Mikel Martínez is anElectrical and Industrial Engineer. As he himself points out, he entered Tecnun to study Degree of design, "but my poor skill for freehand drawing and a chat with Joaquin de No convinced me to change sides and go to Degree of Electrical Engineering," he recalls with a laugh. "At the end of the electrical Degree I took the bridging course to obtain the Degree in Industrial Technologies Engineering and later I took the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering". Mikel currently works for none other than Ferrari.

How did the option of working at Ferrari come about?

The project of the Master was done in GKN Driveline in Zumaia in the department of testing of electrical machines and ePowertrains. After finishing the project and following the same line of work, I packed my bags and went to Tarragona, more specifically to the company IDIADA. It is a company dedicated to the testing of vehicles and components with spectacular facilities. Almost all car manufacturers test there, including Ferrari.

After a year and a half working, I was in charge of making a essay for Ferrari that had quite tight deadlines and we were able to carry it out with satisfactory results. Shortly after finishing the essay, the person who is now my manager called me to tell me that they wanted me to go to Maranello to do an interview, and I didn't have to think about it too much.

How did you manage to stay and work there? Was that your dream?

I asked for a day off, took a plane and went to Maranello for the interview. I was quite nervous, but I knew that once I was there I had to go for it, I relaxed and tried to transmit everything I had learnt in the last few years. In the end everything went well and I got the job.

My goal was to work in an OEM before I turned 30 but I guess I never thought it would be Ferrari, simply because I saw it as something unattainable and because my experience was more focused on electric mobility systems. Being at IDIADA they told me I had to prepare a test for them, I thought it would be nice to work at Ferrari, but I have always had my feet on the ground and I didn't allow myself to dream too much about that possibility.

What is your day-to-day life like at Ferrari?

To understand it a bit better, Ferrari is divided in two big blocks Gestion Sportiva (F1) and Gran Turismo ('Commercial' section), I am in the second block, being part of the testing and prototypes team of the Hybrid section.

Every day at Ferrari is different, my group is constantly growing as the company is betting on hybrid vehicles to meet the European emission targets. We spend the day performing tests on the different components of the Hybrid part, batteries, inverters, electric motors, DC/DCs, OBCs... My main roles are the management of the test benches and the supervision of the correct performance of the tests and prototype assemblies. I also participate in the definition of the validation plans of the different components.

What would you tell students when they dream of working in a company like this subject, and they don't know how to get there?

From my point of view, the most difficult thing is to know exactly what you want to do. The answer to that question doesn't appear right after graduating, I have university classmates who are still not clear about what they want to do. The important thing is to enjoy the search for answers, without getting overwhelmed. As I mentioned previously, I started Degree from design and ended up doing electrical engineering.

On the other hand, if you have it clear, my committee would be to focus your internships, project of Degree, first job etc. in companies of the same sector in which you can get a specific knowledge , to get to speak with the terms and acronyms of the world. Once you are in the industry, it is easier to learn about the relationships between companies and the job roles behind the cryptic job descriptions. But you have to be willing to make sacrifices as well. I invested many hours of my free time in the Formula Student lab, although for me it was more leisure than anything else, and I also had to go to work right after finishing university in Tarragona. It is worth mentioning that considering the amount of hours we spend at work, it is worth making an effort to work in something that you like and motivates you.

As for languages, it is inevitable to learn the company's mother tongue language . Finally, it is important not to forget that once you fulfill a dream, the next day you get up to go to work.

Why did you decide to study Engineering at Tecnun?

When I finished the high school diploma I knew I wanted to do engineering, but the amount of Degrees and different modalities generated a lot of confusion. Finally, as what I really liked was to design, I chose Tecnun because it was one of the few in the Basque Country that offered the Degree of design Industrial.

What would you highlight from your time at the School?

Everyone who knows me well knows the answer I'm going to give to this question. The experience of Tecnun SEED Racing, the university's Formula Student electric car project .

At the beginning of my second year, I joined this activity. Since then I knew that I wanted to focus my career in the automotive sector and especially in electric mobility. Formula Student is a project that requires many hours and many sacrifices, but in the long run it has been proven that all the hours invested had a return in the form of learning and extra specific training . In fact, back then we used tools that I still use today at Ferrari, tools that are very specific to the sector.