REAL WORLD PROBLEM SOLVING Jayne LONGSTAFF (2008

Real World Problem Solving

Jayne LONGSTAFF (2008)

Class of 2008’s Jayne LONGSTAFF is the Vice President in Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure and Energy Capital team. Recently moving to the UK to take up this amazing opportunity, Jayne credits her years at SCEGGS for instilling the courage and knowledge to pursue her professional aspirations.

What have you been up to since graduating from SCEGGS?

The Mathematics and Science nerd in me (thanks Mr Hanson and Ms Shaw) drove me to study a Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney. Combining the two meant I had a wide range of career paths to try out. I started my career in construction, working on city-shaping projects like Barangaroo with a hard hat and steel cap boots and moved into consulting for developing large-scale infrastructure projects like WestConnex. Now, I am involved in projects requiring investment in infrastructure and energy assets like grid-scale batteries, renewable energy zones and fibre for all things Internet!

Infrastructure is very tangible; we see and use road tunnels, metro trains, solar panels every day. What we don’t see is all the behind-the-scenes infrastructure and the people bringing these things to life, from investment bankers, superannuation funds, engineers, lawyers, software developers and project managers to name a few. If you ever have a chance to “get behind the scenes” of one of our tunnels across Sydney or wind turbines or big batteries in regional NSW it’s well worth it!

In 2020, you were awarded the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia National Award for Emerging Leader of the year. How did that impact your career?

I was super chuffed to receive this award. Out of anything it’s been a great opportunity to grow my network. It was especially helpful when I decided to move to London without a job during COVID, because there’s no time like the present! I was able to leverage my Sydney network to start building an international network.

Real World Problem Solving

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“A great thing about working overseas is that it gives you access to global markets – and they are huge!”

Tell us a little about your current role in the UK and the benefits of gaining international experience for your career.

Working in infrastructure and energy investment is all about developing the next infrastructure project, solving its design with engineers and how it can be paid for and used by as many people as possible. It’s a lot of problem solving, thinking commercially and partnering with governments and often superannuation funds to make it real! Then, we project manage it while it’s being built. Recently, we launched an 11 metre diameter tunnel boring machine in London and we were damn well hoping it didn’t hit any unexploded bombs lying at the bottom of the River Thames from World War II!

A great thing about working overseas is that it gives you access to global markets – and they are huge! It also worth it to see how other countries are tackling climate change – creating 100% renewable energy supply is pretty darn cool!

Your passion for engineering is evident through the volunteer work you do on the steering committee for the Future Infrastructure Leaders Program and UNSW’s Engineering Mentoring program. Why do you think it’s important as a woman in the industry to be involved in this capacity?

SCEGGS taught me very early on that women can pursue careers in anything. It also taught me that I have several advantages that other women don’t – going to SCEGGS was one of these. Engineering has for too long been under-represented by women and we know that means we’re missing out on having 50% of the world contributing smart and different ideas.

I have no doubt in my mind that if we continue to increase the number of women studying engineering that we’ll solve global warming sooner, that we’ll have flying cars sooner and that we’ll reduce the wealth divide.

UNSW through its programs like Women in Engineering has shown it’s possible – sometimes you just don’t think that something is possible without seeing someone go before you – so mentoring university undergraduates and graduates is a great way to show what’s possible and at the same time learn about all the whacky, new technology and new ideas coming through.

What advice would you give current students working towards a similar career path?

Give it a go, back yourself and as early as possible, look for industry work experience opportunities. Engineering is all about solving real world problems so there’s no better way to try it out than real world experience, whether it’s on a construction site, with a fund or asset manager going behind the scenes or with a design house, trying different things will always be valuable and valued. My first work experience was sitting in a piling machine for the construction of what is now SCEGGS’ Joan Freeman Science, Art and Technology Centre and what was previously a car park!