Center for Natural Resources and Sustainability

Meet Gabbarova Ilmira Volodievna, Chief Specialist of the Agency for the Development of Nuclear Energy under the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Uzatom Agency is a government body responsible for the implementation of a unified state policy and strategic directions for development and use of nuclear energy.

Professional background

By chance I chose the first technical profession in my life, which determined my future career. Which, by the way, is not something I regret at all; on the contrary, I am proud to work in the energy sector. At that time, I could not assume that I will master a technical speciality which was popular among men. I entered at the Faculty of Energy, I had work experience and I can say that my work in the energy system was very stimulating and motivated me to study thermal power in greater depth.

I have about 20 years of experience in power systems. Seven of those years I worked at Uzbekenergo State Joint Stock Company, where I was promoted from an engineer to deputy head of one of the central services department. The next eight years my work experience will be expanded in the Department for Development of Regulatory Legal Acts of the State Inspectorate for Supervision in Power Industry under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

I can say with confidence that not only I, but also my colleagues, have contributed to strengthening the country's energy security, which is certainly a concern for the future of our generation! Isn't it great? The answer is, unequivocally, that I love this job, which not only benefits my family, but also society as a whole.

Challenges

Looking back on my career in the energy industry, I would like to say that I was very fortunate to have mentors, many of them are great professionals, many of them are veterans of the energy system and have been awarded the honorary titles of “Honored Power Engineer of CIS” and “Honored Power Engineer of Uzbekistan”, some of them are women!

Moment of inspiration

Talking about the most important factor in my success, I would say that daily hard work, perseverance and the desire to become a sought-after specialist will allow me to reach the top in the professional field. Perhaps my greatest achievement is acquisition of knowledge. Daily. My motto is: “Don't determine the peak of your success, but benefit society!”

As I noted above, having graduated as a technician-metrologist during my professional development, I became a graduate of the Faculty of Energy of Tashkent State University. Expanding my knowledge and realizing that in today’s rapidly changing environment not only technical basics are enough, but knowledge in other areas is required. I have received a qualification of economist, manager and graduated from National University of Uzbekistan named after M. Ulugbek.

Not stopping on the achieved results, I successfully completed the specialized course of “Professional Management Program” (PMP) and was awarded the Certificate by Uzbekistan-Japan Center. I am currently studying for my Master’s Degree specializing in “Project Management” at the Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Now, I am a member of the best team of professionals at Uzatom Agency. This professional team consists of highly motivated people with extensive experience in various areas of public service, specialists of particular professions, as well as young professionals. Our agency follows the principle of gender equality and the management strives to ensure gender balance among staff, so that everyone, irrespective of gender, can contribute equally to the creation and development of Uzbekistan's nuclear power program.

The issue of gender perspective in the energy sector is on the agenda today, and I believe it is important in a rapidly changing environment. Involving more women in the energy sector, including promoting them to senior positions, will undoubtedly lead to increased productivity and economic growth for the system as a whole.