Like many other foreigners who discover Luxembourg, Lena Mårtensson thought that she would stay two or three years when she arrived in 2001 from her native Sweden. Almost two decades later, she is still very happy here and does not hide her “love” for the country of which she knew almost nothing when she arrived. “I expected a bigger culture shock, but the great international diversity here helped a lot. Of course you have to be open minded and flexible, but having the opportunity to work with people from so many different nationalities is very enriching.”
Lena had already experienced this cultural mix when, armed with a degree in international business management, she was in charge of a European project aimed at developing a regional innovation strategy. A few months after its end, she was invited to move to Luxembourg to join the secretariat of the Innovation Regions in Europe network, which was looking for someone from Scandinavia.
This experience lasted for seven years. Lena then decided to make a new career move and join Luxinnovation, an organisation which had aroused her interest for some time. In August 2008, she was recruited as a member of the Marketing & Communication team in charge of FOCUS, a magazine that was edited and published by the agency in order to promote internationally the country’s innovative companies and outstanding research teams. She also rapidly took over the deployment of the internet portal for innovation.
Now a Senior Marketing & Communication Officer, her tasks have obviously expanded over the past 10 years. “What I’m doing today has not a lot to do with what I did at the beginning. The agency’s missions have diversified and expanded into new areas of activity, notably international economic promotion. With this dynamic evolution things are never monotonous and my work remains exciting every day.”
This article was originally published in Luxinnovation’s Annual Report 2018.