What do you do when the deputy governor of the central bank is so interested in the project you’ve been working on over the summer that he gives you another one? You just get on with it, says Ellinor Cederstrøm Palliotto.
Ellinor spent summer 2022 as an intern at our London office, working closely with one of the fund’s portfolio managers. Together, they looked into what kinds of technology could help reduce carbon emissions in the North American rail sector.
“North America is somewhat behind Europe in this respect,” she explains.
“We wanted to learn more about how new technology could be used to reduce carbon emissions, and what the fund could invest in. I concentrated mainly on hydrogen and battery technology. A fairly narrow project, but also very educational. I knew nothing about any of this beforehand. It’s been really exciting to work so closely with a portfolio manager in London.”
Read more about our summer internship programme
Ellinor is half Norwegian and half Italian and studying for a Master’s degree in economics at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Having one of our portfolio managers as her closest colleague for a whole summer meant that she learned about much more than railways and decarbonisation.
“I gained a real insight into how the fund invests and what it’s like to work as a portfolio manager. What impressed me most is how accessible everyone is. You can ask anyone about anything, even though you might only be here for the summer. You learn an incredible amount just by being here.”
And before the project was done, Ellinor would land another from an unexpected source.
“Deputy governor and second deputy chair of the executive board Øystein Børsum was curious about what I was working on and asked me if I could also take a look at the airline sector and gather together information on potential uses of new technology there. So that’s what I did, even though it wasn’t part of my project. I couldn’t exactly say no!”