Dear Siemens Germany, Meet Wadi Naoum, SCETA Graduate!

We are thrilled to announce that Wadi Naoum, alumnus of the SCETA (Siemens Canada Engineering and Technology Academy) Cohort Three, has started a two-year delegation in Germany as a part of the Process Automation (PA) team in the role of Technical Consultant.

Wadi joined SCETA as a part of Cohort Three in the summer of 2017 and graduated from Ryerson University in the Electrical Engineering program in 2018. Throughout his time at the academy, Wadi had exposure to various different departments and Business Units within Siemens, including Building Technologies and Power Generation. Upon graduating from SCETA, Wadi worked at RuggedCom and Siemens Peterborough (Milltronics), and his most recent work within Canada was with the Canadian Process Automation Team reporting to Frank Trang and Vincent Brocard.  Now that Wadi is in Germany, he reports to Stefan Merz.

Wadi Naoum

Wadi Naoum is well-versed in customer-facing roles, digitalization, and product management. (His managers had no fear in having Wadi interact with customers.) He thoroughly enjoys meeting new people and working in multiple roles simultaneously. “I’m able to demonstrate my reliability by achieving results, and that’s when more opportunities start becoming within reach”, says Wadi. As a part of the PA team, Wadi loves the culture of Siemens as well as his team environment. He notes that there are lots of opportunities for staff to grow within and beyond the company, and that at Siemens, “you have lots of chances to prove yourself.”

When reflecting on his time as a SCETA student, Wadi outlined the three facets that made a significant positive difference in his career at Siemens:

1. Working on soft skills (e.g. presentation, communication, and product management abilities)
2. Being exposed to various factories was an asset because it helped him get a holistic picture of each business unit
3. Gaining a better understanding of the structure of Siemens since it is such a global company

Managers Q&A

How would you describe Wadi as an employee, and how do these aspects make him successful at work?

Vincent Brocard (PA Sales Manager): “He’s dedicated to what he does and is both engaged and bold. He thinks carefully about tasks assigned to him and works efficiently. Being on top of things is his strong suit, as well as being creative, and a great collaborator. We miss him here in Canada!”

Frank Trang (PA Segment Manager): “Wadi has had and maintained a growth mindset since he joined Siemens, and he’s really had that mindset since Day 1, in PA. From that mindset and working within a more senior team, he was open to learning from everyone in different functions of the business, which opened up more opportunities. Wadi took accountability for what he did at work which welcomed trust and let him work on things he wanted to, and deliver them successfully.”

Which aspects of the SCETA training do you believe contributed most to Wadi’s role/delegation?

Vincent: “SCETA contributed greatly to his hiring. He was working for us for 1-2 years, and the fact that he was a SCETA graduate helped convince us that Wadi was the guy we were looking for. Wadi knew the company, and he was already highly familiar with Siemens. He had the mindset of Siemens already, which made integration easy.”

Frank: “As a whole, SCETA teaches the students the Siemens terms and gives them a significant amount of industry experience and maturity, and that level of maturity to understand your role within the context of the business. Tight timeframes, technical challenges and a steep learning curve; you have to be prepared to tackle those challenges, and being exposed to that before you graduate helps the entryway. In SCETA, you get an exposure to the other business units to get a sampler of the various components that work together to make Siemens!”

Advice to young Siemens employees from Wadi:

“Work hard, be ambitious, and try to learn as much as you can. And stay hungry for success!”

About SCETA:

The Siemens Canada Engineering and Technology Academy consists of two consecutive summer co-ops which ‘sandwich’ the students’ final year of their degree. So, students typically join us after finishing the third year of their program for their first summer work term. We have representation each year from students across Canada, enrolled in engineering, trades, or related programs. After the 17-month period, students have the opportunity to be hired on full-time for Siemens, and so the SCETA program is an excellent way for students to kick-start their careers at Siemens. To read more about SCETA, click here.