Paperjam: Please, introduce yourself

Shilton Rica: I’m Shilton, I’ve been working for ArcelorMittal for five years. At the moment, I have the position of head of project development. We work on a certain product: sheet piles. It’s one of the first ArcelorMittal products that was produced in Luxembourg and it’s delivered worldwide.

What was the name again?

Sheet piles.

Sheet piles.

Yes. It’s a geotechnical solution rather than a structural solution. When you think of steel you think more of buildings, but this one is more for building ports or channels. So that’s what I take care of. I’ve been in charge--since more or less a year ago--of project development on a global scale, with the focus on ports.

OK. And before this job?

I was doing my PhD at the University of Luxembourg. My professor decided to leave before I was going to finish it, and this gave me the possibility to take over his courses--which, of course, came with a greater workload, but it was a very nice experience. Until February 2025, I was an external lecturer at the university for three different subjects in soil mechanics. Soil mechanics is the basics of understanding how soil is performing on your solution. There is lab work, where you do soil tests in the lab: you take samples from the construction side and then you test them. This is a facility we have at the University of Luxembourg. And there is numerical soil mechanics: when you want to make some assumptions, you have to run certain simulations to better understand your solution.

Interesting. And before that?

Before coming here, I finished my master’s degree in France. My thesis was on deep foundations, so for buildings, wind turbines, skyscrapers. That was an quite interesting period as well: it was my first time out of Albania--I’m Albanian by origin--and it was very interesting for me to see how it is living abroad. And this master’s subject, later on, ended up being very close to the PhD subject in Luxembourg.

OK, so you came here for the PhD? When was that?

Yes. It was in 2016, the first of May. It was 23 April exactly. The university contract started on 1 May.

And what were your first impressions of Luxembourg?

Well, the very first time I was in Luxembourg was on 10 January 2016, when I had the first interview. I had booked a hotel in the city. And I decided to walk to the university--it was a building in Kirchberg, as Belval wasn’t fully active at the time--so I arrived at the Gare and thought: maybe this is the first and last time I’m in Luxembourg, so I’ll walk. So I did, for an hour or more. Amazing. Nice. The next day I did a tour of the city, and I’d seen everything! So my first impression was: it’s a big city-village. I loved that.

Honestly it was never my idea to live in Luxembourg, because it’s a small country. And when you have never been in such countries, it remains in your brain as a small country--but I had the opportunity, came here and can easily say that it’s one of the best places in Europe. From all different perspectives: I’ve lived in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium. It’s incomparable. From an administrative point of view, human point of view, it’s really one of the best places to be.

Wait--Germany, Netherlands, Belgium?

Oh, yes, those were always work-related. When I was doing my PhD I did a lot of exchanges: six months in the Netherlands, six in Germany, five in Belgium.

I see. So between those places, plus France and Albania, can you comment on Luxembourg’s work culture? How does it compare?

One very good thing for the work environment in Luxembourg: it’s very dynamic, which means lots of opportunities for young people. In terms of personal development, it’s really great. You have really high potential to grow. In other countries--though I cannot really be very assertive about this--but in other countries it’s more complicated. I finished my research master’s in France, but I was never accepted to work in a design office, which back then was my dream. They all said: you have a research master’s, you cannot be a design engineer. Whereas here, you finish a PhD, you go to a design office, they’ll say: we need you! It’s not that they really need you as a design engineer. But when you do research, you develop yourself in different skills, and companies here really understand that. This is a good thing. And it’s the same for master’s students, by the way, but for them it’s even easier to fit into a company because they are not as specialised. I don’t understand why, in other countries, you have to stick to research and academia (if you do a research degree).

So job-hunting wasn’t a nightmare?

No! I applied to many companies and I was lucky to get back three or four offers. When I had the first interview with ArcelorMittal, they had already got four different CVS from me: I applied on Linkedin, by email… I found them in person. Actually, I met my future team for the first time in Rome, at a conference at La Sapienza University. I was there with the University of Luxembourg, they were there as ArcelorMittal, but that’s where I actually had the first contact with them. I met them in June, they asked me for an interview in September.

Is there anything that has surprised you about Luxembourg?

It’s one of the best places to live… and one of the worst places to learn the national language [he laughs].

But for a good reason: everyone speaks English or French! So it isn’t easy. I’ve done lots of courses to keep up my Luxembourgish. Now I hope now my kids will help me out.

It’s a special places for languages.

The very first person I met here was a bus driver, back when I got the train from Paris to Luxembourg for my interview. I wasn’t sure about walking or taking a bus. So I stopped at the bus station. The guy--the driver--was outside smoking. I was coming from France, of course, and I was told that when you go to Luxembourg they speak French. I was happy about that because French was my strongest foreign language back then. But to be polite I asked the guy, in French: in which language can I ask you a question? And he started to count his languages: French, English, Polish, Portuguese… and then I was like: OK. [He laughs.] In my mind, my strongest point for this PhD was that I speak English and French, because in France if you speak English you’re already quite a good competitor. And here even the bus drivers speak five languages! I’m not going to be accepted!

That sounds like Luxembourg, all right. What languages do you speak at work?

I tend to keep it English, because our audience-slash-clients are international. My team is French, but I keep English as a language of work, also because I want them to be ready to talk. I’m supposed to be the face of the team, but now for instance, when I go on parental leave, I won’t be there so I don’t want them to be shy. But when we have coffee breaks it’s in French, of course. And then we fake Italian or German.

Any other surprises?

Well, there’s the weather. [He stares momentarily into the middle distance.] But recently I’ve started to look at it differently. Before, I was really missing the sun. I was born five minutes away from the coast, in a place where it’s sunny 80% of the year. And even if you don’t have sun, it doesn’t mean you don’t have sun the whole day. But a few months back I started to be a little bit more optimistic. I said: if there’s no sun, then you don’t have to think of the coast.

So, it’s… it’s OK [he laughs].

But, no, it’s really nice. I’ve been here nine years, so when I go back to visit my parents I don’t feel at home.

Sounds like you’re here for the long term.

Yeah, absolutely. Along with my wife. I think this is the last place we’ll move.

You met your wife here?

Oh, no, no, no. We’re an old couple! We met in Albania. We have the same background. She came to join me in Luxembourg in 2020.

What about integrating into the local culture?

At the beginning, I was here alone--my girlfriend-now-wife was in Berlin. I had a lot of time after work. So I did courses at the INL: English, Portuguese, French, just for the sake of having a different life from work. And I got involved with lots of activities with students, even though they always looked at me as their grandfather because I was a PhD student. [He laughs.] But, no, basically: if you look for an activity, it’s there. For me this was amazing.

What’s your favourite spot in the country?

My favourite spot is in Vianden. There’s this river over there--and a Portuguese-slash-Luxembourgish restaurant where you can sit. And if there is sun… you will enjoy it. That’s my favourite, favourite spot. There’s a bridge, you can look at the Victor Hugo house from back in the day, you have a big view of the castle.

You mentioned you have kids. How’s your experience been of family life here?

It’s the best experience. Really. I mean, I’m not here to say that there’s no other place like Luxembourg, but…

Got it.

OK, the only problem is the crèche. Our first one was already in a crèche in Berlin, and then when she came here, we had to find something. Which we managed to do. Then you pay a lot. When you do the tax declaration, everything comes back--so it’s okay. But if you want your kid to be in a public crèche, then you have to first find one, and then talk to your partner about if you’re going to have a kid. [He laughs.] For us, the first person learned that we were expecting a second baby… it wasn’t our friends, it wasn’t our parents. It was the crèche.

And you got a spot?

Yes! But, really, from a family point of view… you get a lot of support.