Meet IWN Champion: Meg Pillai
Meg helps oversee Victoria’s water grid to make sure we don’t have supply or delivery problems. She’s also IWN’s first Champion from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). Here’s a snapshot of what makes her tick.
Meg Pillai
LET’S START WITH THE PERSONAL. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
I’m Meg and I’m very excited to meet everyone within IWN!
I like to think eventually we will all be living in a global world without borders so I can say I’m from everywhere.
My biggest personal achievement was probably learning English when I arrived in Australia as a tiny person. I say this as I’m yet to be fluent in any other language I’ve tried learning ever since.
I’ll try any hobby. I have done a bunch of things that I’d love to chat to people about if they share the same interests, including scuba diving, rock climbing, painting, video editing and animations, singing and guitar, audio mixing, video games, travelling and dance.
WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
I work in DELWP’s Water and Catchments department in a team called Grid Oversight. We look at our connected natural and infrastructure systems that allow Victoria to move water strategically across the state. Our team works to understand how we can enhance the system – by using it better or via additions to the grid – to deal with future water security pressures, such as climate change and population growth.
WHAT’S YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?
I have a mixed professional background from doing finance and revenue at private companies to working for the state government in Victoria and New South Wales. Honestly, I’ve pretty much enjoyed all the professional jobs I’ve had.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO EACH DAY (BUT TO YOUR GRANDMA)?
I look at research on how we can best manage Victoria’s water and our assets. I help organisations work together to understand the impact of future pressures on our water resource and what decisions we can make together to ensure we don’t end up with a water supply and delivery problem.
WHAT IWN PROGRAMS INTEREST YOU THE MOST?
Knowledge sharing! I think the world has become an incredibly better place due to our advancement of knowledge. Sharing and building capacity has been shown to advance people technologically and socially. I think the world is moving to a sustainable and kinder future but I think we need to share information and perspectives, and build relationships to get there.
WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE AN IWN CHAMPION?
I have been highly inspired by the IWN narrative of cooperation and innovation, as well as the framework for staying connected and growing capacity. I was so inspired by the IWN Knowledge Hub that I used the concept to build an Integrated Water Management knowledge hub.
I believe there is a great deal to learn from the IWN partnership. It is unique and at the forefront of technology, which happens to be an interest of mine. I think I could be a good resource for the IWN network, and I enjoy engaging with people across different sectors.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH IWN?
I want to learn as much as I can about all the IWN programs and new technologies we’re working towards to make a better future. I would also like to meet people in the industry as there is so much knowledge and experience that can help me grow as a person.
WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING?
Everything… but mostly coffee. A lot of coffee.