“I came straight from studying psychology when I joined DNV’s international management trainee programme. I thought it seemed very exciting, and it absolutely is,” says Martine Berglund Hannevik.
For Hannevik, this was the start of an exciting career path. When DNV, which helps companies and authorities in Norway and abroad to manage risk, established a new section last year, they appointed her as its manager. This section is one of several focusing on digital innovation.
“DNV has always been good at research and innovation, but there were development opportunities linked to stronger customer-driven digital innovation across the entire organization,” explains Hannevik.
The team is currently developing new, exciting products in the form of ‘software as a service’. DNV’s data platform, Veracity, is key here to succeed in this in a safe and efficient manner.
“After all, DNV safeguards life, property, and the environment. It feels very meaningful to help solve some of today’s really major challenges relating to the environment and digital developments.”
Exciting tasks
The steadily growing innovation section is currently working in various areas.
“We have a strong focus on sustainability, among other things. For example, we are developing a tool to make it easier for companies to report and improve the way they work on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors,” explains Hannevik.
In addition, they are working on a project to help companies transition from natural gas to hydrogen
“We are completely in the initial phase of a new product related to hydrogen as a decarbonization solution. This software enable gas suppliers to control the energy supply and demand, which is important for actually managing to deliver to the end user in a safe and efficient manner,” she explains.
A third focus area is the quality assurance of data and digital solutions, where Hannevik and her colleagues create products that help companies to trust their sensor data, algorithms and other pieces of the puzzle that form part of, for example, digital twins (virtual copies of a physical unit or system of units).
“This is about safety. Our customers use digital solutions to make critical decisions, so they must be able to trust that the solutions function as they are supposed to,” she explains.
LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER: In Martine Berglund Hannevik’s (left) team alone, a number of professional disciplines and nationalities are represented. Here she is with her colleague Yuko Aoyama from Japan. Photo: Schibsted Partnerstudio
International expertise
DNV is a global company with its head office by the sea at Høvik outside Oslo. The ‘whole world’ is gathered in one place on its premises, as there are almost 70 nationalities represented here alone.
Many of the employees are engineers, but as one of Norway’s largest software houses, very many people – actually around 700 - also work in IT. In addition, a wide range of other skills are represented.
“That’s one of the best things about DNV: we are a company with an entire team of in-house expertise. In addition to very clever generalists, we have many of the world’s best specialists in their field,” says Hannevik.
As a result, she and her colleagues can always put together multidisciplinary teams who work on solving problems from completely different angles.
Hannevik also points out that the large group of different professional disciplines is one of the reasons she enjoys her work and remains with the company.
“In my team alone, there is me from Norway with a psychology background, Yuko Aoyama from Japan with a maritime background, Sarah Lasselle from the USA with an environmental background, and two students from Germany who are studying innovation at BI Norwegian Business School,” she adds. “In addition, we work closely with colleagues in other professional disciplines in the UK, Singapore, China, and Poland.”
She also points out that the multidisciplinary collaboration means she and her colleagues learn a lot from each other too.
“We’re always being challenged, and at the same time the various experts are also very focused on the rest of the team understanding the work. In my view, it’s a privilege to be allowed to continuously learn from the knowledge of the others. For example, I’ve learned a lot about software architecture this past year – something that was entirely new to me,” she says.
ENTHUSIASTIC: Martine Berglund Hannevik’s working day in DNV is varied. Photo: Schibsted Partnerstudio
Focus on well-being
In addition to the job itself being rewarding and exciting, there is another reason for Hannevik really enjoying her job with DNV.
“The social aspect is important to me, and my colleagues contribute a lot to my enjoyment of my job. We have a very good working environment,” she says.
She also points out DNV’s focus on well-being, and that the employees can take join, for example, a climbing group, skiing group and kayak group. The company also has CONNECT, an internal ‘line association’ that arranges professional and social events.
“I’d also like to point out the high degree of confidence and support from the management, which means a lot when you are working on innovation. We are supposed to challenge things a little and break down some barriers, so it’s good to know that your boss supports you 100 per cent in what you are doing.”