as she didn’t have much practical experience, Satoko doesn’t regret her decision and found the experience to be “a great opportunity to start a new career.”
IE School of Science and Technology is proud to have partnered with Axión, where their collaborative relationship is set to open new opportunities for students. In addition to paving the way for internships like Satoko’s, the agreement is facilitating the development of capstone projects, new challenges for students in different programs throughout the school, as well as collaborations on research projects, seminars, conferences and workshops. With this valued partnership, IE School of Science and Technology and Axión can better prepare the next generation of business leaders and data scientists.
