Dina Melo, Director of Operations Transformation at Rogers Communications

Claus Rinner: Hello, Dina. You graduated with a BAA in Applied Geography from Ryerson in Spring 2000. Your first two jobs were Research Analyst positions at Pizza Pizza and the LCBO. Like so many of our graduates, it looks like your career start was facilitated by the program’s internship placement that you completed at the LCBO?

Dina Melo: Absolutely! My career was kickstarted via the internship program in my 4th year. Another alumna of the Ryerson Geography program hired me as a summer employee in the Customer Insights Group. She taught me so much about developing business acumen, corporate ethics and managing workload. I was able to apply the skills I learned in the program to real-world analytics and retail solutioning. It was hands down the pivotal point in my career; I graduated with a full year of experience, a far step above new grads from other programs.

CR: At Pizza Pizza, you used GIS software to analyse site locations and demographic data to recommend market areas and delivery boundaries to corporate management. At what point later in your career did you move away from these technical skills acquired at Ryerson?

DM: I held a number of GIS-related roles early in my career. I transitioned to the telecommunications sector in 2007 and, while I moved away from GIS specifically, I continue to flex my analytic skills on a daily basis. The program gave me core & versatile ability to embed data-derived conclusions into all aspects of decision making.

CR: What elements of your geography degree do you consider relevant for the business management roles you have assumed now? I notice that other alumni also hold positions in the area of “transformation”; what is it that makes a geographer qualified to support the strategic direction of a large private corporation?

DM: My degree in Applied Geography is the foundation of my professional success. Graduates leave the program with a well-rounded skill set, including an over-arching knowledge of business intelligence, analytics/research, presentation skills and program management. The experience from working within the mandatory work placement propels individuals into the workforce, armed with real-world training.

CR: Do you see long-term opportunities for GIS graduates in the telecom sector, and what should we do at the university and program-level to help our students prepare for these careers?

DM: Absolutely, education that focuses on location intelligence is critical to support and develop the technology and evolution of telecommunications. Areas such as network operations, planning & engineering, maintenance, and access deployment for both mobile and fixed networks all rely on GIS in some form. Providing opportunities to apply location intelligence to emerging telecom technology (such as 5G) will further engage students to apply their skills on a broader spectrum (no pun intended).

CR: Dina, thank you so much for giving us your insight into geospatial careers in telecom and business management!