My encounter with Neo-Nazis in Leipzig Germany
Today, I am reflecting on my time at itCampus Software- & Systemhaus GmbH – A SOFTWARE AG COMPANY as a Master Thesis student (University of Mannheim) and User Researcher, almost 7 years ago. Working in the User Experience department with some of the most influential people in my career thus far. Under the leadership of Katharina Goering a thought leader in UX and innovation. This saw me move from Mannheim to Leipzig (part of former East Germany). Fun fact, the day I moved to Leipzig there was a Neo-Nazi protest happening. However, there was also a gegen (against) Nazi protest happening on the same day. Black guy with impeccable timing I am. In my building lived a Neo-Nazi, how did I know this? There were stickers on the street with his picture informing the residents that a neo-Nazi lived amongst us. Did I mention the day I wandered into a Nazi Bar in Leipzig, oblivious to this I sat down and asked for a beer? The entire bar went silent. Luckily, I had worn a t-shirt that said “Hug me I am Namibian” and had Our Flag on it. One of the guys in that bar walked over to me as asked if I knew where I was. I replied, “yeaaah in a bar”. He then informed me, of what was at hand. Myself having grown up in Katutura knew never to show fear. I asked him what they stood for and what their agenda was. They were shocked that I was not fearful. We had a pleasant conversation, beer in hand and I came to realise then that most of them were scared of the unknown. But did I tell them that? nope. Did I order a second beer? nope. I high tailed out of there the moment my beer was finished and told them “see you around”, said with a smirk.
The above is but an interlude, this post is really about my time at itCampus. I learned the concept of effective communication, which I now apply to all spheres of life. I recall the working environment as being inspiring, the office space as a building that encourages trying. A team spirit across departments and a level of trust in employees to do the right thing I have not experienced since. This was inherent in the culture of the organisation, embodied by staff. I am not saying there were no challenges, but I relished the freedom to work when I was most productive. I got the opportunity to work on real products for real clients and learned so much in the process. The colleagues in that department were so helpful it made my thesis journey easier. Having an Academic Supervisor in Dr Martin Kretzer and Katharina Goering was not easy, I needed to balance both academia and industry relevance. I am not sure I did a great job on both fronts, but like a sponge, I soaked up as much as I could.
My Master’s research investigated the possibility of using the mobile-first approach for the design of predictive data analytics applications. Some of the outcomes were a set of meta-requirements and design principles.
Mind you, this was when technologies like SAP HANA, Hadoop Bigdata and Spark, Apama among others were on the rise. This gave me an appreciation for UX design on large projects. We also re-design APAMA’s UX during my time at itCampus Software- & Systemhaus GmbH – A SOFTWARE AG COMPANY.
Did I mention that I also attempted the UX-UPA certification in German? I failed this examination. But for me what was important is that I tried and took that opportunity to learn!
That was it for my reflections of the day. Remember to keep trying and taking up opportunities as they come. One day I will share how I got the Thesis student position with itCampus.
Laterz,
G!