Name: Deana Zafirova
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1993
Location: Vienna

Name: Deana Zafirova
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1993
Location: Vienna
Entry date: 04/2018
Focus: Liferay Developer
Hobbies: Reading, travelling, cooking, skiing

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Embrace every single opportunity you get!

What do you like about your work?
Probably I like the fact that I don't even think about it as work. It is more of a (learning) experience. Every day is a new challenge, I get to do something different and learn something new. I travel and visit new places, participate in trainings and get certificates. I take part in the wonderful employee events, get to meet and work with colleagues from the various PD branch offices. It is always diverse, challenging, fun and that's exactly why I like it.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
I love the PRODYNA events! To me, it feels like they bring colleagues and even the whole company together. Personally, the events always remind me that being a PRODYNA employee means more than just being employed. It means being part of a large family that cares about getting to know each other and spending quality time together.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
Accepting the fact that I cannot know everything and sometimes mistakes are inevitable (during the learning process).

How do you feel about teamwork at PRODYNA?
Ever since I first walked in the PRODYNA office I was supported in everything I did. Being a junior, I was never left alone and always had someone to turn to. To this day, my colleagues still stand strongly behind me and I can never be thankful enough for having them.

What has been your most exciting project at PRODYNA?
Gebrüder Weiss. It was my first onsite project and I am currently still working on it. It is a huge Liferay DXP Project and I am proud that I can work on it. Working on-site is a different challenge than working remote. Since Gebrüder Weiss was my first on-site project, I will always remember it as such.

What was your best experience at PRODYNA?
Without a doubt, the Christmas party and the recent ski team building weekend for PRODYNA AT & PRODYNA CH in Montafon. The ski event was amazing for any ski-lover and the perfect opportunity to get to know the colleagues bit better, relax and have fun on the slopes together. The Christmas party, on the other hand, was spectacular but one must experience it on its own to understand why.

What is special for you in a male-dominated business?
The fact that I can do, what I have always wanted to do, without any gender-prejudice.

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Professional & Dynamic!

How do you spend your lunch break?
Together with my colleagues, usually eating a salad.

How is the work in a project?
Challenging, dynamic and diverse. One is expected to be flexible and adjust fast. But, that's also the nice thing about it, as it is never monotone. It is perfect for anyone who loves to travel, work closely with customers and is willing to continue learning.

What attracted you to the position at PRODYNA?
Well, several aspects attracted me to the position at PRODYNA: the projects, the trainings and certificates, the employee events and the honesty and openness I could sense from the colleagues during my job interview.

Name: Michael Joszt
Role: Sales Manager
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Vienna

Name: Michael Joszt
Role: Sales Manager
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Vienna
Entry date: 08/2015
Focus: Sales: acquisition of new customers, caring for existing customers
Hobbies: Inline skating, running, reading and IT

What trainings did you complete at PRODYNA?
At the beginning I had a lot of practical trainings, where it was important to understand the customer requirements and be able to create a suitable offer including a presentation. Now, the trainings are more focused on improving my communication skills towards customers.

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
It doesn't matter what challenge I am in front of. Normally there is always a contact person for every topic who can be contacted quickly and unbureaucratically. Also, for customer appointments you will usually find a colleague who will assist you.

What attracted you to the position at PRODYNA?
Since I was young, I've loved the IT. Years ago, I came into sales by a coincidence. When I saw the job advertisement at PRODYNA for a sales person, it was clear to me that this was my chance to combine my two passions, Sales and IT.

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
The employees themselves! The colleagues are technically extremely good and have a high social competence. The company often feels like a big family. No matter at which location you are, you will be welcomed warmly and with open arms.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
Everything is very familiar; flat hierarchies, a good atmosphere and you enjoy working.

How do you spend your lunch break?
Mostly with my colleagues in the canteen.

Describe your working day at PRODYNA.
At the beginning of the day I prepare an overview of the things that need to be done and split them into "quick to do" and "can wait". Then, I start with the important coordination of available colleagues and call my customers. When everything is settled, I use the time for cold calls. In the lunch break as well as from 4:00 p.m. on, it is time to handle my Emails.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
Yes, especially that you can always contribute own ideas for events and everybody is open towards them.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Ask a lot of questions! If you don't know things, ask them! If you want to know certain things after a year that you should already know in your area, it could be a little bit strange.

Is there a highlight for you at PRODYNA?
Solution-oriented thinking within the whole company.

What are you doing at PRODYNA?
I am searching for topics where we can support companies and after clarifying what is needed, I am establishing the contact between the customer and our right specialists.

What do you like about your work?
You are self-determined, can be creative and make a significant contribution to the success of the company.

Name: Kay Landeck
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1985
Location: Hamburg

Name: Kay Landeck
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1985
Location: Hamburg
Entry date: 08/2015
Focus: Microservice architecture, graph databases, machine learning, custom solutions
Hobbies: Ju Jutsu (and of course programming)

What is the coolest part of your job?
Simply technology.

What has been your most exciting project at PRODYNA?
DNA analytics for cancer research is one of my favorite projects, use the actual possibilities from technology and bring it together with actual medicine data to create a better understanding of the human genome feels great.

How do you feel about teamwork at PRODYNA?
There is not really a hierarchy at PRODYNA, we have so many different projects where you need different skills. If you need someone to discuss your idea you will find someone, that’s great. If everything is fine, we can spend our time with ‘HAPPY CODING’.

How do you spend your lunch break?
Very hard question, we have an office in the center of Hamburg, that means many opportunities for a lunch break. In our team we have some rules like max 7 days between two Burger-Days; there must be a choice of a lunch menu with more than 1440 kcal on Friday and many more …

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
The right mindset is more important than a specific skill. Projects are so different and the evolution in technology is so fast, that I must learn continuously to find the best way. So perhaps the most important skill is never trusting your skills there is always something new.

Name: Daniel Herrmann
Role: Project Manager / Senior IT Consultant
Year of birth: 1979
Location: Berlin

Name: Daniel Herrmann
Role: Project Manager / Senior IT Consultant
Year of birth: 1979
Location: Berlin
Entry date: 01/2015
Focus: Project Management
Hobbies: Traveling, fishing, beach volleyball, street art

What are your career steps at PRODYNA so far?
A few sunsets ago I joined PRODYNA as an IT Consultant focusing on project management topics. Handling more and more projects at the same time brought me to a level in which the word “team” becomes very important. So, I made up my mind and organized some events for and with the crew. By doing so, I couldn’t get enough of getting in touch with new colleagues. That’s the reason, why I decided to jump into the voluntary role of a mentor, helping new hires to understand the PRODYNA philosophy and feel at home quickly. Additionally, it’s a good opportunity to meet people from all over the world by giving training. Luckily, there is knowledge in my head which customers are interested in and which led me to fill another sub-role as a trainer. As time is running and I am aging, PRODYNA rewarded me the role of a Senior IT Consultant. Currently, I am enjoying my role as a team lead and project manager in our customer projects. We proof ourselves by creating customer satisfaction on a daily basis. Once we meet our goals, we also know how to celebrate, of course!

What trainings did you complete at PRODYNA?
Gaining new knowledge is something which is with us from the moment we are born. PRODYNA is covering a lot of interesting topics in trainings as this company knows about its biggest asset: People. Trying to stick to current standards, I decided to become more professional in agile projects by attending the Professional Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Product Owner training. To get the best out of it, I was missing some detailed knowledge in Requirement Engineering. Et voila, there is a training offered which is called CPRE (Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering). Filling my pockets with new methodologies and on top of that extending my network by attending some more trainings like “Communication” or “Tableau” to visualize our data feels like my personal treasure of knowledge is rising endlessly. I am happy to return some of the given trust to PRODYNA by running projects as good as I can, supporting colleagues internally and representing PRODYNA professionally at customers.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
It’s up to you! Create your own vision, align it with PRODYNA and push it to the limit. Each colleague at PRODYNA is willing to support you as no one is able to get to the top alone. We are one team, even a kind of business family and together we are getting better daily. Diversity leads to a solid and healthy foundation.

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Green conquers the world!

Name: Sebastian Kirch
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Architect
Year of birth: 1984
Location: Eschborn

Name: Sebastian Kirch
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Architect
Year of birth: 1984
Location: Eschborn
Entry date: 09/2014
Focus: Java / web technologies
Hobbies: Skiing, running, cycling

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
Variety is what makes the job of an IT consultant so interesting and versatile. Instead of doing the same job for many years, at PRODYNA you have the opportunity to experience different industries, customers, projects and technologies. This means that compared to many other jobs, IT consulting offers you a lot of options to constantly learn and improve. I work closely together with our customers and need to be able to understand their challenges/requirements, find the best technical solutions and ultimately write the code to implement these solutions. So apart from the technical skills that are required for the implementation, a good mixture of curiosity, openness, and creativity is very important in my opinion.

What has been your most exciting project at PRODYNA?
Definitely my current project. We are 14 PRODYNA colleagues working in three Scrum teams in close collaboration with our customer. The technical challenges lie not only in a large amount of data which is being processed by the system but also in finding creative solutions to make this data available to the user in a fast and intuitive way. That’s why one of our UI/UX experts is part of the team helping us to build a user interface that supports the users in their work and is fun to use. The data processing is done in a distributed system consisting of a set of microservices that can be scaled dynamically depending on our current processing requirements. We are using Microsoft Azure as a cloud computing platform and Kubernetes for scaling and managing our applications. But what makes the project so exciting is not only the technology stack we are using, it’s also the complex business requirements. We need to constantly evolve and refine our implementation as we gain more knowledge of how the users are working with the system.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
Team spirit is not only an empty marketing claim at PRODYNA. It is what really distinguishes us from other IT companies in my opinion. I found that every time I’m starting a new project with colleagues I haven’t worked with before, it’s only a matter of days until we grow together as a team. The people at PRODYNA all have a similar mindset – they are eager to learn new things and always open for a new challenge. That’s what really impresses me. Especially because this culture of supporting each other and learning from each other is lived across hierarchies up to the management. Whenever things don’t work out as planned, there’s always an open ear to support and find a solution.

Describe your working day at PRODYNA.
I’m one of the early birds arriving at our Eschborn office at around 7:30. However, for some reason, we are a whole team of early birds because usually three of my colleagues are already sitting in our team room. After the first coffee and a quick talk on the balcony, we usually work until 10 am when the Scrum daily starts. As we are a distributed team with colleagues sitting in Eschborn, Thessaloniki, Dusseldorf, and Belgrade, the daily is done remotely via video conferencing. After the daily, there’s usually some room for other planning and coordination meetings until we head for lunch. In Eschborn, we have a canteen that we visit frequently but there are also several other options such as takeaway restaurants and food delivery services. Every Tuesday a group of colleagues is going swimming at a nearby swimming pool and I try to participate as often as I can (PRODYNA sponsors these sports activities). In our project team, we agreed to avoid meetings in the afternoon to work on tasks which require a lot of focus. This could mean working on a task alone for some time or pair programming sessions with other colleagues, either on-site or remotely via video conferencing.

Name: Andreas Fischer
Role: Software Developer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Augsburg

Name: Andreas Fischer
Role: Software Developer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Augsburg
Entry date: 07/2018
Focus: Frontend
Hobbies: Hiking, snowboarding, concerts, gardening, politics

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
The PRODYNA Academy offers many trainings for each job position in different locations. For example, I participated in six trainings during the first six months. The focus of the trainings is hands-on so I’m able to use the knowledge in my projects. The provided material like presentations and files are perfect if you are looking for something particular or provide even implementations that you can use. Furthermore, there are different portals for online training that we can use.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
I like the knowledge hub and the network. It’s very easy to connect with each other and to learn from colleagues. For PRODYNA also the socials skills are very important so most of the people are easy to handle. Furthermore, you obtain much responsibility from the beginning like project leads, master students and contact with customers.

How is the work in a project?
I participate in an agile software project with a very professional product owner and new frontend technologies. We are a team of at least 12 persons from different companies/providers. I work with a second developer and a software architect from PRODYNA. Therefore, I learn a lot and besides, I have to share my knowledge, too. I can schedule my time quite freely and work from everywhere as we hold our meetings via MS Teams, Skype & GoTo Meeting.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Participate in as many trainings as possible and don’t hesitate to ask questions. There are no stupid questions! Try to find a mentor that supports you!

How did you get in contact with new colleagues as a newcomer?
PRODYNA provides several social events to get to know each other like rafting, dinners, town hall meeting or Christmas parties. Furthermore, there are a lot of trainings where you can connect you with colleagues from different locations & countries.

Name: Rebecca Listle
Role: Working student
Year of birth: 1997
Location: Augsburg

Name: Rebecca Listle
Role: Working student
Year of birth: 1997
Location: Augsburg
Entry date: 03/2018
Focus: Support
Hobbies: (Beach-)Volleyball, hiking and going on adventurous trips

What are you doing at PRODYNA?
Since I started in March 2018, my main task is doing phone support at our location in Augsburg. The customers are calling us, if they need help with their computers, their printers or scanners or if they have problems with the internet or programs like Outlook and Excel. Another task is adding or removing the user from the servers and setting up new mailboxes. Currently, I’m also involved in an Azure project, where we have to analyze several tools for cloud cost management. In December 2018, I’m starting to write my bachelor thesis about Neo4j, including a practical aspect where I’m going to implement some Neo4j requests for the new PRODYNA Skill Manager. Hopefully, I will finish my thesis until March or April next year, so I can continue doing some more support for our PRODYNA customers.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
The events are almost the most fun part of my work here at PRODYNA. There you can challenge yourself in some sports activities, learn a lot of interesting stuff, get to know your colleagues at PRODYNA and have a lot of fun together. This year, for example, we competed at the rafting challenge at the Augsburger Eiskanal (it’s a canal which was built especially for the Olympic games in 1972). Or for the summer event, the whole Bavarian PRODYNA team went hiking to the famous “Kloster Andechs” and afterward we practiced some golf. The next day, we did a sightseeing tour through the city of Augsburg and learned some interesting facts about the history of Augsburg.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
At first, don’t be afraid of your upcoming challenges at PRODYNA. Your colleagues will help you the best they can if you have any problems with your workaround or some technical questions. Secondly, try to take part of as many events as you can and have fun at the PRODYNA teambuilding events, where you get to know your colleagues in a completely different way as you would in the office. You’ll also get to know colleagues from other locations and find some new friends.

What is special for you in a male-dominated business?
To be honest, for me there is nothing special in a male-dominated business. As I studied computer science at the university and worked for other IT companies before as a working student, I’m used to working with male colleagues most of the time. For me, the most important thing in this business is, that male colleagues treat you like any other male colleagues. Here at PRODYNA, I appreciate that it doesn’t matter if you’re a male or female consultant. Everybody does his/her best to fulfill their tasks. Colleagues treat each other in a friendly and respectful way and there is always a relaxed atmosphere at the office.

Name: Samuel Kohler
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1994
Location: Basel

Name: Samuel Kohler
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1994
Location: Basel
Entry date: 08/2016
Focus: Magnolia CMS
Hobbies: Sports and fishing

What was your best experience at PRODYNA?
At the beginning of 2018 four PRODYNA colleagues and I joined a project team to realize a holiday booking platform. We had exciting tasks and the customer, I still work for them, are three fantastic guys. So, we all had a really good time during this project.

Describe your working day at PRODYNA.
I get up, take my bike and drive the five minutes to the office. On my way, I buy a small breakfast and a Red Bull. Then I check my mails and the calendar, when nothing urgent is pending I continue with my tasks from the day before. At nine we have a short meeting to get an overview of who does what. The tasks I'm working on are very diversified: implementing new functionalities, reviewing code, writing concepts and offers, calls with customers and so on. During lunch we go get something to eat and chat about all kind of topics or watch some new movie trailers. At the afternoon I continue with my tasks and at 17.30 I finish my day at the office. I take my bike and go to the gym with my working colleague.

What offers PRODYNA?
PRODYNA offers me a modern, dynamic and motivated working environment. The exchange between the employees is really good and helps you to acquire new knowledge. I even have the opportunity to study part-time so that I can do my Bachelor in software development.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
Yes, I like them really, they take place all over the year and each time we have a good time. Some time we do some sport together, some time we just go to a restaurant so there are events for everybody. Since most of us are working at the customer’s offices, we don’t see us regularly. So these events are a good opportunity to talk face to face with the colleagues.

Is there a highlight for you at PRODYNA?
PRODYNA is a growing and international company, nevertheless the corporate culture is still very familiar. It's interesting to see the company expand, see new people joining and it's cool to be a part of it. At the Christmas party, people from nine countries came together and I think everyone felt like a part of one team.

Name: Marcel Fasciati
Role: Senior Project Manager / IT Consultant
Year of birth: 1982
Location: Zurich

Name: Marcel Fasciati
Role: Senior Project Manager / IT Consultant
Year of birth: 1982
Location: Zurich
Entry date: 10/2016
Focus: Project Management
Hobbies: Family, friends, mountains, food

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA offers a huge community with helpful colleagues and smart, state of the art IT solutions to manage projects successfully.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
Each PRODYNA location acts independently, local conditions and processes are considered important. It’s like working in a start-up with great support from the headquarter.

How do you spend your lunch break?
Usually, I grab some food with the colleagues and we eat together in the office. At Fridays, we listen to tech dialogs organized by PRODYNA.

Describe your working day at PRODYNA.
Either I’m embedded in a client project onsite or I manage projects for Swiss customers from the PRODYNA office in Zurich.

What do you like about your work?
I like the diversity, it’s enriching to get to know many customers, industries and technologies in a short timeframe.

Name: Dominik Grob
Role: Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1991
Location: Zurich

Name: Dominik Grob
Role: Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1991
Location: Zurich
Entry date: 11/2017
Focus: Java EE, Liferay, Data Science
Hobbies: Squash, boulder, games

Is there a highlight for you at PRODYNA?
A lot, especially our Switzerland team event from the last weekend. We had three amazing days with nice people and a great time.

What has been your most exciting project at PRODYNA?
My current project – avaloq.one. It’s a very unique project with a cool and young team.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
Yes.

How do you spend your lunch break?
Often with local friends.

What do you like about your work?
Independence, flexibility, responsibility, good atmosphere, interesting projects.

Name: Patrick Lüthi
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer / Team Lead
Year of birth: 1990
Location: Bern

Name: Patrick Lüthi
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer / Team Lead
Year of birth: 1990
Location: Bern
Entry date: 09/2016
Focus: Software Engineering
Hobbies: Reverse Engineering and Hiking

How did you get in contact with new colleagues as a newcomer?
I was invited to the summer party before I started working for PRODYNA. Later, during the onboarding, I had the privilege to begin my journey at PRODYNA with a handful of other newcomers from Switzerland and we continued working together after the event.

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
Being proficient in Software Engineering is great. However, having excellent communication skills is invaluable for success.

What is your favorite activity at PRODYNA?
Exchanging know-how with other colleagues.

How do you spend your lunch break?
Usually we go to the client's on-site canteen. We gather everyone who likes to join and spend half an hour talking about all kinds of topics. Some days are reserved for special activities. For example, every week on Thursdays we eat duck from a specific Asian place.

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
Management and HR support me on any non-technical matter. For technical issues there are more experienced colleagues able to give some advice and for personal growth I appreciated numerous trainings in the past year. Currently, I am being trained for taking on an architectural role in future projects.

What are you doing at PRODYNA?
I am a Software Engineer at a client site in Bern. We develop and maintain a portal solution for private and business customers to access energy sector related web services.

What trainings did you complete at PRODYNA?
Scrum Master Certification, Project Management Fundamentals, Communication 1 + 2, Team lead Training, PRODYNA Architecture Certificate (PAC).

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
In my experience I would say the company culture. The friendly yet professional environment with a flat hierarchy means there are fewer negative politics than in other companies and you can talk to everyone with near certainty of having a nice time.

Name: Rashmi Diwadkar
Role: Sales Manager - UK
Location: London
Entry date: 10/2017

Name: Rashmi Diwadkar
Role: Sales Manager - UK
Location: London
Entry date: 10/2017
Focus: Sales
Hobbies: Bollywood dancing and kick boxing

What is special for you in a male-dominated business?
My confidence and positivity.

What attracted you to the position at PRODYNA?
PRODYNA’s Philosophy and Vision.

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA believes in continuous trainings which keeps its Salesforce up to date with the latest technologies. It also provides tools which are essential in a sales role.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
Life is full of challenges… My job itself is a challenge… and I love accepting challenges.

What do you like about your work?
Collaboration, culture, and autonomy.

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
PROfessionalism and DYNAmism – This is the thing at PRODYNA.

How do you spend your lunch break?
In varied ways… I refer to have lunch my colleagues or have business meetings for the exchange of thoughts and current topics in the market and if none of these then I go for a walk around our office in London.

How do you feel about teamwork at PRODYNA?
I have seen a lot of cohesiveness when I have worked with different teams at PRODYNA which makes PRODYNA function more efficiently and boost the morale of the surrounding people. They always have a set goal and all work hard together to achieve it.

What was your best experience at PRODYNA?
When my first ever client was signed up at PRODYNA UK!

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
Oh…. I LOVE them. PRODYNA doesn’t only do commercial events with their partners but also organizes challenging events for their employees like a marathon, skiing and many more… which brings in a healthy competitive spirit within the company.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Just be yourself, work hard, challenge yourself and you will accomplish your dream.

Name: Claudius Brasil
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: London

Name: Claudius Brasil
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: London
Entry date: 07/2018
Focus: Software Engineering
Hobbies: Bouldering and city-walking

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
The main skill I think is a desire to learn quickly, and a capacity to cope with rapidly changing circumstances. Knowledge of the technologies which will be helpful with the current project is very important, as are communication skills, especially among team members.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
Balancing between when to focus on the bigger picture and when to go into more detail, and how much detail to go into.

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA provides training and a very helpful network of colleagues which is very useful when you need help, or when you want to skill up on something.

What attracted you to the position at PRODYNA?
The energy of the team, and the possibility to be able to work on different projects with different technologies, but within the same organization.

How does a normal office day at PRODYNA look like?
It varies and depends heavily on what project you are working on, and what stage of the project you are in. But one thing is always certain: the team spirit is always present.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
How although there are several locations working together, it all still feels like one big team.

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Dynamism.

What are your career steps at PRODYNA so far?
I have already attended several training sessions, our team is on a constant consultation on how to improve our skills.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Whenever you are at an event with multiple teams, take the opportunity to meet as many of your fellow PRODYN’ers as possible. These connections are valuable especially when asking for help.

What are your work tasks at PRODYNA?
I am a software engineer, so my main tasks will involve working with a technology stack of some sort.

Name: Sammar Malik
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1992
Location: London

Name: Sammar Malik
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1992
Location: London
Entry date: 10/2018
Focus: Java / Software Development
Hobbies: Gym, Cars, Travelling and Food

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA offers many opportunities to grow your skills and knowledge by completing certifications, attending training courses, taking part in tech talks and more. I have been given the chance to do a couple of certifications of technologies which we use in our current project. This is excellent for getting a deeper understanding of the technologies and helping me with my daily tasks. By taking part in tech talks, I have learnt several new applications which is very good to keep your knowledge up to date. Additionally, there is a tremendous amount of support you get from your colleagues, because everyone is willing to help and goes to great lengths to do so. This made my onboarding into the current project very easy as it gave me the option to sit down with my colleagues at any time and ask questions.

How do you feel about team work at PRODYNA?
It is always amazing to see how well everyone works together and how everyone is willing to help. Even through some challenging times, there was no moment where I felt like there is nobody to help me out. Currently we have several locations working together, which leads to great collaborations between the different regions. We often do pair-programming that everybody involved is benefiting from since we are learning from each other.

Do you like the events at PRODYNA?
Team events are held regularly at PRODYNA, which is good for bonding with your colleagues and having a great time at the same time. For example, our most recent team event here in London was a bouldering session which was a lot of fun. Another event we held was climbing the O2 arena followed by a nice dinner. I strongly believe these events are very helpful for the team to get to know each other better and to have fun, which in turn motivates you in your work life. We also hold regular technical talks here in London to learn about new technologies or to present a topic yourself.

Name: Matthias Kampmeyer
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1989
Location: Amsterdam

Name: Matthias Kampmeyer
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1989
Location: Amsterdam
Entry date: 08/2015
Focus: Java / Liferay / Spring
Hobbies: Piano, traveling and playing board games

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Although it seems to be kind of lame and sounds like a marketing slogan, the word "team spirit" is the first thing that I associate with PRODYNA. With all the events PRODYNA offers, you not only get to know your colleagues better but you also meet people from other locations and can share experiences. I think team spirit is why people stay at PRODYNA and why we have such success.

What are your career steps at PRODYNA so far?
I started in Berlin as an IT consultant and was effectively one of the three pioneers there who kind of established that location. We have grown up to 20 people till last October when I left this amazing team. With my relocation to Amsterdam, I got the title of a senior IT consultant and I found myself in a similar situation with also a team of three people currently starting a new business there.

What advice would you give a newcomer at PRODYNA?
Take every challenge you can get and always ask other people for support if you need help. Especially if just started, you can feel kind of lost when being overwhelmed with new technologies you have to learn. In those situations always call your colleagues instead of trying to find an answer on your own. You might be a pain in the neck for that person, but that's how it works.

What has been your most exciting project at PRODYNA?
My most exciting project was and still is the project for the client WINGAS, which now lasts for almost three years. The reason for that is that the client cares about the product and we kind of built something new in that industrial sector. But the most important point is that I joined an experienced team back in a time when I just started at PRODYNA which allowed me to learn from the masters.

Name: Georgios Charitakis
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1986
Location: Thessaloniki

Name: Georgios Charitakis
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1986
Location: Thessaloniki
Entry date: 02/2018
Focus: Business web applications with a microservice architecture & CI/CD pipelines
Hobbies: Electric guitar, keyboards, snowboarding, scuba & free diving, historic books

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA invests in the development of all employees, thus many training sessions, seminars, and workshops are available to suit each individual's needs or interests. PRODYNA's team spirit means, among others, that you can always seek or provide support. Furthermore, we are provided with state-of-the-art equipment. Finally, HR, regional managers & team leaders make sure that we can work without distractions.

What do you appreciate about the corporate culture of PRODYNA?
I really appreciate the fact that PRODYNA combines professionalism & work-life balance. Building strong bonds and trust among the teams is a matter of the utmost importance for me and I can feel it here. The working environment is great. Today, it is a common thing to hear about companies that promote and invest in their ‘core values’ and ‘corporate culture’. But at PRODYNA, this is a reality.

How do you spend your lunch break?
We usually gather in the kitchen area with many colleagues. As for the food, sometimes we order it or bring our own from home. In general, it is a nice opportunity to exchange ideas, boost mental performance & relax.

What are your work tasks at PRODYNA?

Some of my work tasks as an IT Consultant / Software engineer are the following:

• Software design & implementation of applications
• Requirements engineering with internal or external customers
• Building CI/CD pipelines
• Basic setup of infrastructure
• Delivery in time, budget & scope
• Ensuring the quality of the final deliverable

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
All individuals in the IT sector must be eager to learn new things, have an agile mind and manifest a dynamic personality. Being methodical and analytical is an absolute must. Good communication and self-organizational skills are essential as well, and, shouldn’t be neglected.

... the DON'Ts:

• don't be afraid of changes.
• don't be afraid to ask, propose or act.
• don't be biased over technology stacks.

... PRODYNA's specific:

• start some cardio. It will be helpful!
• prepare to get out of your comfort zone!

Name: Christos Manios
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1989
Location: Thessaloniki

Name: Christos Manios
Role: IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1989
Location: Thessaloniki
Entry date: 02/2018
Focus: Backend development, REST APIs and search engines
Hobbies: Hiking and swimming

What are you doing at PRODYNA?
I am an IT Consultant / Software Engineer specialized in backend, REST APIs, search engines and cloud deployments.

When you think about PRODYNA, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Professional and Dynamic.

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
In order to work successfully at PRODYNA you need soft and technical skills. As far as soft skills are concerned, you have to be a person:

• Who loves being an active team member. We succeed or might fail as a team.
• Who likes to communicate and share knowledge with others.
• Who likes to learn from own mistakes.
• Who strives to provide the best solution to clients according to the current circumstances and environment.

As far as technical skills are concerned, you have to know the technology of the project you are involved. You do not have to be perfect but eager to learn and adapt. PRODYNA always provides you with the opportunity to improve your soft and technical skills.

How does PRODYNA support you in your job?
PRODYNA provides every employee with all resources needed to feel comfortable and accomplish their goals. Every developer is provided with modern equipment. PRODYNA makes sure that every team member will get the proper introduction and training (internal or external) before starting in a new team or project. Team leads are supportive and constantly monitoring our performance. A developer at PRODYNA can attend trainings, seminars, conferences and meetups in order to improve and perform better in everyday tasks.

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
PRODYNA is a really big family which helps its clients with solutions. It differs from other companies on the fact that:

• Team spirit is everywhere!
• Every process is open, and openness is encouraged and promoted in every aspect inside the company. This help us to communicate, tackle everyday life problems and to not reinvent the wheel for each case.
• Every developer is not only a coder, but a consultant who strives for the best solution for our clients' problems.
• PRODYNA gives unlimited space to grow as a professional and be happy with your job.
• As we "work to live and not live to work", PRODYNA supports sports activities, team building events and other extracurricular activities.

Name: Vladimir Vukadinovic
Role: IT Consultant / Senior Software Engineer / Team Lead
Year of birth: 1979
Location: Belgrade

Name: Vladimir Vukadinovic
Role: IT Consultant / Senior Software Engineer / Team Lead
Year of birth: 1979
Location: Belgrade
Entry date: 07/2014
Focus: Enterprise software architecture and implementation
Hobbies: Traveling

What are your work tasks at PRODYNA?
I have started working at PRODYNA five years ago as a Senior Software Engineer and Team Lead. At PRODYNA I am implementing various software solutions for different industries: financial, transportation, automotive and many more. Liferay is a perfect platform for custom enterprise software solutions, because it is not limited to a specific industry and very flexible. I am focusing on solutions which bring high business values to customers and at the same time integrate different business processes into modern applications.

What is the coolest part on your job?
I have been working with Liferay for 12 years now and I am still very motivated to work with it, because it keeps evolving in this fast-changing environment. It is following the high demands of the business sector and keeping up with the current IT innovations. I am developing and evolving alongside with Liferay.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
The process of transferring client’s needs into a workable environment can be very difficult and vague in the beginning. However, I see an opportunity to connect their requirements with the digital transformation and lead both, my team and customers, into creating innovative processes and products. We are connecting fun technologies with different needs and projects – everyone is satisfied. Happy customer, happy team!

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
PRODYNA has a very professional approach to every project. We are working with big clients – leaders in their own industries – and I have the chance to bring my creativity into professional and high-quality technology solutions. PRODYNA is showing professionalism, delivering high quality solutions to the customer, and that is exactly what attracted me to start working in the company.

Name: Simo Vuleta
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1985
Location: Belgrade

Name: Simo Vuleta
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1985
Location: Belgrade
Entry date: 02/2017
Focus: C#, .NET Core and AZURE
Hobbies: Running, Reading books, Spending time with family and friends

How did you feel as a newcomer?
I was really excited to start a new chapter in my life. My starter week was excellent, and my colleagues were very helpful to get to know the company culture and the way it works.

How did you get in contact with new colleagues as a newcomer?
It was a great experience. There were three of us in the onboarding week and we still keep in touch today. When I come to Stuttgart, I always take the opportunity to visit my friend Alexander, who was with me that week.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
For me as a C# developer it is a challenge to position the new technology with Java developers. PRODYNA is a well-known company in the Java world and my challenge is to help introducing the Microsoft world to our PRODYNA customers.

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
Willingness to improve and willingness to give and receive feedback.

What is your favorite activity at PRODYNA?
I enjoy taking part in the PRODYNA challenges and PRODYNA team buildings. There is a special day every year, our Christmas party, where we have a chance to meet the colleagues from other offices and exchange our experiences.

How do you spend your lunch break?
I like to spend my lunch break with my team. We usually pick some nice place next to our office and enjoy the pleasant atmosphere.

How is the work in a project?
The work in a project is great. PRODYNA offers us a chance to work on various projects and different types of industries.

How do you feel about team work at PRODYNA?
One of the major advantages is the team work (team spirit). The culture of supporting each other is something that drives us forward and is making us feel like home.

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
PRODYNA challenges us to be better every day, as a person and as a professional. I especially like the yearly PRODYNA sport challenge, where I have a possibility to travel and run with my colleagues from other offices.

Name: Danijel Gornjakovic
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Belgrade

Name: Danijel Gornjakovic
Role: Senior IT Consultant / Software Engineer
Year of birth: 1987
Location: Belgrade
Entry date: 08/2013
Focus: Java EE, Neo4j, Spring 4&5 and Cloud Native Solutions
Hobbies: Sports and Gaming

How did you feel as a newstarter?
Although more than five years have passed since I started in PRODYNA, I still remember it quite vividly. Coming from a small Serbian company, I couldn't believe the level of attention and investment PRODYNA gives to their new employees. It was my first visit to Frankfurt and everyone from HR to CEO was amazingly welcoming and helpful. Being introduced to our portfolio partner frameworks such as Liferay via training in the first week and sharing that experience with fellow newcomers, whom I befriended during this time. This was the perfect way to start this ongoing journey!

What are you doing at PRODYNA?
I work as a Senior IT Consultant and a local Team Lead / Mentor at PRODYNA's Serbian office.

What skills do you need to work successfully in your job?
Teamwork, proactivity, patience, diligence, and finding the right approach for each situation. It goes without saying that improving technical skills and staying up to date with trends and state-of-the-art technologies is helpful, but it won't achieve much without the afore mentioned skills.

What distinguishes PRODYNA from other IT companies?
Attention to people and team spirit. Being a consulting company, PRODYNA understands people are its greatest asset and makes sure they feel appreciated. PRODYNA will always listen to its employees and go the extra mile to meet their needs and ensure they are happy at work.