ESTIEM Magazine | Spring 2021 | Data Revolution

60th Issue

3D AND AR GOING MAINSTREAM PAGE 20

DATA-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP

Bridging the Gap Between Goals and Results

PAGE 38

`

DATA REVOLUTION: THE NUMBERS ALL AROUND US European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management Issue 60 2021/5 | ISSN 0874-5242 | Price €0.- | www.estiem.org

INTRODUCTION

Pursue your Master’s program in the Netherlands?

What about the masters in Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology? tue.nl/masterprograms/oml • tue.nl/masterprograms/im • tue.nl/masterprograms/mse IE MSC wervingsad 210x135 mm.indd 1

18-06-19 09:33

Get Active! Page

+180

29

+120

Central ESTIEMers

Central Entities

Get Active! Chats since 2018

What is CENTRAL ESTIEM?

Why join CENTRAL ESTIEM?

Central ESTIEM can be seen as the working place in ESTIEM.

There are a many reasons why you should join Central

It aims to provide a framework where people can work to-

ESTIEM. First of all, you will be working in an international

gether and develop their ideas with like-minded ESTIEMers.

team. In this team you can create your own impact by deve-

The Central ESTIEM structure consist of the board and se-

loping ideas or starting initiatives. Furthermore, it is a great

veral entities that support the board and the network and

opportunity to develop yourself by learning new things and

others that focus on the value creation by coordinating the

improve a variety of skills. Last but not least, it is amazing to

organization of services. More information on Central ES-

be part of an European Community. In this community you

TIEM can be found below.

will make new friends, collaborate with people from different cultures and have a lot of fun!

Join the Active Mail List 2 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

Check Get Active! Page

INTRODUCTION

Table of contents INTRODUCTION 4 Project Leader’s Speech 5 President’s Speech 6 Magazine Team 8 Introduction to ESTIEM

FOCUS TOPIC 12 6 Approaches to Improve Digital Teaching and Learning

20

14 How Two ESTIEMers Created Their Business Using Data 16 The Data Process Behind the ESTIEM Lean Six Sigma Service 18 I am Online, Therefore I am 20 3D and AR Going Mainstream 22 The Data Behind DNA Tests 24 Improving ESTIEM Through Analytics 25 Persistent Professionalism Provokes Profound Proficiency 28 Visual Storytelling with Data

30

34

SCENE 30 Congratulations; You are just about to outperform Neil Armstrong 32 The Lie of Multitasking

CAREER 34 How ESTIEM & Case Studies Helped Me Figure Out What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

36

36 Alumni Interview: Evdoxia Pantazi 38 Data-Driven Leadership - Bridging the Gap Between Goals and Results 40 What’s After ESTIEM? - An Update from ESTIEM Alumni

INSIDE ESTIEM 46 Educational Development: What Does ESTIEM Bring You? 48 IEM Conference: Breaking Down Industry 4.0

48

EXPLORE 50 Friendship in ESTIEM: Boundaries That a Pandemic Can’t Break

ECO 52 Applying Social Impact Measurement 55 Food Waste is the New Food Taste 57 Ecology Today - Innovations of the World Live In 60 Why People Choose to Live in Denial 62 Impacton Academy X ESTIEM

55

50

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 3

INTRODUCTION Project Leader Tanja Gagić Design Veljko Tonić Veronika Marković Cemil Meriç Taşgıran Inês Filipa Ribeiro de Queirós Pereira

PROJECT LEADER’S SPEECH Dear reader,

Article Acquisition Sonja Borota Rana Dikman Hasan Kapan Ana Ruljević

In the past year, we have all noticed a switch

Proofreaders Evdoxia Pantazi Nikola Milošević Mark van Uden Jovan Vitošević Stanislav Kanin Margarida Ferrari Sobral Barbosa

moment. Despite the causes of this sudden

Blog Milena Zoraja Dragana Slavić With special thanks to Sjors van Weert, Maria Serodio, Robin Dietrich and Trajko Krstić Contact leader.magazine@estiem. org

towards a digital environment in many areas of our lives. Even this issue of the ESTIEM Magazine - you are most likely reading this online at the change being not so uplifting, for this issue we have chosen to focus on the positive results of what has evolved in these times. That is why I could not be more proud to present to you the 60th issue of ESTIEM Magazine.

As you can see, right after we celebrated the 30th birthday of our organization, our team had the honor to celebrate the creation of the 60th magazine. For this anniversary, we were met with an important task - how to present our team, as well as the whole ESTIEM in such a way

Enjoy reading!

that emphasises the strength, the growth and

Much love,

ESTIEM Permanent Office Atlas 2.328 P.O.Box 513 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands Fax: 0031-(0)40 2473871 info@estiem.org www.estiem.org

the values we all stand for.

Disclaimer

little adventure that we have prepared for you.

The contents may not always reflect the opinion of the publisher. Any reproduction or copy is permitted only with the permission of the editors.

Our Partners Allianz ABB Oy Continental Eindhoven University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology Lappeenranta University of Technology Eurosender Asia Exchange Elium UNIT4 Tableau BEST EESTEC VWI

After many months of work, many incredible authors we have had and exciting topics they have covered, I am happy to say that this issue

Tanja Gagić

outperformed every expectation we had for it,

ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader

and that I cannot wait for you to explore this

None of this would be possible without the team that worked really hard to ensure ESTIEM Magazine, even after 30 years of existing, still represents our network in the best way possible.

Our main goal was, as always, capturing a bit of ESTIEM spirit and if at any point of flipping through this issue you remember that one event you had fun at, the teambuilding where you laughed really loud, or the ESTIEMer that you really cannot wait to see again - we have made it.

4 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

INTRODUCTION

PRESIDENT’S SPEECH Dear reader, This issue of the ESTIEM Magazine is focused on the Data Revolution. Reflecting upon the topic and its impact on a student organization like ours, it is easy to realize the impact it has had during the past years. What is data exactly? And why is it so important for ESTIEM? If we look at the exact definition, the word “Data” is defined as: “information collected to be examined, considered and used to help decision-making, or information in an electronic form that can be stored and used”. On another hand, when we think about it inside the network, there are important areas that come to our attention: the Data Science Course which is currently being developed, the Data Protection Task Group which aims to make ESTIEM a GDPR compliant association, and the Analysis Committee which aims to support the

In High ESTIEM,

network with decision making and make ESTIEM a data-driven association.

The development of new technologies is leading to an exponential increase of data availability. In years like 2020 and 2021, when we have to almost fully readapt the operations of our big international

Luis Viudez ESTIEM President

family, data takes a decisive role whenever we speak about sustainable development and innovation. In particular, it is the very basis of every opportunity, decision or action in the adaptation of our offers and diversification of our value proposition.

Most of the time, instead of reinventing the wheel, data can be the difference between innovation and (re)invention. It is all around us and we, as a network, are trying to use it for learning and adapting the different sectors inside our organization. It tells our story, the different changes, our evolution, who we were and who we want to become.

Now it is my pleasure to invite you to dive into the content of the 60th issue of our ESTIEM Magazine.

A lot of effort and time has been put into it by everyone involved, and I am sure you will enjoy reading it.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 5

INTRODUCTION

ESTIEM MAGAZINE TEAM Tanja Gagić ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader

Evdoxia Pantazi Proofreading Task Group Leader

Veljko Tonić Design Task Group Leader

Sonja Borota Article Acquisition Task Group Leader, Blog

Mark van Uden Proofreading

Cemil Meriç Taşgıran Design

Rana Dikmen Article Acquisition

Margarida Ferrari Sobral Barbosa Proofreading

Inês Filipa Ribeiro de Queirós Pereira Design

Hasan Kapan Article Acquisition

Stanislav Kanin Proofreading, Design

Veronika Marković Design, Blog

Ana Ruljević Article Acquisition

Milena Zoraja Blog Task Group Leader, Proofreading

Trajko Krstić Vice President of Public Relations 2020/2021

Sjors van Weert ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader 2018

Dragana Slavić Blog

Maria Serodio Vice President of Education 2020/2021

Robin Dietrich Vice President of Public Relations 2019/2020

6 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

INTRODUCTION

ENJOY YOUR

READING!

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 7

INTRODUCTION

ALL OVER EUROPE...

Back in 1990, students from five different countries founded an organisation, which they named ESTIEM: European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management.

After 30 years, it has grown into an organisation

The decision-making body of ESTIEM is the

bringing together over 60,000 students from 79

Council, which meets twice a year, in autumn

universities in 31 European countries, and it is

and in spring. Each university, represented by

still growing. All these universities offer courses in

its so-called “Local Group”, sends two student

IEM. Based on this structure, ESTIEM forms links

representatives. The six members of the Board

between students, academia and companies in

of ESTIEM are elected during the spring Council

order to create an Europe-wide, multi-level IEM

Meeting. The Board is responsible for the

network. ESTIEM has continuously increased the

management, coordination and administration

number of its activities, thus being able to offer

of the association.

a great variety of events to IEM students and an opportunity to experience different cultures, take

Besides taking leadership positions in the Board

part in international projects and become friends

and as Project or Committee Leaders, ESTIEM

with other ESTIEMers from all over Europe.

members can also take up responsibilities by working in one of the Projects, Committees or

Naturally, the backbone of ESTIEM is the

Initiatives. With lots of teams and tasks to choose

European IEM student. The students involved in

from, there is a place for everyone.

ESTIEM incorporate both the skills required for modern business and an open-minded approach

For

more

detailed

information

about

our

towards other people and cultural issues.

organisation and its activities, please visit our website at www.estiem.org.

75

180+

3,000

Local Groups in 27 countries make ESTIEM a large network.

events are organised

by Local Groups every year.

travels are made yearly by 2,000 students.

8 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

8,000 members and a reach of 60,000 towards IEM students in Europe.

INTRODUCTION

OUR MISSION Connect and support the growth and sustainability of European associations of IEM students, to foster relations and to develop their IEM students, personally and professionall

OUR VISION Be the connector of IEM Students with an IEM Europe An IEM Europe is the ecosystem of companies, universities, organisations and other entities interested in the field of IEM. We are striving for each IEM Student to have a connection not only with other students all over Europe of the same field but also to other companies and universities, to ensure each student as a voice as well as the opportunity to make a difference, and to allow each outstanding innovative idea to become reality.

OUR FOUR CORE VALUES

Embracing diversity

Striving for development

We see multiculturalism as a strength of ESTIEM. We benefit from our cultural diversity by being able to approach chances and challenges with different insights. Respect is not just something we strive for, but part of the very basis of our network.

We grow together by trying hard and learning from mistakes, we are eager to go through a learning process and see accessibility and freedom as highest goals. ESTIEMers gain practical experience and important soft-skills needed in today’s world.

Encouraging participation

Aiming high

ESTIEM being a democratic organisation with a flat hierarchy encourages the participation of all its members. We inspire each other to partake in ESTIEM’s activities and develop new ideas.

We are not afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone. ESTIEM’s members are proactive students that always give 100%. We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit among students and other stakeholders by gathering and exchanging experiences and best practices.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 9

INTRODUCTION

STUDENTS INVOLVE THEMSELVES IN VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS AND COMMITEES... the world with different backgrounds in a country

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

to experience it in 3 dimensions – politics, economy and culture – while raising the intercultural

Lean Six Sigma

awareness and spreading open-minded ESTIEM

Our mission is to spread the knowledge of

spirit.

advanced methodology which is Lean Six Sigma by providing worldwide recognised - Green

Language Programme

Belt Certificate. The Green Belt is not only

Language Programme aims to foster language

revolutionasing and integreting all IEM students,

learning within ESTIEM, providing ESTIEMers

additionally it gives them a straight direction into

with the opportunity to learn new Languages or

finding first jobs in any industry.

improve the ones already known.

Academic Days

Exchanges

The goal of Academic Days is to share ESTIEM

Local Group Exchanges aims to connecting Local

universities

knowledge

network.

Groups by visits of LGs to another LGs with a

It

the

supports

with

personal

the

professional

following return visit which facilitates them to

development of students across Europe willing to

and

share their cultures, knowledge, experiences and

complete their curriculum. In order to achieve this,

strengths between each other while having fun in

each Academic Days event provides participants

a sincere environment.

deep insights into a specific topic in which the organising Local Group’s university has a high

Activity Weeks

expertise.

Activity Week aims to gather students from all around the Europe in one city where the

Vision

participants have the chance to experience the

“The aim of Vision is to give IEM students

hosting country by exploring their culture, food

practical insights in current and future topics and

and hospitality. These days fulfilled with various

trends from areas between Economy, Society

activity events such as local festivals and concerts.

and Technology while bridging the gap between

During the event dates a friendly atmosphere

academic and corporate environment.

reigns due to which ESTIEMers easily can feel the ESTIEM

spirit.

IEM Connection To be the facilitator of the voice of IEM students and

connect

them

with

professors

CAREER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

and

professionals, in order to increase the awareness of IEMers on IEM Education in Europe as well as

TIMES

taking an active impact on educational change, by

TIMES provides IEM students all across Europe

providing opportunities to discuss education and

the

contributing to academic development in Europe.

developing their professional skill set in a

opportunity

to

grow

personally

while

competition-based context.

Inchainge Global Student Challenge Support and develop the knowledge gain of Supply

Be X in X Days

Chain Management within IEM students through

Be X for X Days aims to provide ESTIEMers

partnerships for competing activities.

and IEM students with the best opportunities of getting real-life experiences, useful knowledge

INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

and insights about what is needed to be a professional in a specific field.

Europe 3D

businessbooster

Europe3D aims to gather students from all over

Businessbooster is an ESTIEM entity that aims to

10 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

INTRODUCTION connect the different IEM student associations

easily maintainable and upgradeable portal that

with entrepreneurial interest. By facilitating the

works well on all platforms.

education of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, Businessbooster

enables

the

entrepreneurial

Public Relations Committee (PRC)

mind-set while creating and maintaining a safe

The Public Relations Committee aims to maintain

environment for business ideas.

the ESTIEM brand by creating and publicizing the necessary brand materials for this purpose and to support entities and local groups in order

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

to increase the recognition of ESTIEM to its stakeholders.

Braintrainer Braintrainer is a training-based project that

Trainers’ community

aims to provide high quality, interactive and

As Trainers Community we provide training

multicultural learning experiences. While working

sessions to ESTIEMers to help their personal and

on soft and business skills such as communication,

professional development while supporting the

presentation, negotiation and team-management,

future growth of the community.

participants are also able to enjoy the experiencesharing, fun, and team spirit inherent to every

Analysis Committee (AC)

ESTIEM project.

Our mission is to support ESTIEM to make the decision-making more fact-based in order to help

Summer Academy

the organisation move forward, while supporting

The goal of Summer Academy is to potentiate the

ESTIEMers in their professional development.

development of leadership skills, foster the sharing of insights and knowledge within the Industrial

Knowledge Facitilation Committee (KFC)

Engineering field and to create a unique and strong

Curate the knowledge and ensure its usage by

relationship between all the participants.

facilitating knowledge sharing in ESTIEM. Local Group Support System (LGSS)

COMMITTEES

Have

a

support

system

for

Local

Groups’

development, with a customized, project-based Human Resources Committee (HRC)

approach, focusing on Local Groups willing to be

Support all central ESTIEM entities in recruiting,

rescued from a bad state.

onboarding, managing and developing their team members by facilitating recruitment processes,

Legal Officers

assessing stability and providing opportunities for

To strengthen ESTIEM’s regulatory structure, while

development.

increasing and maintaining the legal knowledge in ESTIEM.

Members Committee (MC) Take care of the Local Groups of ESTIEM and their

Ambassadors

activeness level, tries to expand ESTIEM network

The Ambassador is responsible for establishing

and helps student groups in their membership

and fostering relations between ESTIEM and

process.

other

associations,

while

facilitating

existing

collaborations. The Ambassador should increase Corporate Relations Committee (CRC)

awareness and recognition of ESTIEM towards IEM

The Corporate Relations Committee is responsible for

creating

and

developing

academic

Europe and bring value to its Members.

and

corporate partnerships that will contribute with

ESTIEM Magazine

value and support to the network.

The ESTIEM Magazine aims to provide an insight in the world of IEM from an academic and

Information Technology Committee (ITC)

professional point of view and engage ESTIEMers

We ensure that ESTIEM can fully serve its members

in the network.

in helping them be their truest and most amazing selves by providing them a modern, stable and

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 11

FOCUS TOPIC

6 APPROACHES TO IMPROVE DIGITAL TEACHING AND LEARNING

Robin Dietrich Local Group Berlin

After a year of Zoom lectures, you might be under the impression that you have seen all there is to see in online education methods. Nevertheless, the spectrum of technologies and approaches used by lecturers remains surprisingly limited in most institutions.

understood, while providing a stimulating activity to the students.

3) Harvard Professor Eric Mazur explains how to use PRS to engage students and encourage peer instruction:

The following approaches may help both teachers and learners achieve better results:

For Teachers a) Online whiteboarding 1) As they guide their students through the lecture slides, lecturers can spontaneously decide to add handwritten annotations to the slides.

2) Students can leave comments and questions directly on the slides, giving both the lecturer and the students the opportunity to add asynchronous comments to the synchronously held lecture. This type of tool can actually be used in a live lecture just as well as in an online one.

Eric Mazur: Peer Instruction for Active Learning 4) Tools like Mentimeter and Kahoot can be used to perfectly replace expensive “classroom clickers” as Mazur uses. c) Peer Assessment 1) Students can carry out tasks, then evaluate each other, learning both to work on an exercise, and to evaluate its success.

2) Having the students engage with correcting the material both deepens their understanding of it, and frees time for the teachers to focus on the most demanding problems.

Zapier.com: The 7 best online whiteboards in 2021

3) The popular Learning Management System Moodle has a function called “Workshop” that is built to support peer assessment.

4) The Moodle Documentation website describes how to implement the Workshop Activity:

b) Personal Response systems (PRS) 1) Lecturers can ask a targeted question in the middle of their lectures to test how well the students understood the key points in the lecture.

2) When one lecturer is faced with hundreds of students, it is often impossible for them to get an idea of how well the students understand the material presented.

Personal Response Systems allow lecturers to get an accurate idea of how well they are

12 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

Moodle.org: Workshop Activity

FOCUS TOPIC

Student Collaboration With every participant in the lecture being separated by social distancing, the opportunities for spontaneous student collaboration have become harder to come by. The following tools and methods can be used to make studying both more enjoyable and more successful. a) Watching Parties & Collaborative Notetaking 1) Meet with other students to watch lecture videos together, be free to pause the video and discuss at key points 2) Take notes about the lecture as you’re watching it, compare your notes after the lecture 3) Pro-tip: MS OneNote, Google Docs, and others allow multiple people to work on the same document, allowing notes to be taken simultaneously b) Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS) 1) Create personalized digital decks of flashcards, tailored to the specific lecture material you are studying 2) Create highly customisable decks with apps.ankiweb.net or make more simple but easier to use decks on memrise.com 3) Pro-Tip: split the work of creating the cards within a small group to reduce the amount of time spent on creating the material c) Collaborative summarizing and mindmapping 1) Break subjects down into units, divide responsibility for the content (division could be made based on what each group member likes or is good at) 2) Each person studies and summarizes the part that they have been assigned, the summary is added to a comon document (This can be done either in a shared document or in a shared SRS) 3) Pro-Tip: each of the people who has summarized a part can hold a presentation / lecture explaining their summary to the others - this will both deepen their own understanding and allow the other group members to understand the summary.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 13

FOCUS TOPIC

HOW TWO ESTIEMERS CREATED THEIR BUSINESS USING DATA ESTIEM brings people together, that is a well-proven fact. After having first met one year ago during a RussianFrench ESTIEM Exchange, we, Valeria & Louis, decided to live our online student life traveling through Balkan countries – we began by settling in Montenegro for a month, then in Serbia and here we are, three months later, in North Macedonia.

Valeria Kortes Local Group Saint Petersburg

Louis Arduin Local Group Lyon

While traveling together, we were always trying to find a way to meet local people and make friends along our trips. If for us, ESTIEMers, this appeared to be a difficult mission, we realised it would be even more of a challenge for nonESTIEMer travellers. In our minds, meeting locals and discovering their life is really what traveling is all about, so we tried looking for an easy way to get in touch with open-minded local students, ready to show us their favourite places! As we could not find such a platform, we decided to create it. Therefore, since February we are sharing our time between online classes and business development.

What exactly is our ambition, you may wonder? To develop a website where everybody can create and offer local tours of their region or city (davai-tours. com). Just like we would like to have experienced here in the Balkans, our goal is to allow travellers to connect and greet each other with offbeat tours all around the world. To do so, our platform needs to grow and gain users to make sure local guides get travellers to provide with tours and vice versa.

This is where data gets useful. In fact, we have used it since the very beginning.

The first step of the project was to make sure we were not the only ones looking for this kind of service. In other words, we had to ask ourselves, “will our platform meet enough potential users?”

To answer this, we started collecting our first bits of data by conducting a survey where, in order to gather useful information, the questions had to be well formulated- as, together with the possible answers, they should be precise enough to create group categories later. Once all this precious data was collected, we had to figure out what to do with it. Some of the doubts we had in the beginning were cast aside as this survey made obvious that people would like to use such a service! Additionally, all this data allowed us to change our project’s vision from how we pictured it in our heads to what potential users really needed. Thus, we adapted our website, our offer and our marketing strategy, to better fit what our target audience wants, giving our project the means to succeed.

Quickly, we got addicted to data and needed more and more of it. Preparing a huge Excel File was our next move. We filled it up with all the competitors’ information we could find useful: tours’ topics, average prices for a tour in different locations (Istanbul, Belgrade or Berlin, for example), etc.

Listing here all our columns would be too long, but believe us, we had a lot of data, as it was a key element in building the strategy, enabling us to answer questions like “How to position Davai-Tours against mastodons like TripAdvisor or Airbnb?”. This question was answered after many long evenings playing with data and many discussions to find the perfect spot for us: a position where we can have enough space to grow, away from too much competition, but still reach enough people to be successful.

We truly believe, spending so much time gathering all this information resulted in good strategic decisions. We could have gone much faster and directly develop our initial idea without thinking too much about it, however, taking time to analyse data was undoubtedly time well spent.

14 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC

davai-tours.com Our love story with data does not end here.

Handling a community of users and all the data that comes with it is another useful element to be considered, and it would be a fatal mistake not to take full advantage of something freshly considered as “the new gold”. Many key questions we are facing will meet more precise answers as we collect more information about the users. By getting to know their habits and preferences, we can better shape our service to meet their needs and desires. Let us consider a basic example, if we realise the average booked tour is around 15€, guides should be encouraged to align by this standard.

These few examples of how we implemented data in our experience may be small when compared to the amount of data that big companies like Uber or Amazon have to deal with, yet they show how useful data can be in business development.

To conclude, data may appear as something obscure, when it should be considered as a powerful tool that is accessible to everybody. One does not need to have a full warehouse of servers running thousands of databases to start getting benefits from data. All it requires at the beginning is a good Excel file, some hard work, and patience.

In our particular experience, it is undeniable that we exploited all collected information to match our issues and give us the best chance of success.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 15

FOCUS TOPIC

THE DATA PROCESSES BEHIND THE ESTIEM LEAN SIX SIGMA SERVICE Over the course of the pandemic, the lean six sigma service in ESTIEM spent a lot of effort in designing and building a relational database in google sheets. Since two out of every three Lean Six Sigma (LSS) courses is a local course, such a system had to be developed as local events are not currently supported on the ESTIEM portal. This relational database is operational and gets its inputs from seven different google forms to keep the measurement system of LSS updated!

Berfin Yağız Local Group Istanbul Bogazici

Agnieszka Remi Local Group Poznan/Porto

Digging into the Database bit more: What is a relational database?

So what are the main benefits of using a relational database?

A relational database is a case when a table has ‘one to one’ or ‘many to many’ relations with another table (1). The connections between tables are provided with primary and foreign keys. In our case for example; the table ‘Courses’ has course codes as primary keys. These codes are also used in Applications, Instructors, and Instructors at course tables as foreign keys. For instance, Applications Courses has many ‘one to one’ relations since one course can have multiple applications.

By using different google forms the LSS team can collect standardized inputs to fill different tables.

In these forms, we have several dropdowns that are updated automatically via a google apps script to relate to another table. For example, in the Application form, you can only apply for the courses that are currently open for application.

These relationships between our different tables are very useful when we try to analyze our data.

This way we can relate the Instructors table to the Local groups table on a map to show potential course organizers how many potential instructors there are in their neighborhood, see the instructor search dashboard (2). All the seven individual tables together related give an overview of how it is actually going with the ESTIEM lean six sigma course.

UML Diagram 16 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC All theory aside, let’s switch to the perspective of a team member. Interview with the corporate relations responsible, Agnieska (Aga) Remi!

Berfin: What do you know about our relational database and its processes? What does relational means to you?

Aga: Starting off with the relational part; it basically means that our tables are connected with some primary and foreign keys. And moving on to the processes: firstly we input the data via google forms (forms that feed the database) but the Knowledge responsible and the Local course responsible also add some data manually.

Berfin: Do you think having this database is something that you can benefit from and how?

Aga: As the CR responsible; I am mostly in charge of contacting companies and maintaining relations with them. I also manage a small part of the PR but I am much more involved in certification processes lately. We recently included a table for the certification process in the database as well. I have created a google form that people who want to get certified have to fill out. The purpose of this form is to support us in the team with the administration of the certification and to let participants reflect upon their learnings one final time. By recording this information via a google form we can get insights directly about when people started and ended their internships.

Berfin: How often do you use the database and does it make your job easier?

Aga: To be honest not often, not daily. Only for certification.

Berfin: Do you use any visualizations which came out of our database?

Aga: The graphs in team chats which show the whole process of a course, local or central, are really helpful in the name of teamwork. Furthermore, the ability to see where the course was held, how many applicants there were, where they came from, and how many people got certified is a big convenience.

Also, while contacting new companies we are really proud to show the visualizations, they look professional and they are quite effective.

References 1. https://365datascience.com/tutorials/sql-tutorials/sqlrelational-databases/ 2. https://internal.estiem.org/leansixsigma/opportunities/ organize-a-course/#instructor-search

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 17

FOCUS TOPIC

I AM ONLINE, THEREFORE I AM An interview with Dejan Cvetković, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft

Development Center, Serbia

If you could choose how other people describe you when talking about your work, what would be the perfect way to do so?

Dejan Cvetković Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Development Center Serbia

Sonja Borota Local Group Novi Sad

Tanja Gagić Local Group Belgrade

This is an interesting question. How I am seen by the others. I have been in the information technology business ever since April 1991, so it has been around 30 years now. I have worked in 3 companies during this time. The first one was EnergoData in Serbia, the second one was Microsoft, the third one was NorthernTelecom, after which I returned back to Microsoft. Out of those 30 years I have essentially spent 28 years at Microsoft. It has a remarkable stamp in my career and in my life. Needless to say, during these 28 years at one company many things have changed and evolved over the years. My company email address is still the same as 28 years ago, but everything else is now different, including the logo.

I started out as a software designing engineer, after which I was in the commercial side of Microsoft before transitioning back to engineering.

I have had the opportunity to be an individual contributor, but also a manager and leader for others. My mantra has always been to follow the company mission, “Enable people throughout the world to realise their full potential”, and in order to achieve that, I have done my best in making sure that people around me are empowered to fulfil their potential. I never want to be observed as a boss or as a manager, regardless of whether I am an official manager, a leader, or an individual contributor. I want to be recognized as the person who paints the vision for the future of the team: defining where we are today and where we want to be in 1, 2, or 3 years down the road. I aim to clarify the path to get to our goals, what my commitment is to the team, and what is in it for the team members. I genuinely want to ensure I inspire the people around me to truly dig deep, delve into the unknown, to take risks and to try new ideas. I want us to celebrate our successes and learn from our failures so that we can grow as people.

To summarize, in my opinion I am both very results-oriented and people-oriented, and I try to emphasize the vision and commitment to reach goals in everything I am involved with.

Any company can have great products and great services, but those are only the leaves of the

tree. The actual tree trunk itself, the foundation, is the people. The most crucial aspect about the success of any company is the people, specifically in making sure they stay motivated and have the opportunity to develop themselves. This is what I focus on and why I aim to always be dedicated to people.

What is your opinion on the “online society” that was created during pandemic? Do you think the quarantine was a catalyst for the shift towards an online environment that would inevitably happen anyway, or do you think it was a direct result of the world crisis?

Again, that is a great question. What we experienced over the course of the last 1,5 years is an accelerated digital transformation. So, first of all, what is digital transformation? There are several different definitions on which I have my own take.

I see digital transformation as the way a company transforms how they do business with the aid of information technology. This definition implies that technology is just a tool and not something that is leading the digital transformation. What and who are leading the digital transformation are in fact people. The determination of people is critical in order to start and lead digital transformation.

In essence, the pandemic created an environment in which people could not connect with each other in person – it was dangerous – and they were looking into different alternatives to establish communication and collaboration, and this is where technology jumps in. At Microsoft we often say that the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation in a never-before-seen way.

Inevitably, it happened over the course of months and years, but the pandemic accelerated digital transformation to an enormous speed. I presume that even when the situation does sooner or later return back to normal, nothing will be the same as before. The impact of digital transformation in the online society and its value will continue to be there for people to utilize in the future.

You have mentioned the importance of developing responsible artificial intelligence at BIZIT2020. What do you think are the biggest challenges

18 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC

in seamlessly introducing artificial intelligence that do not oppose what the majority of people see as ethical?

In order to ensure the use of technology for the benefit of the public, it is crucial to set technology policies. These policies are agreed upon by both the public and private sector, showcasing an excellent example of the partnership between the two sectors. However, the setting of these policies is often coordinated by legal departments and legal people, who by nature are often not as agile as the pioneers in the technology industry. This creates a challenge in which technology-related policies are being established slower than the development speed of technology itself.

With technology policies we want to avoid situations where new technology causes unnecessary negative disruptions to people’s lives, the markets and business. While innovative disruption can be good, in the domain of technology it can lead to a mess if no policies are in place to define the proper use for technology.

This is relevant and topical especially in the case of artificial intelligence, where computers would be able to substitute tasks performed by humans in certain situations. With the addition of other technologies such as big data and the processing power of cloud computing, these computers may quite possibly begin to know humans better than humans know themselves. This is why the need for a strong public-private partnership and collaboration between technology and legal teams is crucial: to ensure that policies are established for the ethical and responsible use of technology, so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of artificial intelligence.

Would you consider your style of leadership to be data-driven? If yes, what role do you think numbers and measurability play in leadership?

I would actually approach this topic from a different angle. First of all, the style of leadership I personally prefer is results-oriented leadership.

I believe it is important to highlight that the goals and results people strive for need to be smart, relevant and measurable. Given that we are talking about leading people, results-oriented leadership does not necessarily always mean data or hard numbers, as quite often there are also other aspects involved, such as ethics.

While some aspects of the results-oriented leadership model do not touch upon data and

numbers from that perspective, they do play an important part when leading a team. A classic scenario is setting common goals for the team.

When setting goals and objectives, I believe it is crucial to first identify and define the underlying opportunity. As an example, an opportunity could be identified by asking questions such as: Where am I today, and where do I want to be in the future? What value do I gain in making that change happen? What is the value of an improvement for a certain piece of technology, a product, or business? Is it possible to realize this improvement with a team? The process of identifying and defining an opportunity, more commonly referred to as opportunity qualification, is often done verbally at first.

After an opportunity has been qualified, it should be quantified. This means defining the opportunity in a measurable way, such as the dollar value, a scale of importance and priority, or any other relevant numerical metrics. Quantifying an opportunity creates tangible goals and objectives, and makes it much easier to understand the opportunity and how to reach it for yourself and for your team. It also makes it possible to measure the progress of reaching those goals. While this process is not directly related to the leadership of individual team members, it plays an important role in leading a team to pursue the best and most valuable opportunities, and approaching them in an efficient manner.

If there is anything we have not asked you, that you wish you could tell us about, now is the time!

First of all, I want to thank you, the ESTIEM organisation, for giving me the opportunity to speak to you and foster this partnership with you.

There are many things I could mention here, but the one that I really want to emphasize is that nothing is “impossible”. Everything is possible! Do not let others going with the flow tell you what you can or cannot do. The impossible things you make possible are the source of an endless number of opportunities for you. It is merely a matter of creativity, ideas and inspiration of how to achieve them. By setting clear objectives and a vision, you can define the path to your goal and make it reality, but more importantly, you can inspire the people around you to believe to that vision and reach those goals together as a team.

Special thanks to Evdoxia Pantazi and Teemu Metsola for a big help with interviewing.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 19

FOCUS TOPIC

3D AND AR GOING MAINSTREAM ...A media revolution and its challenges

For many years, 3D technologies, like Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), have been hyped. This hype has flattened in the public. Today many of the roadblocks have been resolved and 3D will soon become a daily encounter. A media revolution is about to break loose, starting with e-commerce.

Why is 3D ready for the mainstream?

Felix Limper Local Group Paderborn

From archiving cultural heritage to training scenarios for surgeons or virtually designing entire factories – the use-cases we can picture with 3D technology are manifold and diverse. Until now, the entertainment industry has been the main consumer of high-quality 3D visualization. Green screens and Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) are common tools in today’s movie productions.

The gaming industry has shown impressive improvements in the realism games can transmit.

This has driven the development of 3D technology and gave room for hardware and software to evolve.

Not only has hardware and software evolved over the course of the past decades, but high-end devices have become more affordable and broadly spread. The computing power of the smartphones we carry in our pockets is capable of visualizing 3D graphics in real-time. Large tech corporations like Apple, Microsoft, and Google understand the dynamics of this media revolution and are actively supporting the adoption of 3D technologies.

Though we do not shop in AR yet, retailers are setting up their 3D content pipelines to be ready for the media revolution. It takes effort to build up new structures, as this innovation certainly is a disruptive one, but missing out on this development would be even more expensive.

Importance of Standardization What is still missing though to build scalable 3D content pipelines, is standardization. Without it, processes which rely heavily on manual work are hard to split into automatable process steps. Tool providers themselves need to provide interfaces to countless other tools, which again imply different requirements, making it a complex task to improve 3D pipelines with smart solutions.

The Khronos Group, a consortium for standardization in the field of computer graphics, gathers more than 80 industry-leading companies to cooperate and define standards together.

3D in E-Commerce – Motivation and Status Retailers like IKEA, Wayfair and Target, e-commerce platforms and software providers like Amazon and Shopify, have discovered the business value of 3D product visualization.

Fewer returns decrease costs, and higher conversion rates increase revenue. Consumers love interactive product presentations!

The furniture industry especially, is interested in using 3D technology in different ways: As a product configurator on the web, in a mobile AR application to project furniture right into your home, in- floor planning tools to plan entire rooms, to name a few.

20 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC In April 2019, this group established an initiative that today is called the 3D Commerce Working Group. Players with diverse backgrounds share their knowledge and work specifically on standardization for the e-commerce industry.

Among them are those I mentioned above, and many more, including Adobe, Facebook, NVIDIA, Samsung, Qualcomm, and of course our own company Darmstadt Graphics Group (DGG).

Enabling Scalability Smart automation solutions will be key to scalability in 3D and AR content pipelines. With our software RapidCompact, we at DGG work on this topic, too. Standards will enable tool providers to create solutions that help entire industries to scale up their 3D content production. Only then largescale use-cases will be possible, and we can utilize the benefits of 3D in our everyday life.

3D technologies give more context and can help in all kinds of industries to make communication easier, extending our realities digitally. But 3D data is complex. Photorealistic renderings are slowly replacing traditional product photography, but making this content available for realtime applications in AR, VR or on the web is a different challenge. Once this challenge is solved it will unleash a media revolution that will have a pervasive effect on our lives.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 21

FOCUS TOPIC

THE DATA BEHIND DNA TESTS

How can data bring crosscultural people closer and identical twins apart DNA tests, what is all the hype truly about?

Soumaya Afilal Local Group Liège

Some of us might have gotten an Ancestry kit as a Christmas gift or simply were curious to find out about our heritage after watching those emotionally thrilling advertisements that DNA tests companies use to draw more inquisitive people into their websites. So, if you are one of those people, perhaps you have already fallen for the marketing trap and the big promises that these companies sell to their customers.

which is unique to you. Secondly, our entire DNA is made up of 3 billion parts. Ancestry companies, though, look at less than 1% of those, about 700.000 sections where they know there are slight differences or variations amongst humans. Then, they compare the patterns of your differences to groups of people in their databases. With the help of math and some statistics, they try to figure out which groups you most likely belong to.

Companies such as 23andMe, Ancestry, and MyHeritage market these at-home DNA testing kits, offering to unlock your genetic secrets for the price of a group dinner at a nice restaurant and about half a teaspoon of your saliva or a cheek swab if your mouth is too dry to produce some saliva.

Nowadays, most of the big genetic testing companies pitch themselves primarily as “ancestry” services, promising both to connect long-lost relatives and to tell users what parts of the world their ancestors came from.

23andMe says “your DNA tells the story of who you are, and how you are connected to populations around the world.” The company is now even partnering with Airbnb to help customers plan a “heritage vacation” in places where their ancestors lived.

How do ancestry DNA tests actually work?

In short, the service provider, would take your sample, collect what is called Raw DNA DATA and through a lot of statistical interpretations and several models, and based on which genome yours is being compared with, you shall be able to prove how European you actually are, and you might even be able to get some totally unexpected results such as you being 46.7% Iberian,32.4% middle eastern, 10.6% Italian, 3.7% broadly east Asian, for instance.

What you should bear in mind is, while 99.9 % of our DNA is identical to other human beings, unless you have an identical twin, there is 0.1%

How accurate are ancestry DNA Tests?

Unlike dizygotic twins, the scientific logic tells us that monozygotic twins should share 100% of their DNA. Nonetheless, during an experiment, a set of identical twins tried 5 DNA ancestry tests, only to show them mystifying results.

Now assuming that the tests were done correctly, that the sequencing of the DNA from the sample received went smoothly, and that the raw data which was extracted is well analyzed.

Some discrepancies can still arise just from the mere fact that each DNA test company has its own database and set of customers that the DNA is being compared with.

Moreover, most DNA testing companies do not sequence the entire DNA. Instead, they look at positions in your DNA that they deem to be quite interesting for analysis.

Furthermore, the company’s database grows bigger every day. Which explains how the results of people change over the years as the company’s database keeps being updated. Hence, your 11% Scandinavian roots that you have spotted in your results the first time you took the test, might be 3.5% the next time the database is updated.

In the case of the different identical twins’ results,

22 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC tiny variations in each one’s DNA can lead the companies’ formulas to give them different estimates.

Ancestry DNA Tests and Data Protection Your data can be sold to pharmaceutical companies and used for genetic drug research, or to dietary companies that use sleek marketing skills to propose a meal plan catered to your genetic needs, or it may be given to law enforcement with a court’s order to help investigate a case.

All of this collected data means that your privacy could be at risk. If DNA information was leaked, it could cause people to be genetically discriminated against by employers, insurance companies, banks, etc.

Hence make sure to read everything before you click “Agree”.

Keep in mind...

1. We share 99.9% of our DNA with other brothers and sisters of humanity, and that 0.1% which makes each one of us unique in their own way, should not bring us apart. We ought to focus on our similarities rather than on our individualities, which might lead to race/religionbased discriminations.

2. Understand the facts behind the numbers!

Being 98.5% African or even 99.9% European does not make you a pure race.

3. These DNA At-Home tests are not necessarily science. According to Timothy Caulfield, a health policy professor in the university of Alberta Canada “what customers are actually buying is entertainment.

I believe it is recreational science because I think what you are getting is an approximation of how your DNA compares to other people, it is not tracing back your heritage”.

References 1. h t t p s : / / w w w . v o x . c o m / s c i e n c e - a n d health/2019/1/28/18194560/ancestry-dna-23-memyheritage-science-explainer 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIWlatQt4KE 3. h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=Isa5c1p6aC0&ab_channel=CBCNews 4. h t t p s : / / w w w . f o r b e s . c o m / s i t e s / nicolemartin1/2018/12/05/how-dna-companieslike-ancestry-and-23andme-are-using-yourgenetic-data/?sh=3e637dcd6189 5. h t t p s : / / w w w . d a i l y m a i l . c o . u k / n e w s / article-7076261/Genealogy-website-accusedselling-users-DNA-data.html

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 23

FOCUS TOPIC

IMPROVING ESTIEM THROUGH ANALYTICS

Analysis Committee

Usually a person generates a lot of data each day which, after being translated into information can lead to a lot of knowledge. This is why some experts say that data is the new oil of the 21st century. How can a student organisation like ESTIEM though make use of such a useful resource? This is where the Analysis Committee comes into play. Part of its mission is “to make the decision-making process more fact based” and to do so, the committee is using data from the network to perform analyses and create useful visualisations , thus generating insights for the whole central level of ESTIEM. Nevertheless, a question that you might ask yourself is: “how can we start from simple data points and end in actionable insights?”. Max Shron, writer of the book “Thinking with data”, lays out a framework to answer this question, in his view, data analysis should be performed in four steps.

Firstly, we start with the definition of the context: What are we trying to achieve? The second step comes to the definition of the needs: We are trying to assess what could the project accomplish that was impossible before. We then arrive at the vision of the project, by thinking how meeting our previously defined needs with data will look like?

The final step is the outcome: how and by whom will the result be used and integrated into the organisation?

Now that we saw how we can bring value to an organisation thanks to data, let’s see an example case inside ESTIEM, with the feedback system.

The Feedback System in ESTIEM gathers opinions from ESTIEMers participating in each event. With these answers - coming mainly from the areas of organisation, accommodation and activities

in offline events, to organisation, sessions and leisure activities in online events - we provide insightful dashboards to ESTIEMers of how an event went. Additionally, the event will get rated with an overall scale, called NPS (the NetPromoter-Score), which indicates if an event would be recommended to fellow ESTIEMers by the participants. The dashboard, based on this data, gives also insights on where the specific events are ranked, regarding the events of the same type and the other events organised by the same Local Group. Moreover, there is also the possibility to give individual feedback on the points that the participants from the event saw as highlights, and on the other hand, which areas/ activities could be still improved for the future events to be organised. This will add valuable information for the organisers, both in the Local Group & in the services, to increase the future quality of the events.

We just saw an illustration of how an organisation like ours can make use of the available data. Many more projects have been created by the Analysis Committee and those are freely accessible on our Tableau Space or on an upcoming Wordpress page.

Event feedback screenshot 24 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC

PERSISTENT PROFESSIONALISM PROVOKES PROFOUND PROFICIENCY Data Revolution Requires Career Evolution Microprocessor speed is increasing, memory is expanding, computer languages are multiplying, and applications are proliferating at breakneck speeds. These are the continuing trends that mark our current digital age. It can be called a data revolution as organizations need to find new ways to recognize trends among the weak signals building in this ever-growing mass of data and to make sense out of it so they can respond in meaningful ways. All of these trends are fortunate for industrial engineers. We are an important part of the technical community that has the ability to manage and interpret data that is required for operating organizations and creating value for society in the future.

However, this ever-accelerating pace of change implies that we must continue to maintain an edge in managing our ability to cope with these technology shifts. If we do not maintain currency, then our IE education may become obsolete within five years of graduation – and certainly within a decade. How can we make long-term plans to stay ahead in this journey toward mastering this continuously developing domain of competency requirements? The answer is that the data revolution requires career evolution. Examining how an American graduate education program operates can provide some new insights for ESTIEMers to understand how to approach their own long-term career planning.

Data Astuteness and Technical Competence Require Continuous Learning The first decisions must be made as an undergraduate. Because the half-life of digital technologies is measured in single-digit years and every year it keeps getting shorter, you must establish a sound foundation in the basics that will be required to manage data. This implies that all undergraduate students must develop a sound foundation for data analytics and thus it might be wise to include data analytics as a minor program of study for every engineer. An example of this type of program can be seen at:

Data Analytics for Engineers (DAEN), Minor | Oklahoma State University It is a recommended program of study for all engineers at Oklahoma State University. Consider this a benchmark for you to develop your own program, if your university has not worked out one of its own.

Another good piece of advice is to participate in the ESTIEM Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Green Belt program which will provide a practical start in your journey toward mastery. If you couple this with an internship or thesis work to complete the project for certification and volunteer as a course instructor, then the benefits multiply.

ESTIEMers who have gone that route have turned in very impressive work at companies and been welcomed and acknowledged for their significant contributions.

However, this is not enough. Sound education in the methods of big data, descriptive analytics, prescriptive analytics, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, and blockchain will help to prepare you for the data challenges you will face on-the-job and make your employability after graduation more attractive as a potential technology guru who can help to facilitate the digital transformation that industries are now pursuing. But this is just the methodological component. How about the application side of the equation where the mastery of manufacturing systems, supply chains, facility- (facilities-) and energy management, and enterprise management systems provide domainspecific knowledge in which the operations research, statistical engineering, and quality and reliability applications are being consumed into new digital domains?

Gregory H. Watson Adjunct Faculty member at the Oklahoma State University in the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, ESTIEM Summer Academy Professor

Sunderesh Heragu Regents Professor, Donald and Cathey Humphreys Chair, Head of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 25

FOCUS TOPIC Designing an undergraduate program to meet these needs often requires that students invest an additional year to obtain a graduate degree to enable specialization. Doing two theses, undergraduate and graduate, provides you with two opportunities to demonstrate to your future employers the caliber of work that you will be able to contribute.

Another aspect of professionalism available in the US is the standardized engineering exam that objectively demonstrates the proficiency gained in your basic studies. The Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination is sponsored by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEECS) and students are eligible to take the exam after they have completed three years of undergraduate engineering studies. This six-hour examination demonstrates the basic mastery of fundamental engineering principles and it is the entry-level qualification to develop a designation of Professional Engineer (PE). Requirements for the PE designation vary state-to-state and may be found at https://ncees.org/licensure/.

programs (see our benchmark at:

Industrial Engineering and Management, MS Online | Oklahoma State University ), or a degree in managing technology as an option to an MBA (see our benchmark program at:

Engineering and Technology Management, MS - Online | Oklahoma State University

Professionalism Requires “Reciprocal Adjustment” and “Fine Tuning” As technologies change, so must we. Here are two ways to manage personal change based on the advice from Mary Parker Follett and Taiichi Ohno.

Follett discussed what it means to be a professional and described how “reciprocal adjustments” must be made in our careers – this means that as our work changes, we must change accordingly. Taiichi Ohno talked about the continuing need for the “fine adjustment” of the work processes to remain relevant as the progress of technology gradually makes old ways of working obsolete. Education does not stop after departing university and having a degree - we must commit to continually refreshing and developing our capabilities so we remain relevant.

Continuing education (now widely available through Distance Learning (DL) can enrich your competence. Consider taking a relevant micromasters programs or short courses from a wide variety of online programs such as: Edx (www.edx. org), Coursera (www.coursera.org), Udemy (www. udemy.com), or LinkedIn Learning (https://www. linkedin.com/learning/).

). These programs are offered as benchmarking considerations for your design of your unique program of study.

However you design your future educational programs, you should study them with the same degree of diligence that you would in examining a tough engineering or technical problem. Most importantly, you must take control of your own development to assure what can be done. We would be remiss if we also did not call your attention to the training offered by your colleagues within ESTIEM. Many professional skills are based on the ability to train, get along with people, present ideas, and work in teams. All of these skills are part of the program that ESTIEM has available. Learning more, practicing frequently, and participating actively will provide the biggest payoff from these formative years. That is the advice from a couple of “elder engineers” who have struggled to gain mastery – it is also our fondest wish for each of you.

Additionally, obtaining a respectable master’s degree online is now possible. At OSU, students have two options – a technical degree if they did not pursue one while in their undergraduate

26 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC

About the Authors: Gregory H. Watson is Past-Chair and Honorary Member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and also the Past-Chair and Honorary Member of the International Academy for Quality (IAQ). He was elected a member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) and is a Fellow the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), the World Productivity Council, the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), and the Juran Institute. Dr. Watson is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Oklahoma State University in the School of Industrial Engineering and Management and is an ESTIEM Summer Academy Professor. Dr. Watson may be reached at greg@excellence.fi.

Sunderesh Heragu is Regents Professor, Donald and Cathey Humphreys Chair, and Head of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Heragu has been a visiting professor at the Technical University of Eindhoven and University of Twente in the Netherlands. He received the Reed-Apple award for lifetime achievement from the Material Handling Institute for accomplishments in material handling and logistics. Dr. Heragu received the David F Baker Distinguished Research Award from IISE. He has been elected a Fellow of IISE and he has won the IISE Award for Technical Innovation in 2008. Dr. Heragu may be reached at sunderesh.heragu@okstate.edu.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 27

FOCUS TOPIC

VISUAL STORYTELLING WITH DATA Organizations are becoming more and more data-intensive. Regardless of whether you start working in sales, finance or production, part of your job will be to distill insights from data and convince others to act on them.

Visualizing data and packaging it in a compelling story will help you to do so successfully. Therefore the ESTIEM Data Science Initiative organized, in cooperation with the Analysis Committee, two online courses to teach this important skill set. 42 ESTIEM-ers participated in total and this is just the beginning.

Bart Jutte Founder of VizBiz. com, Local Group Eindhoven

Kai Heine Local Group Berlin

Learning Concept

Course Results

Participants of the course have experienced the visual story process firsthand from start to finish (see figure 1). They started with a problem or a question, found a dataset and developed the story by making sketches and mindmaps, and used Tableau software for data exploration, analysis and visualization. Finally the participants presented their infographic to the group. A mix of theory and small exercises helped everyone to understand the basics and get going.

The second course took place in February 2021.

It consisted of four online sessions mixed with some homework and online instruction videos.

The ESTIEMers mentioned that they achieved the learning objectives of the course (see figure 2).

Learning the basics of Tableau proved to be the most difficult part. It has a pretty steep learning curve and you need to understand statistics, data aggregation and calculations to create graphics.

Despite that everyone was able to make it work in the end!

Anouar Elaidi Local Group Liège

Figure 1. Visual Storytelling with Data: steps, activities and output

Figure 2. The key learning objectives were achieved. Based on survey responses of 20 ESTIEMers who participated in the second course.

28 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

FOCUS TOPIC

Next Steps The demand for the course Visual Storytelling with Data inside and outside ESTIEM is higher than we can meet with the team. Therefore we will work to further digitalize the course, in order to serve more people. Besides that, we aim to develop a more advanced course to enhance the data skills of students and prepare them to become Tableau Certified.

Also, we strive to initiate a Community of Practice involving ESTIEM-ers, alumni and others around Data Science. This would be a great opportunity to learn from practitioners in the field (and vice versa) and possibly land an internship or a job.

If you have ideas to develop the Data Science Community or if you want to participate in the next course, please drop a line to leader.analysis@estiem.org.

Teresa Melo was one of the participants of the 2nd course. She has used available ESTIEM data related to travels and events to create her infographic. It is an interactive profile where ESTIEM-ers can see the highlights of their ESTIEM journey. The Analysis Committee works together with Teresa to make this profile available for all ESTIEM-ers via the Portal.

Teresa is positive about the course: “This event was a great opportunity to get familiar with the theory behind creating an infographic that tells a story through data. Everything was quite well organized and the instructors made sure to deliver both theoretical and practical content in a very complete and engaging way.”

Teresa finds the course useful for her future career: “As an aspirant data analyst, I feel it is essential to not only be proficient in Business Intelligence tools to analyze the data, but also to master how to communicate the results in an engaging and effective way. I would definitely recommend this event to the ones who are interested in this field.”

Figure 3. ESTIEMer’s profile - Teresa Melo VSD course project (something like this) ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 29

SCENE

CONGRATULATIONS: YOU ARE JUST ABOUT TO OUTPERFORM NEIL ARMSTRONG

Henrik Blomgren Associate Professor in Management at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Patron of ESTIEM

Change. Different. Not as before. A world of digital technology. How do you relate to these words? How would you relate to it, if it even was about your own education and your future way of learning? Well, you may not have signed up to become a student for a “digital reason”. But then, what if you started to think about it in this way?

If you experience education with a different group of people than usual, or in a different country, you discover something: it is different. You easily get the feeling that you have ended up “on the moon”.

But this way you can also discover completely new types of differences…

I have done education in at least 17 different countries, ranging from university students to senior executives of listed companies. I´ve seen differences.

All of this boils down to the fact that education is intimately associated with culture. Country culture, age culture, subject culture, physical-local culture, industry culture, even teacher-dependent and student-dependent culture exists.

One small example of a large and important cultural difference to be aware of when joining education is that in some classrooms in the world, there is a smoking ban, while in others there’s not.

There are, still, doctoral students in the world for instance, not to mention professors and CEOs, who regard smoking as part of an intellectual conversation – the “old philosophers’ culture” perhaps.

You might have encountered some of the differences I have mentioned, but for a learner who has only been a part of a, more or less the same educational culture, it can almost be a shock to experience a different one. A bit like ending up on the moon actually.

While in some countries it may be obvious for participants to take part in a discussion, in other countries it may not, which is a big difference.

The digital world is also “a kind of culture”. Now that more and more of the educational world is becoming digital, it may therefore, be wise to look at the matter as if you yourself had ended up on the moon. Literally.

The difference between those that see education as just pure entertainment, and the ones that do it as a must, e.g. a desperate need to survive, hold a certain job, and such, can also be tremendously big.

DisruptiveEduction.com

In some situations, you may think that you know in advance how education is going to be, but then discover that you were completely wrong. In other situations, the opposite may happen.

Trust me.

I´m not a “rocket scientist”, but just an educator in the field of business and management. However,

30 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

StopNobodyMove.com

SCENE

How well is the world of digital education expected to be in the future? Currently it is growing, a lot and fast. Below some rough numbers, to give you a feeling: • • •

2220: 16.1B USD invested by VC in EdTech. 20 Unicorns developed in less than 10 years.

2225: Estimated for 117B USD in Online Degrees and Micro Credentials.

2220: Around 50 000 universities exist on the globe – no-one really knows how many there are, thereby no-one knows how many students, but let’s guess: 1 Billion (!)?

Mind-blowing numbers. Then note: this industry has just started to go digital.

Actually: the education industry seems to be about to disrupt in the same way as other industries already have.

But a digital world of education is not so much about new tools, like laptops, PowerPoint, perhaps even Zoom. You have experienced this type of “fine tuning” before. The digital education world is much more different than that. Not to mention what it will become – note: I have not even mentioned AI yet.

How did Neil Armstrong, the lunar lander astronaut who said “a small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” do? He prepared well. And yet he did not know for sure how it would go once he had landed.

For no one had done it before him and could tell how it was.

Had anyone been there before him, surely, he would have listened to the advice that person had to give. But still he had known that it would not be exactly the same way, when he himself would land.

In the end, Neil Armstrong most likely ended up having to trust himself, and believing that everything would go well.

But he was curious, that’s why he managed.

Neil Armstrong probably even started to think differently after a while. That is most likely what will happen, if you visit the moon. Now; this might also happen to you.

Digital education is gradually becoming a totally new world. A bit like ending up on the moon actually. Look at it that way, and approach it that way.

That Armstrong even dared…

And you are just about to outperform him!

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 31

SCENE

THE LIE OF MULTI-TASKING “We are looking for an enthusiastic young person in their final year of studies (master or bachelor) with excellent organisational skills, willingness to learn new things and the ability to multitask efficiently.”

Milena Zoraja Local Group Belgrade

Job search can be very tricky. When you come across an advertisment like this one, the first thing you notice is the playful, fluffy tone. Am I an enthusiastic person? Sure! Willing to learn new things? Always! Am I willing though, to juggle a lot of tasks at the same time? Well, how hard can it be? Turns out, it is easier said than done.

In this article, you can read about multitasking and how it affects your productivity, cognitive ability, as well as your brain.

Multitasking is one of those words which sound very smart. It is the skill of handling completely different tasks at the same time. Computers can multitask. Processors are designed to handle various tasks parallely and do it efficiently. The best thing about computers is that they never get tired. Sure, maybe their battery needs recharging but the bottom line is that they work almost perfectly. The word itself was used for the first time in 1965 in an IBM document[1] referring to using a single computer to carry out various jobs simultaneously.

As computers became more ubiquitous, the idea of doing tasks simultaneously became popular and even desirable in the human world. The only trouble is that the human attention cannot really be focused on various tasks at the same time but rather must switch between them in order to have processes advancing parallely[2]. Truthfully, as a generation which relies on computers, media and the Internet, we are pushed towards multitasking on a certain level at all times. Whether it is checking social media feeds while studying, writing an email while listening to a podcast or cooking while watching TV, multitasking is, for most people, an integrated part of their everyday routine. If the human brain is not wired to do various tasks at

the same time but we cannot help but do it, the question is really how does this affect our brain in the long run?

Anthony Wagner, psychology professor at Stanford University, along with Melina Uncapher, neuroscientist at University of California, San Francisco, issued a paper which summarises a decade worth of research regarding the relationship between media multitasking and various aspects of cognition, including memory and attention. The study showed that ‘heavier media multitaskers exhibit poorer performance in a number of cognitive domains, relative to lighter media multitaskers (although many studies find no performance differences between groups)’[3].

Their findings also suggest that ‘the heavy media multitaskers are significantly underperforming on tasks of working memory and sustained attention’[4] . In conclusion, professor Wagner noted that no positive relationship was found between working memory capacity and multitasking.

If various scientific studies suggest multitasking is not compatible with the human brain[5], why is it still portrayed as a desirable soft skill?

Gal Zauberman, a professor of marketing at Yale School of Management, notes that people enjoy multitasking because of what it connotes. He and his two colleagues conducted a study in order to see if people are performing better if they believe that the task requires multitasking[6]. The team recruited people to watch Animal Planet’s “Shark Week” and split them into two groups. The first group – multitaskers – was told that they would do two tasks simultaneously: learning from the video and transcribing the voiceover from the video. The other group had the same tasks which were framed as a single activity: watching and transcribing the video. Participants assigned to the multitasking group performed better in all dimensions: they transcribed more words, they were more accurate in their transcriptions, and they performed better

32 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

SCENE on the quiz. ‘The most fundamental finding is that when you take the exact same activity between these two groups you find that those who believe they are multitasking are more engaged and perform better than those who believe they’re doing a single task’, Zauberman says [7]. The team performed a total of 32 experiments to prove this point and the results were the same: when people believed they were multitasking, they were performing better. Does this mean multitasking is actually beneficial? Well, not really. Professor Zauberman also noted in his interview for Yale Insights that ‘doing multiple distinct tasks at one time is still not a good thing and it will not lead to greater performance and satisfaction. I do not want these results to push people toward multitasking.’

[8] He also added that the structure of tasks is very important because they have different cognitive demands. For example, reading while listening to music is considered multitasking but it is not as demanding and as dangerous as texting and driving.

Furthermore, it is important to examine the actual physical influence multitasking has on a human brain. In a research conducted by PhD Kevin P. Madore and aforementioned PhD Anthony D. Wagner, published by the United States (US) National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health in 2019, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study brain activity when subjected to multitasking. Their findings were that ‘consistent with the view that multitasking creates heightened neurocognitive demands, the strength of task representation in the control network was greater when subjects switched to a new task than when they stayed with the same task. This means that when we switch from one task to another, it requires more neural processing because we have to bring back to mind the new task’s representation and then use it to allocate attention to information that is relevant to perform the new task. As a consequence, when we switch between tasks, we lose the benefits of automaticity and efficiency that come from staying focused on a single task’[9].

This basically means that in wanting to be more productive and finish the work more efficiently, the brain gets too tired and the final result is the exact opposite. How millennial is that?

The final point here is: If the brain is not wired for multitasking but everyday life demands it, how should living be made sustainable without damaging the brain?

Professor Clifford Nass suggests having a 20-minute rule. Instead of switching between tasks every minute, make 20-minute cycles to handle a single task[10]. That way, the brain has a chance to get efficiently engaged with a job and finish it with better overall productivity.

In conclusion, depicting superhumans as people who can work like machines is not only misleading but also impossible. Computers do not have cells, do not need sleep and certainly cannot have a burnout. People are more susceptible to distractions, mood swings or just the daily weather. With computers becoming smarter, it is very important that the human kind does not compete with them but rather finds its own way of growing and developing within the given possibilities and limits.

References 1. [1] IBM Systems Reference Library, 1965, http://www. bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/360/os/R01-08/C28-6535-0_ OS360_Concepts_and_Facilities_1965.pdf 2. [2], [4], [5] Stanford News, 2018, https://news. stanford.edu/2018/10/25/decade-data-reveals-heavymultitaskers-reduced-memory-psychologist-says/ 3. [3] Minds and brains of media multitaskers: Current findings and future directions, Melina R. Uncapher and Anthony D. Wagner, 2018, published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 4. [6] The Illusion of Multitasking and Its Positive Effect on Performance, Shalena Srna, Rom Y. Schrift, Gal Zauberman, 2018, published by Association for Psychological Science (APS) 5.

6. [7], [8] Yale Insights, 2019, https://insights.som.yale. edu/insights/the-illusion-of-multitasking-improvesperformance-on-simple-tasks 7. [9] Multicosts of Multitasking, Kevin P. Madore, Ph.D. and Anthony D. Wagner, Ph.D, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 2019 8. [10] Cognitive control in media multitaskers, E. Ophira, C. Nass, D. Wagner, proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 33

CAREER

HOW ESTIEM & CASE STUDIES HELPED ME FIGURE OUT WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP My ESTIEM journey started back in 2011 when I fell in love with case studies. I have participated in 20+ different case study competitions, visited 10+ countries and met 500+ people just because we all shared the same passion of problem-solving.

Nina Miljković Local Group Novi Sad

That passion significantly influenced my motivation and my career. I knew what was driving me early on and it was always the same - helping people all over the world organize their time, teams and processes better.

Today, I am an owner and a CEO of a small consulting company called Organination. The company name is indeed “pun intended” because my name is Nina and what I do is all about organization.

I have seen many companies fail, not because of poor management in its entirety, but because of poor organization. It comes in many forms: company’s organizational structure, process and project management, team (mis)communication, lack of performance metrics, no long-term strategy and no short-term goals. Somehow, organization is (un)intentionally left aside, like it is something that will happen naturally. It will not, you have to work for it.

An average person spends over 90,000 hours of their life at work. Terrifying? Not at all. If those hours are filled with meaning and fun. Solving a case study is similar to any challenge my clients put in front of me. Wonder how? Well, a case study requires some reading, problem analysis, a solution or two, and a presentation to show the results you expect in front of the jury. Client’s challenges follow the same pattern. You need to analyze their issue and present possible solutions and outcomes back to them. I also follow that pattern in every-day life. Having a problem? Okay, let’s analyze it, find a solution and fix it. Simple as that. Life is short, so we might as well make it a fun ride. All challenges my clients put in front of me are just another case study to solve and it is super fun!

Results my clients achieve contribute to establishing organizational structure, process creation and re-engineering, easier management, higher efficiency, stellar effectiveness, better control over the business, optimized resources, happier employees, and higher revenue. Those results we accomplish are mutually rewarding, just like winning a case study competition with my team back in the days. It is always about teamwork!

My advice to young ESTIEMers is to find their passion, follow it and know that everything else will come along the way. Find an internship, invest in yourself, learn new skills continuously and never give up!

Team Creative Solutions 34 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER

TIMES Moscow

First TIMES

Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad

Management Olympics Greece

Celebration Vinjak ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 35

CAREER

ALUMNI INTERVIEW WITH EVDOXIA GLYKERIA - DOXY Evdoxia Glykeria, known as Doxy, is an ESTIEMer from Local Groups Xanthi and Gothenburg. She has worked in various positions inside the network, both on the local and central level. From Student Guide Project Leader in 2013/14 to the President of her Local Group and the Online Platform responsible for the Lean Six Sigma Project 2016-2018. Now, she is working as a Continuous Improvement/Lean Six Sigma Black Belt specialist. In ESTIEM, she is a member of ESTIEM Alumni Board and ESTIEM Magazine, where she is a task leader.

ESTIEM Magazine Team

Evdoxia Pantazi Local Group Xanthi & Gothenburg

Hello Doxy! Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. Since you’ve been able to witness the growth of ESTIEM and ESTIEMers through the years, can you tell us where you have seen the biggest improvement in the network from the time you joined up until now?

I am always fascinated by the innovative ideas ESTIEMers come up with to improve the organisation further. To push the limits. We always say that ESTIEM is a playground but I am not sure how deeply this saying is understood by everyone.

Having this unique opportunity to come up with ideas, discuss them and improve them with likeminded people and then test them in a real setting is a lot more than you get in the working life. The risk might be greater there and ideas could be stopped before even discussed further. So, the biggest improvement if you have it, is the ability to maintain and evolve the playground.

Name 5 things every ESTIEMer should try to experience.

1. Travel to/Join an online ESTIEM event alone.

Preferably your first or second ESTIEM event. By doing so, you are “forced” to talk and connect with people, in essence to make friends. Those friends might help you be more active!

2. Be active! Either in your own Local Group or one of the Projects/Committees/Initiatives ESTIEM has to offer. Feel the power of a team and gain skills.

3. If possible, join a Council Meeting. Online or physical, both have their charm. This is where you get to understand the extent of the organisation.

4. Develop an idea. Alone or with those friends you formed on your first, second or whatever number of ESTIEM events. You have the ability to try and succeed or fail. You will learn tons from both of them.

5. Take the time to talk with ESTIEM Alumni.

You will realise that we are just like you but a tad older!

Bonus! 6. Be Open. To new ideas, information, opinion, anything that might come your way.

Would ESTIEMer Doxy from five years ago be happy with the ESTIEMer Doxy you are today?

I think I would have been a different person if I did not join ESTIEM back in 2012. For example the name that I am commonly known as, Doxy, might not have existed today! Experiences shape us and enhance our personality, our habits or simply the way that we exist on this planet. Doxy of then is happy with the Doxy of now, for everything I have tried to do, no matter if it was successful or not.

I learned equally as much, if not more from the times that things did not go as planned or wished for.

What is your go-to punishment when someone loses a name-tag?

You would not find me giving out punishments to people or cheering for them. I believe there are other ways to teach people not to be late or to take better care of their personal belongings such as name tags. I do see the fun part of it of course and some of them are too funny not to get a chuckle out of me. Only thing that is worrying me is that do people really learn not to be late to the General Assembly of the Council Meeting or do they do it just for the punishment?

What is the most bizzare ESTIEM song that you’ve heard at our events?

Oh yes! I thought hard about this one! Tiny Bubbles is the one in the end! The lyrics are so funny and they do not make any sense but I love how it makes everyone happy. I am a huge fan of singing and karaoke, so the singing culture inside ESTIEM is one of my favourites! A lot of the songs we have in ESTIEM have their origins in Scouts songs and since I have been a Scout from 4 years old, once I heard the songs I felt right at home. Sing more songs ESTIEMers, we need the joy and bonding they bring.

36 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER Which part of your ESTIEM journey best describes the person you are today?

Excellent question. I have never thought about it, to be honest. I think I have two memories that define me as a person in general. In Council Meeting Budapest 2014, I was the Project Leader of the Student Guide. Rade Pantelić was my Board Responsible and we had very different personalities, but we made it work and learned from each other. In the segment where boardies show their appreciation, he said that I never gave up and kept trying no matter what. I have not noticed that in me and it was something that actually surprised me when I thought about it. I might despair, I might complain about something not working or not going as I would have wished, but I will keep trying until all possibilities are through. Later on, when I applied for the next President of ESTIEM in Council Meeting Austria in 2015, this thought helped me move forward.

When I was not elected, I thought about ending my journey in ESTIEM. Then I thought that it is not possible to give up and that I can help in another way. Thank you Rade for the observation that has stayed inside of me since then.

Which super power do you think would be most useful on ESTIEM events?

around. Now, being the person that I am, I would have tried also for the 60th issue as well. The past and the present that also indicates our future.

In your opinion, what is one thing in ESTIEM that never changes, and what is one thing that changes constantly?

One thing that never changes is the passion.

The willingness to drive the organisation. The commitment we show is quite unique.

One thing that always changes is the people. The reach we have is extensive and will always have new people joining us giving a fresh perspective to our organisation.

What is something you wish you knew when you joined ESTIEM? I do not think I would have liked to know any of this beforehand. Even if I got to relive everything again, what an amazing and life enhancing experience that would be to feel everything again. I do not like having regrets, I realised that early on in my adult life, but I think if I did not join ESTIEM in 2012 would have been one of my biggest regrets.

If you could ask all ESTIEMers one question, what would you ask?

Could I have two, please?

TELEPORTATION!!! Porto in the morning, Karlsruhe in the evening. No cost of travelling to any destination we desire! Seeing our friends whenever we want. Can someone ask for more?

On a serious note:

If you could only read one book over and over for the rest of your life, which book would you choose?

On a semi serious note:

How will the things you are doing today help you become the person you desire and are capable of being?

Why do you not join more ESTIEM events or projects/committees/initiatives?!

One of my comfort reads for quite some years now, it has been the Harry Potter series. I read them thanks to my mother in the early 2000s and I literally grew up with the whole series. As I grew younger, I found new meanings to the words on the pages. It is both enlightening and amusing to spot new clues you have not seen before. Did you know that in the 1st book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Newt Scamander is mentioned as well?

Imagine yourself in the situation: there are 60 printed issues of Magazine in front of you and they are all on fire. There are no more existing (offline or online) issues in the world. You can only save one. Which one are you saving?

Why are you doing this to me? Quite difficult to decide. I would save the 1st issue of the ESTIEM Magazine, to keep the history of ESTIEM alive and have a proof of how along ESTIEM has been

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 37

CAREER

DATA-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP – BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN GOALS AND RESULTS We start most of our sales workshops by asking participants this ice-breaker question: Why do salespersons, who have the same goals, products and customers, often end up with very different end results? While the range of answers to this question is wide and insightful, this is in fact an issue that many companies struggle with in practice.

Teemu Metsola Team Lead & Senior Consultant, Biit Oy Local Group Lappeenranta

We find that companies often spend countless hours on defining the strategic business goals for the upcoming year. Salespeople then get to work, doing what they do, and eventually they land at a result, which is then reviewed based on monthly sales reports. In between the goals and the results is an unknown area – a space where things happen, but nobody really knows what exactly. We call this the “Black Box of Sales” dilemma. In these cases, there is no clear visibility into how or what the salespeople are actually doing. Any indication of how well things are going can only be obtained retrospectively from reports, but these numbers have already happened and cannot be changed.

The solution we propose to this dilemma is twofold: clearly defined sales processes, and datadriven leadership. In this article we’ll be focusing on the latter.

Data-driven leadership is one of the big buzzwords at the moment. In its simplest form, data-driven leadership is about gathering and analysing data, and planning future activities based on this data to reach a specific goal. At Biit, we implement and analyse data-driven leadership through a framework based on Mercuri International’s RACframework (Results-Activities-Competences).

38 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER

All of us have our own goals – both inside and outside of our work and student lives. Perhaps one of us wants to learn a new language while another may want to run a marathon.

In this example case, an ESTIEMer has set a goal of obtaining the highest possible grade in an upcoming exam. To reach this goal, they must focus on the quantity, direction, and quality of their efforts: • • •

Quantity: How many hours do I need to spend studying for this exam?

Direction: Which topics should I study? What are the most or least important topics?

Quality: How do I ensure I have understood the topic and will remember what I studied?

By answering these questions and setting adequate target levels for each objective, we ensure that succeeding in these objectives will result in a great exam performance.

The additional steps to evaluate are whether the ESTIEMer’s competences and existing prerequisites enable them to prepare for the exam successfully.

Are the study techniques sufficient? Is the ESTIEMer missing any prerequisite courses or knowledge?

What about their attitude and motivation? Is all the study material available? If the exam requires a calculator, is one available?

Perhaps in our example the ESTIEMer takes the exam very seriously and has hired a tutor or coach to help them prepare for it. The coach drops in once a day for a few minutes telling them to study harder. Should the ESTIEMer be satisfied with such a coaching method?

Perhaps the coach should instead analyse the ESTIEMer’s study performance systematically, construct a personalised study plan that is tailormade for the ESTIEMer, actively monitor their development and give guidance and tips on how to improve.

This is where data-driven leadership goes beyond just the numbers: it is about using data to lead people and their activities.

The amount of data available for use and analysis is growing rapidly. Innovations such as artificial intelligence are becoming more common and make data more accessible than ever. In the end, however, it is people, individuals, that make results happen and goals become a reality. The demand for leadership based on facts and data will therefore continue to play a large role in management for the foreseeable future.

By breaking down the goal and analysing how to reach it, the ESTIEMer puts themselves in a position to succeed. The same method and principles are just as relevant in a business context, whether it is sales, marketing, or customer service.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 39

CAREER

WHAT’S AFTER ESTIEM? – AN UPDATE FROM ESTIEM ALUMNI

Simon Beer Local Group Munich

Murat Yiğen Local Group Istanbul Boğaziçi

Elias Faethe Local Group Bremen

Evdoxia Pantazi Local Group Xanthi

Lassi Uusitalo Local Group Lappeenranta

It all started on November 14th when the ESTIEM Alumni Meeting took place. Even though we could not meet physically, due to the situation with the whole world, it did not stop us from sharing the ESTIEM Spirit we are all fond of. On the agenda point of the Board applicants, we applied as a group. The group was formed from Simon Beer Local Group Munich, Murat Yiğen from Local Group Istanbul Boğaziçi, Elias Faethe from Local Group Bremen, Evdoxia Pantazi from Local Group Xanthi and Lassi Uusitalo from Local Group Lappeenranta. The main motivation that pushed us to apply for the Board of Alumni was our belief that Alumni have the resources and knowledge to contribute more to the student network (ESTIEM) and to our network (Alumni). We also saw no difference between the student and the alumni network. We take ESTIEM as our mother organization, our umbrella.

With that in mind, we as The Alumni board, started working on our focus areas for our term. The two main areas were: “Activities focused on Alumni members” and “Activities focused on the Alumni organization”. Further developing on those areas, “Activities focused on Alumni members” consists of professional and personal development events together with leisure events. A key development plan was to expand the ESTIEM Alumni’s presence in the student network with events such as “Afterwork with Alumni”. New initiative concepts such as “Industry Exchange” also came into fruition, with the first edition happening in March 2021. Naturally, the traditional events remain in the ESTIEM Alumni event portfolio, and Alumni members are encouraged to share their ideas and make them happen.

practices and offering ways to turn more ideas into actions, as well as developing our onboarding process for aspiring member applicants, are included within this development topic. In one of the team’s meetings, the idea of a welcome package for new members of the Alumni network was brought up and started taking form. The package contains information for new Alumni applicants, aiming to welcome them and give them an introduction to the network, thus helping them to successfully join and integrate into the Alumni network.

In our time so far, we have aspired to maintain and further strengthen our connection with students.

We were present in the LXI Council Meeting and we will also be present at LXII Council Meeting, as well as the IEM Conference, and, most recently, at the ESTIEM Hunt. It is always inspiring to meet and collaborate with students and support them in reaching their goals whenever possible. It is a reminder that being an ESTIEMer or ESTIEM Alumni has a lot to offer both personally and professionally, no matter the level of engagement.

With the “Activities focused on the Alumni organization” front, with the thought that the ESTIEM Alumni have the potential to offer more to both involved parties (student & alumni), it was decided to start the conversation of “Growth Path for the Alumni network - ESTIEM Alumni 2025”. This was started by exploring the voices from the student & alumni together, focusing on their thoughts on how they see the Alumni developing further as an entity. The goal is to start the conversation and build up a team from both students and alumni that will work together on formulating the concept further. Finding best

40 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER Looking forward to the future, we are eagerly awaiting to gather the ESTIEM Alumni network together at the upcoming Alumni Meeting, which will again take place online, as well as the upcoming ESTIEM Council Meeting where we hope to meet many of you. ESTIEMers also have the opportunity to meet some of us on a monthly basis either in an “Afterwork with Alumni” online event or at an “Alumni Roundtable” which you are more than welcome to join! If you have any questions, or you would like to discuss a new concept with us, please do not hesitate to approach us at board.alumni@ estiem.org.

In High ESTIEM Simon, Murat, Lassi, Evdoxia and Elias

Real Round Tables We encourage you to meet other alumni in real life regularly for a drink of your liking and promote this through the communication channels of your choice. So, if you plan to meet alumni in your vicinity, feel free to promote it directly in the Telegram group and LinkedIn group, while the board also can help you send out a mail to all alumni.

ESTIEM Alumni Telegram Group

Activities to join While there are many different activities where alumni meet, we have some regular ones, the main one being the Alumni Meeting.

Alumni Meeting Once per year, we have our official meeting including the general assembly. It usually takes place over Whitsun.

ESTIEM Alumni LinkedIn Group

Virtual Round Tables To have a regular meeting place we have established a monthly digital round table on every 4th Friday of each month. You can find the next one on the ESTIEM portal.

Skiing Snow enthusiasts gather (at least) once a year to meet, ski, drink, hang out, sauna, and all the other fun winter sports activities. Check out the next event in the portal and if you see a free place, register fast, as it fills fast.

Lean Six Sigma Greg Watson and Jukka Matti Turtiainen have started bringing Lean Six Sigma Training events into the organization. It takes place at least once a year, so please check the portal for the next events.

Diving If you prefer activities in the molten snow aka water, then we have the ESTIEM Alumni Diving event for you, where you can join as a newbie or experienced diver. Diving instructions are offered.

The event usually takes place in a warm location with a lot of sunshine to relax after the adventures below the surface. As an experienced reader, you already know that the next event will be announced in the portal.

Entrepreneurship The ESTIEM Entrepreneurship Enthusiasts brings together students and alumni interested in this topic. So if you have an idea, want some funding, are interested in joining a start-up, or generally

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 41

CAREER

hearing more about the entrepreneurs in ESTIEM, join the next event and also their LinkedIn Group.

ESTIEM Entrepreneurship Enthusiasts’ LinkedIn Group Wurstmarkt Once a year the biggest wine festival in the whole world takes place in the beautiful village of Bad Dürkheim. Our Alumnus Lutz has a vineyard there and ensures that we have a place to sit (with the help of the organizers of course). All past participants can assure you that drinking a wine- champaign mixture in 0.5l glasses is a local tradition and also tastes wonderful. The event usually takes place around mid-September, so look out for it in the portal.

Industry Exchange Inspired by ideas and suggestions, we wanted to introduce a new event format to increase the exchange among our members within the same industry. We wanted to bring together engineers and managers to discuss current and future trends and their impact on organizations.

The first event focused on the automotive industry took place in March 2021. In the future, we are planning to organize the same concept for different industries with your help. The first and foremost aim of this event is to follow the wish to increase the exchange among Alumni on a professional level. Furthermore, the event should facilitate networking and creating awareness of current trends in the respective industry the exchange is based upon.

Christmas Round Tables During Christmas time it has become a nice tradition to meet around Europe at local Christmas markets and share some hot beverages with friends from near and far. The events might be more spontaneous, so keep an eye out in the Telegram group starting at the end of November.

Newly established events Afterwork with Alumni – There’s Life after ESTIEM? Welcome to the Alumni + students after-work!

In a relaxed and easy-going atmosphere, 2-3 ESTIEM Alumni give a short presentation of their professional life after their ESTIEM time, including their successes and failures, to demystify working life to students, and, in true ESTIEM fashion, enjoy a lively conversation with everyone participating from afar. It is also a great opportunity to reconnect with other Alumni and share the ESTIEM Spirit once again!

42 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER

Voices of the participants - Afterwork with Alumni “The after-work event was quite a good experience for me because I am an old-age newbie. I will graduate in June and meet ESTIEM this online year. I want to spend more time in ESTIEM. It was a good networking experience at the same time for me. I am looking for an internship abroad so networking is important and I took advice from alumni. I have more clarity right now that I can do more things after my graduation with alumni. I can say those for a summary of my experience. I want to attend more alumni events in the future.”

Alenya Guner, Local Group Istanbul-Yildiz

“The event is perfect for all the ESTIEMers who are wondering about what happens after they finish their studies. These wonderful people from the alumni part of our organization are here to share their stories and answer your questions. I loved how energetic and approachable they are.

The greatest benefit I gained is that I got some ideas in which direction I could go in the future.”

- Aleksandra Jovanović, Local Group Novi Sad

The event consisted of two presentations from Alumni to the student ESTIEMers. After a detailed presentation, we had the opportunity to ask them questions about their journey after graduation or during their ESTIEM years. It was very inspiring to see that the ESTIEM spirit is still here, years after graduation. The “Work hard play hard” motto has never left them, ever since they joined. This event was great because we could see that ESTIEM granted them opportunities they could not have without it. This network, this “very huge group of happy and friendly people” as I will call it, has granted them knowledge, confidence, and respect. They aimed high and mainly succeeded. As a student during COVID-19, I do have fears for my future. Seeing that they did go through the same issues as we are right now, is reassuring and helps us to continue our journey in IEM. Regarding my personal benefits of the exchange, I had feared living in another completely different country and culture. But they truly said that this was definitely a great experience and there will always be an ESTIEM-er who would help me out settle and feel accepted wherever I go. Worth attending! (recommend x1000%) - Arhtur Mauras, Local Group Auvergne

The Student & Alumni Afterwork was so much fun! Not only was I able to catch up with my dear friend Jaime after almost 10 years but also, we had an inspiring discussion with the enthusiastic students and the valuable fellow alumni about diverse topics such as the impact of intercultural intelligence in the daily international work-life, what it feels like to work at large vs. small companies as well as how to find Ikigai (Japanese for a reason of being) in one’s life (no worries, we couldn’t quite figure it out yet). Join us next time to be part of the lively exchange!

- Atamert Arslan, Alumni, Local Group Karlsruhe

The Afterwork with Alumni was an excellent opportunity to feel a bolt of ESTIEM spirit again, a homecoming of sorts. I had a terrific time meeting about a dozen active ESTIEMers and recounting how ESTIEM really turned my life around, moving all the way from Spain to Finland and always getting involved in the Local Groups of the cities I lived (Madrid, Lappeenranta, Vaasa, and now Helsinki). Their questions and experiences were eye-opening, and often showed me a perspective on life as a foreigner that I had not consciously considered before. As a huge bonus, several of the people I was close with during my active time in ESTIEM were also present in the Afterwork, so I got to catch up with them for the first time in almost a decade.

This was definitely a highlight of 2021 so far for me. I have given a lot to ESTIEM, but I am sure I have received even more in the form of a life change that has made me immensely happy – so I hope I can continue to share my experience and passion with the younger generations!

- Jaime Lopez, Alumni, Local Group Madrid/Lappeenranta

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 43

CAREER

“It was a pleasure to meet with fellow ESTIEMers and Alumni to discuss life after ESTIEM! During the meeting I realized again the huge role ESTIEM played in my personal and professional development, and the contribution it had to me today. It is great to be surrounded by such talented people and get inspired every time. Once an ESTIEM-er, always an ESTIEM-er” - Buse Ece Güldiken, Local Group Istanbul Bogazici

Voices of the participants Entrepreneurship Fireside Talk

“I really liked the event. Hearing the perspective from the venture capital point of view and the networking were great ways to enhance my entrepreneurial insights.”

- Tolga Ermis, LG Paderborn

44 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

CAREER

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 45

INSIDE ESTIEM

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: WHAT DOES ESTIEM BRING YOU? ESTIEM’s Vision is to be the connector of Industrial Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) students in Europe, aspiring to connect each student not only with other students all over Europe of the same field, but also to companies and universities. Our aim is to ensure that each student has a voice and the opportunity to make a difference, and allowing each outstanding, innovative idea to become reality.

Maria Serôdio Local Group Porto

The development in the Educational area of ESTIEM is contributing greatly to what is envisioned, but what is happening in these areas?

Raise students voice

Sharing knowledge

As students, we have opinions and ideas on what is currently going on regarding IEM Education both locally and with an eye on Europe, so in ESTIEM we want to allow students to raise their voices and share their views on relevant matters. Right now, the initiatives in this area are:

In a world where the amount of skills IEM students are expected to have is always increasing, learning becomes a big part of every student’s journey.

In ESTIEM, we try to keep up with the most indemand topics in the IEM world and bring them to our students.

• Data Science: A Data Science Course is under development, with its first module about Data Visualization materialized in an online event called “Visual Storytelling with data”, where students get to learn how to create compelling infographics with data through Tableau.

• Project Management: ESTIEM is raising students’ awareness on this topic thanks to several courses provided by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

• Lean Six Sigma: Quality Management is an ever-present topic in the IEM world, and our flagship Green Belt course has the mission to increase the knowledge in Europe about these so valuable tools.

• Process Mining: This ever growing area has been brought to students thanks to our partnership with Celonis, by showing them the platform through workshops, competitions, and their free full course.

• Supply Chain Management: Through the partnership with Inchainge, students can participate in the competition called “Global Student Challenge”, where they can experience real life decision-making through the simulator of a juice production company.

• General IEM topics: Going from Industry to Marketing, to Entrepreneurship, to Management, ESTIEM provides a wide variety of events that allow students to learn more about IEM related topics, such as “Academic Days”, “Vision”, “BeXforXDays” or “businessbooster”.

•

Online Discussions: These discussions on relevant topics organized by IEM Connection allow small groups of students to gather, share their reality and see what is happening across Europe. The first edition was about IEM curricula, called “Do you know what IEM is in other countries?” while the new edition is being held on the impacts of online education called “COVID-19: A torment or a blessing for Education”.

•

Student’s Satisfaction Survey: A research done by the Professional Development Committee that aims to map the satisfaction levels of students throughout Europe by collecting their answers on several topics related to their universities, degree and associated opportunities. This year it was adapted to the topic of online education.

46 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

INSIDE ESTIEM

Research on IEM Scientific research has become a constant in ESTIEM’s activities, focusing on analysis of several topics such as the career path of IEM graduates, the IEM curricula available throughout Europe, the attractiveness of universities, students’ feedback on their education, and more.

IEM Conference

The IEM Conference is the biggest networking event of ESTIEM, connecting all players in the IEM Europe. The first edition was held online this year with the topic ‘Breaking Down Industry 4.0’ and counted with the presence of over 200 participants and 20 different organizations

Publications ESTIEM is diving deep into the world of scientific publications, allowing students to take part in research projects together with companies or professors, and to present their work in conferences.

Five papers were written so far focusing on several topics relevant to students such as: experiential learning, types of education, engineering roles preferred by students (with the PREFER Project) and attractiveness of Universities. Two White Papers were also written, one with Arekibo about Digital Security and one about environmental consciousness.

All in all, besides the big steps already taken, many more projects are under development and plenty of new ideas are waiting to be developed. Stay tuned and explore this amazing part of ESTIEM!

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 47

INSIDE ESTIEM

IEM CONFERENCE: BREAKING DOWN INDUSTRY 4.0 The first steps are always the hardest, but sometimes are the ones that precede long-lasting remarkable initiatives.

IEM Conference is one of them. The first edition of this event took place on the 5th and 6th of March 2021 and had Industry 4.0 as a main focus topic.

Dinis Cardoso Local Group Lisbon

Maria Serôdio Local Group Porto

The first outlook to be taken when telling this event’s story is its concept. Having been moving in the direction of becoming a connector of all IEM (Industrial Engineering and Management) stakeholders for years now, ESTIEM presents the IEM Conference as the platform of choice to offer companies, universities, students and professors the possibility to learn from each other, share their experiences and test the waters as to where our area of studies is advancing.]

After being voted on in 2018, with some trials done in the meantime, it was in the middle of a pandemic that the first edition finally managed to take place in. COVID-19 has brought the possibility of exploiting on a wider scale online platforms for conducting events without having the burden of thinking through the logistics an offline event would have. This being said, our aim was not only to bring all whom IEM concerns together, but to do it in a way that comprises the vast scale of the event.

The topic of choice is ever-present among the Industry. The digitalization of production processes, the adoption and incorporation of Big Data in Industry seems like the way of the future.

This is ESTIEM’s perception and is the main reason the IEM Conference embodied this concept and brought it to the limelight through numerous testimonies from professionals of relevance in the area (some of whom are ESTIEM Alumni).

The aim of this edition was to affirm the IEM Conference as the go-to event in what comes to Industrial Engineering and Management across every entity and to put Industry 4.0 at the center of it.

The event was open to students, professors and professionals in the area of IEM, and it gathered over 200 participants. During the event the participants had the chance to see amazing keynote speeches from important names in engineering that shed light on topics related to Industry 4.0 such as the skills needed, digitalisation, roles of an engineer, and university’s adaptation to it.

Moreover, they could engage with the discussions of speakers in both roundtables and the panel discussions. The rountables had the presence of ESTIEM Alumni who shared some experiences about their careers in the area, and professors from educational networks, who discussed the current gap between what universities, companies and students want for their education.

The panel discussions had different student Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) discussing their impact on skill development and professors from SEFI that shared their experience with digitalisation in education. Many topics were covered here, all the way through the adaptation to online teaching because of Covid-19, how Universities keep up with technological innovation and what are the main drivers for an increasing digitalisation in universities. Besides, they also showed some innovative projects their universities are having regarding Industry 4.0, such as the creation of an IEM lab, which is a full factory for students to be able to experience production in a way that simulates a real-life setting.

48 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

INSIDE ESTIEM Apart from the aforementioned sessions, the participants had the chance to attend workshops on topics such as data visualisation, sustainability, circular economy, 3D technology and transition to professional life, and meet several companies at the Career Fair.

All in all, the first edition was a successful first endeavor, but it does not stop here. What we are striving for is to have annual editions of the Conference , centered on relevant topics of discussion and bringing all concerned students, professors, universities and companies together, united by their common craft: IEM.

From the Project Leader: “Organizing the IEM Conference was certainly a great challenge. I felt enthusiastic about organizing one of ESTIEM’s biggest events which only gave me more will power and inspiration to make it the best possible event. To be incontact with so many qualified people across the field of IEM, was a fulfilling experience as I got to know the people who are in charge of setting the path for IEM students. I consider it a privilege to have organized it and advise any willing ESTIEMers to apply for the Project Leader position for next year’s edition..”

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 49

EXPLORE

FRIENDSHIP IN ESTIEM: BOUNDARIES THAT A PANDEMIC CAN’T BREAK My name is Marc Johannsmann from Local Group Berlin, Vice President of Activities of the 31st Board of ESTIEM and I want to invite you to read a story about travelling during these difficult times, when it seems to be rather a challenge than a vacation. I had this experience during my first trip after a long time, last year in November, while travelling to Porto. My main motivation for this journey was to experience the LXI Online Council Meeting with two of my co-boardies.

Marc Johannsmann Local Group Berlin

The trip started with quite a strange feeling. I took a PCR test in Luxembourg, just to be safe when entering Portugal. The day I left, Germany announced a nation-wide lockdown. While the country was setting up strict regulations, I took a plane to the south of Europe and luckily escaped the situation. When I arrived, I expected to have my temperature and the papers checked, but everything was as usual during travel, no checkpoint and an easy entrance to Porto City.

CM Mornings

Porto View

Finally in the place to be, I want to give you some insights on how the days in Porto and the LXI Council Meeting went. The first days were pretty amazing, even though I visited Porto for the 3rd time, it felt like something new and exciting.

Restaurants, cafes and bars were open, you didn’t have to worry about any restrictions at that moment except having to be home by11 pm in the evening and wearing a mask. Establishing a daily routine to get some fresh air, drink coffee or a beverage in the late afternoon after working the day in front of my computer, felt like living the good life again.

50 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

EXPLORE

CM Group Picture The first day of the Council Meeting arrived with huge excitement. It was incredible to see more than 150 ESTIEM-ers joining and spreading the ESTIEM spirit through old stories, playing games and having fun in the G2K. The following days started with waking up early in the morning to prepare for the day, dressing up and joining the General Assembly, covering plenty of different agenda points, having great interactive sessions, and evenings full of activities.

Moreover, after seeing the motivation for developing the network further in this difficult situation, despite many new boundaries, I truly believe that the event was a complete success and definitely worth all the effort put into it. Therefore, I want to especially thank my co-boardies, who made this experience unique for every ESTIEM-ewr attending the event!

I want to finish this story, with a conclusion that all the effort made for this trip, in terms of planning and adapting, was totally worth it. Even in the time of the pandemic, the ESTIEM motivation built in the past years empowered me to take the challenge and meet up with my friends at the other end of Europe. This shows that the friendships built in the network are unique and keep us aiming high, now more than ever.

My biggest wish, therefore, is to have in-person events happening again soon, so that everyone is able to experience this unique ESTIEM Spirit.

Stay safe, follow the regulations and hope to see you somewhere in Europe, very soon!

After the Council Meeting was over, I spent the last days in Porto meeting with friends, eating Francesinha, cooking German food, and feeling the vibes of the city. At the same time, the German government introduced new quarantine regulations for coming back while a lockdown in Portugal was settled a day after my departure. With this in mind, I was lucky to have the opportunity of having this trip, avoiding getting stuck in either of the countries due to nation-wide lockdowns and even though the quarantine regulations in the middle of the trip changed, no other complications appeared.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 51

ECO

APPLYING SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT

Carmen García Wang Local Group Madrid IEM Caring Movement

Changing our business models

What is social impact measurement?

One of the greatest changes the business world is facing today is the introduction of sustainability and sustainable development. The inclusion of the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental - has become an imperative in business.

Social Impact measurement presents itself as “a result of systematic planning, of pursuing specific impact-oriented objectives and of regularly checking whether these goals are still achievable” (Social Impact Navigator).

A sustainable business model aims to integrate those three pillars when defining a business model.

It can be said that a sustainable business model explains the value creation for all stakeholders, in contrast with the traditional model that focuses exclusively at the value creation for the specific business and its clients, and how the business captures such value.

While many new ventures are being developed following these principles, the question arises on how to modify the existing models.

Key lever in sustainable business models: KPIs To dig deep, we need to understand which lever can we influence so that the business model changes, which part we should work on so that the change is most effective. Upward and Jones define a strong sustainable business model as “the definition by which an enterprise determines the appropriate inputs, resource flows, and value decisions and its role in ecosystems, [in a way that] sustainability measures [which] are those indicators that assess the outputs and effects of business model decisions [...] might be claimed as successfully sustainable” (Upward and Jones, 2015).

Our decision on the most efficient lever to approach can vary from industry to industry, due to the resources we have or how our customer behaves. But what all businesses and projects have in common is that we can develop a measurement system to analyse the progress we are making and whether that progress is leading us to the impact we want to have in the world.

A well thought-out planning process that tackles a specific target group, the groups’ living environment and society as a whole. A planning process where a measure taken produces results in the form of changes in one or all of these three areas.

To have a systematic approach, we should look at the different activities that we can prepare, as well as anticipate their consequences, in order to cause an impact in society. Here is where the famous “output - outcome - impact” comes into play. It is important to understand each concept if we then want to measure it and evaluate its success.

The Social Impact Navigator, a tool developed by a nonprofit analysis and consulting company for impact-oriented social engagement , PHINEO, further divides the trio in seven stages that must be undergone to have an impact in society.

Let’s take a look at these stages by applying it to a project we all care about: ESTIEM. Please take it as a disclaimer that the following is taken as an overall general approach, for the sake of understanding through an example. More thorough work would be needed to apply social impact measurement to ESTIEM. When applying social impact measurement, we need to have two approaches in mind. We start planning from stage 7 towards 1. This allows us to focus on the impact we actually want to make, and not get lost in the details of everyday activities.

Afterwards, to verify that the plan makes sense, we should do the opposite, from 1 to 7, to be able to set more concrete indicators to measure.

52 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO

Source: Social Impact Navigator Impact: The contribution we want to achieve with our project at societal level.

• Level 7: Society changes. In ESTIEM, our goal is to foster relations between Industrial engineering and management (IEM) students and support their development. We want to see an increase in the relationships among IEM students as well as an active contribution to their development. Usually a global indicator is used to measure society changes. An example could be the decrease in unemployment from students coming from a specific Local Group, or the amount of international exchanges and synergies within an specific industry.

Outcome: What we want our target to achieve within our target groups.

• Level 6: The target groups’ living conditions change. Students get hired for positions with higher qualifications, they move to another country, they engage in international communities, etc. With a long-term approach, a proper follow up is needed, and if possible also a comparison with other people who have not experienced ESTIEM, to see these effects on the target group.

• Level 5: Target groups change their behaviour. Students are able to approach any conversation with an open mind and with willingness to hear people out, taking into account where the other person comes from, they speak english on a regular basis, they actively travel, etc. The challenge in this stage comes from finding the best way to combine both qualitative and quantitative data.

• Level 4: Target groups change their attitudes and/or develop new skills. Students are better qualified in project management, lean six sigma, emotional intelligence; they actively take a role in organizing these activities and contributing to the network, etc. We want to check our target’s motivation and test the development of such skills.

Outputs: What we do or what we offer in our project and the people we reach.

• Level 3: Target groups accept offers. Students join events in different countries where there are participants from all over Europe. We need to check how many events are actually organized, how many participants were there per event and what was their satisfaction level.

• Level 2: Target groups are reached. Students see/receive ESTIEM promotion and understand the possibility of joining or organizing an event. Here we want to understand how many people are reached, and if they are within our target group. Are we reaching our whole target group?

• Level 1: Activities are carried out as planned.

Local groups and central ESTIEM plan and organize events for the upcoming year. We want to know the number of activities and how that compares with the previous year.

We could also check on the number of hours invested to make them happen.

Inputs: What we invest in the project It is also good to consider what we are putting into the project. Our usual budget but also, the amount of people involved, the materials and space needed, etc.

But.. Why do we need to measure impact?

While we know measuring impact is a good step for sustainable development, there are other benefits associated with it. As a social project, it is of course a great way to ensure impact and thus, the goal of the project is achieved.

Undergoing this process helps set clear objectives, monitor the performance of the organization and determine effective and efficient approaches. As the process should involve as many stakeholders of the organization as possible, it also helps build engagement and motivate the people involved to drive improvement.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 53

ECO With changing externalities and policy settings, applying social impact measurement also contributes to being compliant with future legal purposes by adopting a reporting system that reduces future risk and allows the organization to already apply to different certifications.

Who can apply measurement?

social

impact

Anyone! That’s the best part. From big multinationals to personal projects, we can all apply social impact measurement. Now to the question of whom is actually implementing it nowadays, the pioneers are social ventures. However, many more players such as foundations, NGOs, venture capital, corporations and banks are also working on adopting such systematic planning.

There are many reporting tools that help measure this impact and can guide anyone with how and what to start measuring. It is best to start adopting it per project, test and adapt, than to try to directly apply it to a whole company. Some examples of reporting tools that can help you get started are: Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Iris+, Social Reporting Standard (SRS), Kukua, EU Taxonomy, Global Reporting Standard (GRI), GreenHouse Gas Protocol, etc.

So what now?

You can already apply these principles to your life. Try to understand where your actions and main decisions may lead. By studying industrial engineering I have learnt the importance of being resilient, of working when you have a goal in mind even if you are not too sure of the immediate result you may have. While it is great to have that conviction, I believe it is even better if you have the certainty that it aligns to your values. Here is where social impact measurement comes to play and can help you move forward with the impact you want to see and have in the world.

References 1. Upward, A., & Jones, P. (2015). An Ontology for Strongly Sustainable Business Models.

Organization & Environment, 29(1), 97-123. doi:10.1177/1086026615592933 2. Social Impact Navigator. http://www.social-impactnavigator.org/system/about-us/

54 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO

FOOD WASTE IS THE NEW FOOD TASTE

ESTIEM Alumni on a green mission to reduce scrap in the hospitality sector ‘Two industrial engineers enter a restaurant’... This is not the beginning of yet another engineering joke, but how our social venture Sofia2Go has started.

You may not be aware but the food sector – and food waste within – is the highest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to Zero Waste Europe. They point out that besides the huge volumes of greenhouse gas emissions that occur from food waste, there is also a myriad of other environmental challenges that arise from it and the way it is taken care of.

For example, in the context of soil depletion and diminution of agricultural areas, it is estimated that, in Europe, a staggering 100 million hectares (twice the size of Spain) are used to grow food which will only be wasted later. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 specifically aims to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.

Finding solutions: Step 1 Being passionate food lovers, we launched an Instagram channel for restaurant exploration in the Bulgarian capital in 2016. Ever since, it has developed as the main social media source and marketing channel of the best places in Sofia.

It was not until recently that we got inspired by the idea to develop a platform that focuses on minimising the food waste in the hospitality sector and shift our focus from promoting the cool places in town, to helping them optimize their processes and reduce waste .

It did not take us long to analyse the problem with some of our restaurant partners and to confirm what we had already read in the stats. More than 100 million portions each year end up in the bins of the hospitality sector in Bulgaria only. This is why we decided to combine our knowledge of Lean Six Sigma and entrepreneurship to optimise the processes in the traditional food industry and create an environment-friendly food ordering platform for the Eastern European market.

Denitsa Simeonova Local Group Sofia & Paderborn

Sissi Simeonova Local Group Sofia & Paderborn

Solving the food waste problem in Europe, in a whole region or even in one country is a very ambitious goal. Logically, we decided to start this long journey from our current city of residence - Sofia. This is where our platform will offer restaurants, hotels and supermarkets an independently managed marketplace where they can sell food that was planned and prepared for the day but was not sold. This way, instead of losing money, food providers could gain additional revenue. At the same time, the app users could pick up discounted meals from a variety of locations in their neighbourhood during unpopular times.

What is the big deal with food waste though, you may ask?

Food waste is a multifaceted and complex issue that leads to social and ethical concerns, but also deeply impacts the environment. To add to that, the problem of food waste in the hospitality sector, especially in the developing markets in Europe, is under-researched which hampers understanding of its causes and effects.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 55

ECO

How to become fully circular: Step 2 This is all great, but we see the development of such a platform (which is not novel for Western Europe and the Nordics where similar mobile applications already exist) as a starting point for creating an actual circular economy enterprise.

We are exploring different opportunities related to the market realisation of all food waste in the Horeca sector related to charity and transforming the waste into valuable products for other industries. There are various ways in which we can go, but what we know for sure is that a complex problem like the food waste requires a complex solution that addresses the root cause. Therefore, we are constantly analysing the processes and thinking of possible improvements.

The power of the community As a startup, we know that our chances for success in an uncertain environment with limited resources might not be great. Still, we believe in the power of ESTIEM as a platform for great ideas and a community of innovators. Therefore, we know we can rely on your support and ideas. We have already received a tremendous amount of advice, industry data and marketing ideas from fellow ESTIEM alumni. We hope that we can keep on working together to make the dream of Europe without food waste a reality.

56 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO

ECOLOGY TODAY - INNOVATIONS OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN “We should not go back to normal, because normal was the problem!”

Milan and bravely faces the great challenges of the climate crisis.

Number of the month: 3 chargers that have stayed plugged in after charging phones, laptops, tablets etc. waste

This building is created to suck up 14 tons of CO2 and produce 9 tons of oxygen each year. It will be completely covered in vegetation, making the building change colour with the seasons. Best of all, the tower will be able to produce 65% of its energy needs thanks to thousands of solar panels.

It is going to mix architecture and nature to create a green space that is open to the whole city.

2 628 kW of electricity

Sonja Borota Local Group Novi Sad

World Statistics •

73% of the Arctic pollution by microplastic comes from polyester garments;

•

The data centres (physical storage of data ‘The Cloud’) are accounted for 3% of global electricity supply and 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions;

•

Sweden sends less than 1% waste to the landfills; 49% is being recycled, 50% incinerated to generate energy to heat home);

•

Less than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothes;

•

64% of the office workers say lack of empowerment, facilities and communication are the key reasons why they are not greener at work;

Innovations •

Windows are the new solar panels;

These innovative windows could be a gamechanger in many cities where space for solar panels is limited. The technology of ‘quantum dots’ on the glass that harvest solar energy enables sunlight to be absorbed and guided to solar cells on the edges of the glass where electricity is generated.

•

A vertical forest is coming to Milan;

Big news for all Italian citizens. In such a difficult period, this project of Stefano Boeri Architetti Studio relaunches the vision of a forward-looking

The Vertical Forest

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 57

ECO •

Japan newpapers;

Japan made newspapers with seeds in them, so they can become plants again after use. How amazing, right!?

Did you know?

•

Through the AI, Google is helping cities to choose locations for planting trees;

•

Ikea has opened its first Second Hand shop in Eskilstuna, Sweden where all products sold are reused or recycled.

•

The 1% of the richest people on the planet emit the double CO2 than 50% of the poorest ones;

•

A circus in Germany refuses to use real animals, but uses holograms instead to amuse its audience;

•

Although we only have one planet, we are using the resources of 1,7;

•

1/5th of climate migrants will be displaced beyond their country borders by 2050.

58 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO analogous to racism, sexism, and other forms of irrational discrimination and prejudice.

Eco-dictionary •

Circular Fashion:

Circular fashion is a way to a more sustainable future. Instead of sending products to landfills, circular brands try to keep their items in society as long as possible before returning them to nature or recapturing them to be recycled. It challenges producers to be more sustainable because it revolves around companies taking accountability for the production and end life of their items.

Circular items are made to be timeless, longlasting, sustainable and ethical. For a brend to claim to be circular it has to have a recycling programme, have transparency about their labor practices and use recycled or natural materials.

•

Woke-washing:

We use the term woke-washing to describe those brands that use the language of social justice and activism to promote themselves as socially responsible, even if they are not. Today, words such as feminism, antiracism or mental health awareness are being involved in promotion strategies in order to be aligned with consumers’ values, and that way they can purchase their products/services.

•

Ecocide:

Ecocide is a serious damage to, or destruction of the natural world and the Earth’s systems. If accepted into law, ecocide would help prohibit industrial pollution in our air, water and land and the destruction of natural habitats and biodiversity.

•

Climate anxiety:

Climate anxiety is referred to as a source of stress caused by watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change happening, and worrying about the future of oneself, children, and later generations.

•

Speciesism:

Speciesism is the human-held belief that all other animal species are inferior. Speciesist thinking involves considering animals—who have their own desires, needs, and complex lives—as means to human ends. The term speciesism was introduced by the English philosopher Richard Ryder in the 1970s and subsequently popularized by the Australian philosopher Peter Singer. It is exactly

Tips/Hacks for low-impact living 1. Keep fruits and veggies separated to last longer; 2. Revive wilted leafy greens by throwing them to an ice bath; 3. Instead of a plastic/paper cup, take waffle cone; 4. Use cold water for laundry; 5. Plug small appliances into a smart power strip that can be turned off; 6. Take the stairs (good for your health, and for the planet); 7. Make use of old containers; 8. Lower your water heater temperature;

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 59

ECO

WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE TO LIVE IN DENIAL People tend to avoid risks and make sure they find themselves in a secure environment.

Sonja Borota Local Group Novi Sad

Imagine walking down the street and suddenly, it starts to thunder. You are trying to find a shelter in order to avoid the risk of getting wet and cold.

Or worse, someone tries to hit you. Your instant reaction is to protect yourself by walking/running away or shouting for help. A normal reaction, right?

for change, which led us to live under the constant threat, and set up our internal defense mechanism to shut down and adjust to the so called ‘eco anxiety’ by ignoring the problems we believe we cannot solve.

•

The comfort: People tend to live in illusions.

We just do not let anyone come and destroy our beliefs and the perfect image of the lives we live. Change requires a new attitude, new habits, and a new lifestyle. Individuals have to abandon their comfy lives (cars, gadgets etc.), consumers have to change their buying habits, producers have to change policies and approach to their business, politicians have to change their philosophy. Not easy, isn’t it? Why? Because when it comes to acting on problems, our current comforts collide with our values.

•

Belief: we see climate change and climate action as something way bigger than us, so we keep lying to ourselves that our influence is just too little and negligible compared to the problems we are facing.

•

Life: every day brings a new problem. We have so many things to worry about, so the best solution is usually to simply ignore the climate issues. Also, we tend to focus on immediate problems, and most usually it happens for the climate actions to end up at the bottom of our lists.

•

Alienation: we got disconnected from nature and forgot to nourish the real values that keep us alive.

•

Knowledge: the lack of knowledge often makes us give up on climate actions.

Next scenario. You wake up in the morning, take your cup of tea, turn on the TV and open your Instagram account to check the latest news. You see a fire in Australia on the news. The post about air pollution in your city pops out on your feed.

You keep scrolling and sipping your tea. You even think of getting breakfast and going for a walk.

Can you spot the difference?

If people are motivated to avoid risks and threats, why is it so hard to get people to act on climate change? Why do we keep putting problems in the ignore-the-problem boxes?

Why do people ignore environmental issues? Why do we keep avoiding the most urgent climate warning from nature?

•

The distance: We often see climate change issues as something distant. We see it as a future problem, something that will matter in a 100 years from now, a cataclysmic scenario from Sci-Fi movies. You would like to think that the end of the world would be enough to get us scared? Well, apparently not! It seems like a future problem, making us think we do not have to act on it now.

Problems of glaciers and sea ice melting usually do not bother people who live in Africa. Vice versa, people living in the North hemisphere might not care about droughts on the southern part of our planet.

•

The media: For many years now, through a plethora of communication channels, we are receiving a lot of news and several warnings related to the climate crisis and the urge

Are we ecologically conscious?

Ecological consciousness, in the simplest way, can be described as a way of how people understand the environment, nature and the importance of saving it. To have ecological consciousness, we have to have a certain knowledge on different emerging topics regarding ecology and environmental protection.

Knowledge is what is crucial for mitigating the influence on people and nature.

60 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO

Ecological Patriotism

Ecological (un)consciousness Unfortunately, we are focused on our lives, careers, temporary stuff, enabling ourselves to live lives as comfortably as possible. In the run after temporary goods, we got alienated, and forgot what big of a role nature plays in our lives, and how crucial it is to put all our efforts to protect and save it. Nevertheless, we won’t wake up till it hits us like a boomerang into our heads.

The effects of our comfort will be present for hundreds of years.

How ignoring environmental issues harms people?

In the past 40 years, more than 52% of the world’s wildlife was lost. More of it will disappear in the years to come, where entire ecosystems will be destroyed and our lives, and lives of all the species on this planet will be changed forever.

Don’t tell me you think you will be able to skip it?

Here is what you can expect: 1. Food: Some of the key threats that are coming parallelly with the climate crisis are linked to the food production abilities. As it is predicted for global agriculture to face a huge crisis due to climate crisis, droughts, higher temperatures, we can expect for the food production to decrease globally, and prices to rise. As usual, the ones who will be hit the most are the majority with the medium to low income.

2. Health: Climate crisis will not affect only agriculture, but it will cost us our lives in a way of many health problems that will be caused by malnutrition, heat stress, decreased hygiene because of the water availability, eco anxiety, viruses etc. The poorest nations will experience the worst effect of the change. Scientists believe that around 250 000 deaths are going to be caused by the problems mentioned above. (Quantitative risk assessment of the effects of climate change on selected causes of death, 2030s and 2050s, World Health Organization)

Did you find yourself in a trap? I know what you need! ECOLOGICAL PATRIOTISM. Even with many new technological discoveries, the current situation is still not sustainable. We are using resources we do not have, we brought many species that are protecting our health, our lives and our planet to danger and extinction.

Forming ecological culture is becoming an imperative and a must in order to destroy the consumer habits of people toward nature. It will only be possible to create it if we change the way we look at the world, and start basing our actions on ecological knowledge and critical belief for the protection of nature.

The steps you could take: 1. Make eco patriotism viral; make it become a trend; 2. Be willing to educate yourself; 3. Start small and believe you can make a difference; 4. Talk with other people; 5. Collectively push politicians, decision-makers, and businesses to make the sustainable options; 6. Change the way we talk about climate change.

The main cause of all eco problems is the human factor. There is no technological discovery that can replace ecological consciousness. We have to stop this path and create new ones where profit won’t be above environmental preservation on our priorities list.

3. Climate Refugees: Rising sea levels, deforestation, droughts.. all of that will cause many people to lose their homes and start migrating looking for a shelter. The term ‘climate refugees’ will become the biggest social and economical issue globally for governments to face in the next 20 years.

ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 61

ECO

IMPACTON ACADEMY X ESTIEM

...Q&A with Impacton Academy Founder, Meg Pagani Meg is an Italian entrepreneur with 10+ years of experience in the fields of technology, social innovation and behavioural change. She lived and traveled across 25+ countries, exploring models of growth, impact and transformation from different cultures and philosophies.

Meg Pagani Impacton

She is the Founder of Impacton.org, an organisation that uses technology to multiply proven impact projects on a global scale, and (R)evolutionary a community of practice focused on exploring “the Other Side of Impact” and sustainability, learning from emerging sciences, diverse philosophies and faraway cultures.

She serves as Advisor to organisations aiming to redefine “value creation” and write the next chapter of our local and global economy, and she is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.

Sonja Borota Local Group Novi Sad

How did you get the idea to create Impacton? What was your main motivation in establishing it?

What was the most challenging and surprising to you on your way to creating Impacton?

Most people do not give it a lot of thought, but I always struggled with the way the social and environmental sectors work, at least traditionally and in most cases. Looking at the duplication of efforts, the programs run the same way for years without improvements or innovation, the culture of starting from scratch every time… It never made sense to me, but for years I blamed my Fine Arts degree and thought “maybe you are missing something, Meg”. In 2016, right after my experience with the refugee crisis in Greece, something in me clicked and I was able to move beyond my own doubts. I saw the need to create an organisation that would focus only on identifying what already works and make it available to as many different individuals and organisations as possible. Impacton became my answer to that need.

The #1 surprise, especially at the beginning of the Impacton journey, was to discover that most social or for-impact entrepreneurs are not necessarily open to the idea of spreading their projects so they can get replicated in more places by other people and organisations, ultimately reaching more beneficiaries and a much bigger impact. It is not a matter of “open source”, because the model we propose is not to disseminate the project for free (not necessarily at least), but to allow as many people and organisations to acquire the skills and knowledge required to build on projects that already work. I discovered that the culture and story of the ”hero-preneur” are very present in this sector, which is preventing successful solutions to reach all the places and people in need. But of course, we’re working on it!

Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of?

I felt very proud when we started seeing replicators and originators from different countries and backgrounds coming together to work around the same model and implement it in places like Argentina, Chile, Cameroon, Bolivia… all at the same time. They would use our toolkits to coordinate the activities and a cross-language WhatsApp group to share progress and insights.

Although,I have to say I am also incredibly proud of how we came together, as a team, during the first wave of the pandemic and over the last year.

As an organisation that does not have investment to support us, we had to find our way through this challenging time and looking at where we are today I cannot be more proud of our capacity to adjust, to find new ways to serve our cause without ever leaving our core values.

62 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

ECO

As you are launching Impacton Academy, could you tell us what it is main goal is and what problem this program is striving to solve? Why is it called a nonacademy?

Over the last years we have seen an increasing number of people caring about the planet, society, justice and inclusion. At the same time though, most content on these topics is overwhelming, complex, abstract and only focused on the problems. This is the opposite of what our brains need to feel empowered, especially when we feel the urgency to identify how we can contribute to this shift with our key skills and perspectives. The Impacton Academy has the goal to become the space where people from all around the world can come together to learn from experts of social impact and sustainability, practice with projects that already work and connect with people who share the same interests and urgency to focus on how to build a meaningful career and be part of the solution. It’s called a non-academy because instead of being theoretical and abstract, it focuses on actionable knowledge, with an ongoing, modular program that offers a different topic to explore and take action on every month.

What is there at Impacton Academy that you don’t find in university courses?

In the Impacton Academy you find a modular and adaptable program to explore all sectors and angles of impact and sustainability learning directly from professionals and real-life solutions, live and interactive sessions with experts, proven projects and case studies to replicate in our local communities, and exercises to acquire key skills and knowledge to embed social impact and sustainability in your own career or journey.

For us it’s all about actionable knowledge and a community to learn with and from.

How do you see the future of Impacton and ESTIEM? I consider ESTIEM one of our most aligned partners in terms of values and mission. I can see many programs being created due to such a strong base in common, and I would love to grow the academy together for it to become a point of reference for all ESTIEM students and partners who are moved by the desire to grow professionally while contributing to a more just and inclusive society.

Tell us about your image of Impacton in 10 years.

When I manage to think that far in the future, I always imagine Impacton as a decentralised network and community more than an organisation. I dream of millions of local members, partners and hubs creating, sharing and replicating projects and best practices. I also envision our actions able to inform policy, guiding the future of policy making with the unique perspectives and wisdom of our own local contexts.

What would you say is your favourite project you had the chance to see?

So many of them! In general I love projects that understand that the best “solutions” are never solutions, they are human-centred processes to iterate over time, where the main piece is never about high-tech but people and capacity building.

When there is a component of technology it is always soft-tech, which also makes these projects compatible with most places and cities on the planet (compared to high-tech ones, that require a lot more infrastructure). A few of them are: 3construcciones, Bloom from Glocal Impact Network and Prison Pet Partnership.

X ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us 63

INTRODUCTION

DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Do you want to study in a creative and innovative environment where academy, public organisations, industry, and entreprenuers come together?

In Gothenburg, situated in one of the most innovative areas in the world, Chalmers University of Technology has created a learning environment where students are allowed and encouraged to try their ideas in reality. In addition to providing a cutting edge academic education, we provide our students with the possibility to work closely with both academic researchers, public organisations, innovators and industry.

Moreover, the wide range of possibilities will encourage students to test their ideas by both working with established companies and by establishing a new startup as entrepreneurs.

Our four Master’s Programmes within Technology Management and Economics offers a combination of solid theoretic frameworks, applied projects and strong connection to business and industry - a combination that ensures a rapid learning curve and exciting job opportunities after graduation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO APPLY

WE OFFER MASTER’S PROGRAMME IN: Entrepreneurship and Business Design Management and Economics of Innovation Quality and Operations Management Supply Chain Management Application opens in Mid-October every year.

“It has been an exciting journey, especially the fact that studying at Chalmers brought me and my friends (who now became my business partners) across the globe to experience the real world of being an international entrepreneur.” - Rich Zapata, Entrepreneurship and Business Design student at Chalmers.

Read Rich’s blog: bit.ly/rich-blog 64 ESTIEM Magazine | 60th issue - Data Revolution: The Numbers All Around Us

chalmers.se/masters