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62nd Issue
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR ENTREPRENEURS PAGE 12
DATA PROTECTION IN ESTIEM PAGE 44
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THE PUZZLE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management Issue 62 2022/5 | 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
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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 | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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INTRODUCTION
Table of contents INTRODUCTION 4 Project Leader’s Speech 5 President’s Speech 6 Introduction to ESTIEM
FOCUS TOPIC 8 Business Intelligence in Supply Chain Management 12 Business Intelligence for Entrepreneurs 16 The Power of Question Marks, Trackable Links and Suggested Answers
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26
18 Encounters with the Shady Side of Business Intelligence 20 Start with Business Intelligence as an IEM Student
SCENE 22 How to Not Get Trapped in Your Work: Work Smarter Instead of Working Harder 25 Self-Improvement, Constant Improvement & Goal Setting 26 Beauty Can Arise from Discomfort
38
27 The Real-World Cost of False Positives 30 Finding Motivation in Unstable Circumstances
CAREER 32 Getting Your Business Online During Pandemic - 8 Key Elements 34 Constant Self-Improvement and Goal Setting
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INSIDE ESTIEM 35 College: an Event to Develop ESTIEM and yourself 38 Organising ESTIEM’s Biggest Event During a World-Wide Pandemic 40 Introducing Online Events as the World Moves Online 42 How I Met Your Association 43 The Beginning of ESTIEM Podcast 44 Data Protection in ESTIEM
EXPLORE 46 Finnish Student Culture - the Culture of Overalls
48
and Saunas 48 The Treasure Trove Called Mexico 50 Carnaval: a Beautiful Tradition, Turned into an Exceptional Event 53 What Makes Travelling in ESTIEM So Appealing 54 Tour of the Nordics 58 Obrigado Lisboa 60 How to Travel for 18 Days With Only a 26L Backpack 62 Nowhere International?
50
46
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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INTRODUCTION Project Leader Sonja Borota Design Tanja Gagić Zuhal Yılmaz Mina Krstić
PROJECT LEADER’S SPEECH Dear reader,
Article Acquisition Rana Dikmen
What is intelligence? Well, our story starts on Proofreaders Nikola Milošević Mark van Uden Evdoxia Pantazi Sebastian Hummel Margarida Ferrari Sobral Barbosa Tanja Gagić Blog Dragana Slavić İpek Deniz Genç With special thanks to Sjors van Weert, Evdoxia Pantazi and Tanja Gagić. Contact leader.magazine@estiem. org 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 Disclaimer 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
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a warm Summer evening in ancient Greece… nevermind, I won’t bore you with that. Long story short, ‘Intelligence’ comes from the Latin noun intelligentia or intellectus, and it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviours within an environment or context. The context of the 62nd issue is business, and we aimed to bring some pieces of this gigantic puzzle together for you to explore how business intelligence relates to you as an IEMer. Keep turning pages to find out more about how BI relates to the field of Supply Chain Management, what it means for entrepreneurs, when we may see its shady side, and much more. But that’s not all. We offer you a wide variety of articles, from career tips to travel experiences, from ESTIEM insights to self-improvement tips.
I hope you will enjoy your reading! Cheers from Novi Sad, Sonja Borota ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INTRODUCTION
PRESIDENT’S SPEECH Dear reader,
The focus topic of the 62nd issue of the ESTIEM Magazine is The Puzzle of Business Intelligence. Business Intelligence is sweepingly becoming more available and important while working with data. With the usage of the right tools, it’s possible to process large amounts of data and present visual formats that are easy to read and share. The term business intelligence frequently refers to a range of tools that provide quick, easy-todigest insights based on available data about an organisation’s current state. Business intelligence incorporates business analytics, data mining, data visualisation, data tools and infrastructure, and best practices to help organisations to make more data-driven decisions. In High ESTIEM, Businesses and organisations have different questions and goals. To answer those questions
Daria Bakaeva
and be able to track performance against these
President of ESTIEM
goals, organisations need to gather essential data, then analyse it and decide on which actions to take to achieve their goals. And our network is not an exception. We have the Analysis Committee which is supporting the network and aims to make ESTIEM a data-driven association. The team is working with the platform called Tableau which provides data visualisation and can integrate with a range of data sources. To provide some examples, we use dashboards to keep track of travels done with ESTIEM and travellers, events organised by Local Groups, to have an overview of event feedback, to assess if a Local Group fulfils requirements and much more. This issue of the magazine will dive into this topic, explore which role Business Intelligence has in our lives, and help you to see its connections with our network. Now it is my honour to invite you to dive into articles in the 62nd issue of our ESTIEM Magazine. A lot of time and effort was put into the creation of this issue. Enjoy reading it!
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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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 part in international projects and become friends with other ESTIEMers from all over Europe.
and as Project or Committee Leaders, ESTIEM 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 towards other people and cultural issues.
6
Besides taking leadership positions in the Board
75
180+
Local Groups in 27 countries make ESTIEM a large network.
events are organised by Local Groups every year.
For
more
detailed
information
about
our
organisation and its activities, please visit our website at www.estiem.org.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
3,000 travels are made yearly by 2,000 students.
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 professionally.
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 | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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FOCUS TOPIC
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Challenge of digital transformation: Aligning BI- and SCM-strategy The supply chain and logistics domain has played
due diligence, concerning aspects such as human
a massive role in embracing BI solutions. To stay
rights violations like slavery, trade of conflict
competitive in volatile markets and turbulent
minerals and illegally harvested timber. Without
Erich Lies
times, you need to recognize the potential
BI-solutions forming a digital twin of the value
Local Group Munich
weakness of your organization and form ideas to
chain, it will be impossible to meet these legal
overcome them.
requirements.
Modern software solutions such as Business Intelligence (BI), Artificial time
Business Analytics (BA) and
Intelligence
insights
into
(AI)
can
supply
provide
chain
Definition of BI in context of SCM
real-
emerging
Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the procedural
risks, inefficiencies, and anomalies, allowing
and technical infrastructure used to collect, store,
organizations to quickly isolate and resolve
analyse and exploit data generated by a company’s
potential problems.
activities. BI is a broad term that includes data
8
mining,
process
descriptive
performance
benchmarking
corporate responsibility in the European Union. In
objective of BI is to identify relevant correlations on
its draft for a new supply chain law to be introduced
the basis of existing information and to generate
in 2022, the EU law requires mandatory supplier
new, economically useful knowledge from it.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
and
analysis,
There are also new legal requirements for
analysis.
The
FOCUS TOPIC
Considering the APICS framework of Supply
Furthermore, this data needs to be drilled
Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR), the
down into the required information to perform
integration and automated processing of relevant
research and analytics. The final figures tell
data within the value stream helps to raise
you how the company needs to act according
resilience and enable early warning mechanisms.
to the performance and business objectives.
Key functionalities of BI
The devil is, as always, in the details. The definition of common KPIs, like On Time In Full (OTIF) may
BI essentially means converting this sea of data
vary and stakeholders in the value chain are driven
into knowledge for practical business use. With the
by different incentives to hide and mask issues
help of BI tools, companies can put their collected
and problems that are considered temporary. That
data into a meaningful and profitable context.
is why trust and reliable real-time information in value chains are hard to achieve. It requires having
What kind of data in the supply chain is driven
a good relationship with suppliers and customers
by Business Intelligence? Data and KPIs such as
or an intense market force.
inventory, service level, cost and quality indicators, e.g. transportation cost are heavily managed by Business Intelligence tools.
Why are Supply Chain and operations massively adopting Business Intelligence solutions?
So whether it’s about transferring inventory, arranging shipments, or releasing orders, you can
The increased adoption is linked to the supply
gain insights based on real-time actionable data,
chain digital transformation where BI plays a
get automated recommendations, and evaluate
remarkable role in its varied sectors. For many
the production process in an agile way, quite often
multinational enterprises, their vision and mission
as self-service.
include a consistent E2E-planning process for their digital transformation journey.
BI supply chain tools such as dashboards and scoreboards also provide you with a detailed
BI is helping to manage complexity and risk for
breakdown of a company’s performance (daily,
industries with low manufacturing depth and
weekly and monthly) to help you keep the progress
timely cross-border value chains as well as to keep
in check.
pace in competitive and volatile markets.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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FOCUS TOPIC
According to McKinsey Global Institute (MCI), SC shocks of global value chains are becoming more frequent (shorter intervals) and severe in length. Investments in BI are a bet on managing risk by raising transparency instead of increasing inventory in vulnerable value chains.
This statement corresponds with Allianz global business risks report 2022, that Business Interruption is the #2 thread.
Challenge of Digital Transformation: Aligning BI- and SCM-strategy
maturity level in a holistic way. This will enable
From the strategic point, there is no direct ROI
The choice of BI-tools should be a late milestone
merely for buying licences of BI-software, like
in the transformation journey to achieve digitally
a silver bullet for market success. The strategic
integrated E2E-planning processes.
challenge is to define and align the organizational SCM strategy together with the BI-roadmap and
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
business levers in collaboration to create benefits in terms of ROI.
FOCUS TOPIC
Want to learn more? Scan the QR code and access the whole article on our ESTIEM Blog!
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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FOCUS TOPIC
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Maria Gezepoglou
The business world is constantly shifting. The last few decades we moved from an industrial, automationbased society, to an technological era of big data, cloud computing and Internet of Things: the information society. Previously, the success of a company was mainly dependent on creating an efficient and effective system, which could help a business optimize its operations. Today, the field of Business Intelligence (BI) is radically changing the manner in which businesses manage their data and even more, the way they are making decisions.
Local Group Piraeus
What is Business Intelligence? Business
Intelligence
is
an
umbrella
Where does entrepreneurship fit into all of this? term
covering different methods of collecting, storing,
Isn’t the complex concept of BI only for the big
and analyzing data from business operations.
corporate sharks that have sufficient time and
Companies used to see BI only as a technological
money to invest in such IT solutions?
tool with high levels of complexity, mainly dependent on the work of IT professionals. In
Well, no. Entrepreneurs are, and always will be, the
modern times, this method is based on cloud
cowboys of the business world. To grow, remain
technologies accessible to everyone; therefore,
competitive and be successful, small businesses
it has developed into an entire process that
need to remain agile and innovative, make quick
supports decision making and allows for a better
and informed decisions and at the same time,
understanding of the future inside and outside of
maximize their limited resources. In that sense,
the business. It consists mainly of five main steps
information is vital for them as all decisions
that transform raw material into insights:
involving the future of their start-up are based on this very critical element. They face a world of
1.
2. 3. 4.
5.
12
The data collection through multiple sources -
opportunities, but they also face a large swath of
including internal company data and external
challenges and a heavy amount of competition,
market data - integrated, transformed and
that require strategic planning based on facts, and
then stored;
not only intuition.
The creation of a comprehensive dataset for the analysts;
A mistake that is often made is that entrepreneurs
The analysis of the dataset and discovery of
focus only on sales and marketing, and they
trends, patterns, tendencies;
ignore optimizing their operations since it can be
The data visualization through charts, graphs,
excessively time-consuming and can keep them
histograms, or other visual representations,
from fulfilling other important responsibilities.
along with BI dashboards and reports;
So the majority of enterprise data remains simply
And finally, real-time decision making, long
an untapped resource. The solution? Business
term strategic planning, as well as the usage
Intelligence. Introducing the tools and processes
of a BI dashboard to probe further into the
to start-ups and small scale companies could be a
data.
game-changer, and here is why.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
FOCUS TOPIC
Calculate Cost Efficiency and Reduce Waste
Get to know the market trends As entrepreneurship is all about continuous innovation, entrepreneurs themselves should be aware of dynamic trends in the marketplace. BI helps them move a step further from speculations and understand the latest trends of consumer behaviour by tracking customer buying habits, preferences and rejections. The process allows entrepreneurs to leverage customer data to build, refine and modify predictive models that help in up-sell and cross-sell products to appropriate customers. Sometimes, it also assists in developing a better overview of their value proposition against other potential
It’s all about profit and loss. Entrepreneurs need to fully understand where all the money is going - from paying employees, purchasing supplies, and keeping machinery in good condition. Using customized dashboards to get a comprehensive view of the company’s financial health, study historical data, calculate risk and predict trends can determine where the working capital of their business is tied up and how they can improve the cash cycle to increase the profit margins.
competitors.
Optimize All Operations Improve Time Management
BI is designed to help companies draw correlations
between
BI software helps businesses organize several tasks and processes; disorganization
information.
As
and chaos can get reduced considerably, thereby leaving a lot of time for people in
concerned, big data could not be processed
charge to focus their energy on more impactful value drivers that can contribute
not only by start-ups but even by big
towards the growth of their business. Also, faster information is a key to responding
scale companies until recently. Now, with
to threats and opportunities effectively. BI shortens the time between thought
access to data in real-time situations,
and action by combining multiple data sources in common reports using pre-
they can have a better understanding of
aggregated data or other techniques for faster data aggregation.
the products coming in and out of their
far
multiple as
sets
of
production
is
warehouse, streamline their production line, and gain real-time insights. Business
Improve and Measure Staff Performance
intelligence can also be used for marketing. For example, an analytics dashboard may
BI systems enhance communication among departments, coordinate activities,
identify better prospects through factors
and enable employees to respond quickly to changes, especially in an
such as income level, education, and age.
entrepreneurial environment. Needless to say, BI users can quickly get data-
Marketing efforts can then concentrate on
driven key answers to business questions, rather than spending hours reading
customers who generate higher returns,
through piles of printed reports. When a BI system is well-designed and properly
resulting in better time management for the
integrated into a company’s operations and decision-making processes, it can
salesforce. Whether sales managers want
directly improve employees’ performance. Today, many business intelligence
to track company growth, target a certain
software vendors are making it possible for users to access key business
sales demographic, or optimize prospecting
metrics, reports and dashboards even on mobile devices, giving sales and
efforts, BI sales software can align processes
marketing people access to critical business information anytime, anywhere.
and activities with business insight.
Outrun Competitors Business intelligence tools’ ability to help you save time and make smarter decisions as you guide your startup is certainly compelling. However, what is perhaps even more important for startup entrepreneurs to realize is that their competition is increasingly starting to use them. Major corporations, such as Amazon and Netflix, are already leading the way in business-intelligence adoption. However business-intelligence processes are becoming increasingly accessible to small businesses as well; a startup’s ability to leverage them could provide the insights an entrepreneur needs and make them stand out. Ignoring the insights hidden in a company’s data could generate a greater risk of serious financial losses while investing in quality business-intelligence tools could ultimately make all the difference for the company’s future.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
13
FOCUS TOPIC However, as with all new, innovative technology features, BI includes some challenges that entrepreneurs specifically face, preventing the occurrence of a data-driven approach.
Implementation Costs Business intelligence software can be expensive. While the potential for a high ROI (Return On Investment) can justify this, the initial price can be a barrier to start-ups. What should be also considered is the costs of the hardware and IT staff needed to implement the software effectively. The options could be: either choose a low-cost generalized BI tool, with the risk of not fitting the needs of the company perfectly or see the high price as an investment and go for a more customized BI solution.
Data Security One of the most pressing concerns with any data analysis system is the risk of leaks. BI applications are responsible for handling tons of data, that sometimes might include sensitive information about the business, customers or employees. Surveys show that especially small-scale companies are mainly afraid of data breaches and consider security issues as the biggest challenge facing BI. A possible solution would be to carefully choose the correct app, that can provide robust safety measures- and also filter the data they allow BI to access.
Lack of Qualitative Data As mentioned before, there is a big amount of information generated everywhere, every day. Apart from the big numbers, the bad quality and low relevance of data received sometimes can slow down the BI procedure or produce misleading results, risking the entire decision-making process. For a big company, a bad decision could lead to loss of profit, for a small-scale company could lead to extinction. To avoid this, owners can implement a data quality management initiative. It also helps to use key performance indicators that are relevant to the company’s particular needs and goals.
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
FOCUS TOPIC
Multiple Sources Analysis The more encompassing a BI, the more data sources one will use. A variety of different sources can be beneficial in giving you well-rounded analytics, but systems may have trouble working across varied platforms. The good news is this problem is gradually disappearing. More advanced BI systems can incorporate a range of different data sets. Entrepreneurs can look for an all-in-one BI software that offers these services or use independent tools like data connectors to consolidate all your varied information.
Resistance to Adoption Not all disadvantages of BI deal with the software itself. One of the most substantial obstacles facing BI is employees or departments not wanting to integrate it into their operations. Since the human factor plays a highly important role within the company, if BI systems are not adopted across all areas, they won’t be as effective. Entrepreneurs can help their staff accept BI by making it easier to integrate, with user-friendly software, benefits of which everyone understands.
In conclusion, there will always be inherent risks when it comes to implementing new technologies, but those elements are the ones triggering change. Ultimately, business intelligence and analytics are about much more than the technology used to gather and analyze data. They’re about having the mindset of an experimenter, the entrepreneur, and being willing to let data guide a company’s decision-making process. Business-Intelligence companies, no matter the size, can move forward in an increasingly data-driven climate with confidence, knowing that they are prepared for any challenge that arises.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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FOCUS TOPIC
THE POWER OF QUESTION MARKS, TRACKABLE LINKS AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS Business Intelligence Concretized for Growing B2B Companies
Henrik Rudberg Local Group Gothenburg
When you hear the term “Business Intelligence”,
What if you could know who would be interested
my guess is that you first will come to think of one
in what, so you could direct your resources into
of two things; either
working only with the potential clients that would
•
Data processing IT-systems doing some kind
be your lowest hanging fruit? The question for
of magic analytics trying to predict the future,
sure tantalized me.
or, •
You’ll think of shady ways of getting to know more about your competitors.
Question marks, trackable links and suggested answers
Needless to say, both exist, and both would aim at trying to have more information to steer your
So, what is the best way in getting to know what
business in the best possible direction.
you want to know from just about anyone?
There is, however, one dimension of information
Well, the best way is often simple enough: Just ask.
that is often the most vital to how you can GROW a business: What your customers think.
The relationship you already have with the client, how open your client is and the WAY in which you
True, business support systems might help by
ask is often going to determine whether you will
gathering customer demographics and purchase
get much response, though.
data if you target consumers directly. Still, if you rather run a Business to Business (B2B) firm, such
If you are not very close or you won’t get an answer
information only very rarely will help you reach
to an outright question directly, here are a couple
anywhere at all.
of ways to deduct information that will often work.
As a matter of fact, the type of business intelligence
Track link clicks
you need in a B2B company that you aspire to grow will likely only reside in one place: The head of your prospective client.
Instead of formulating a question, you can post a link to more information on a subject and then
What do they really think?
track the clicking of the link itself and it can even give you an idea of how many in an organization
Of you and your solution? Of your
has seen it.
competitors? Of alternative solutions? When the three telecoms businesses I was involved in were sold to Tele2, Oracle and Infracom, I knew
Formulate a whole DecisionAssistant process
that the area I had loved to be working with was to
“Decision-Assistant” is my name for a kind of
make businesses grow, so finding processes and
sequenced questionnaire made such that it will
ways to know what clients really think was an area
be clear to the respondent that truthful answers
I wanted to dig much deeper into myself.
to the questions will provide the most tailored solution to the respondent’s needs. I remember one such set up with as many as 17 questions in
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
FOCUS TOPIC total with mainly multiple-choice-type answers. Since it was at the top of our main web-page, many partner companies scoffed at it saying “no one will fill in so many answers”. However, since it had a clear and encouraging title question, and it further on was clear that all questions were relevant ones, it turned out as many as 84% of those who started answering the first question ended up answering all 17 including leaving their contact information!
Learn by “faking” the answer Suggest an answer and rely on Cunningham’s law[1] to have it corrected if it’s wrong. Ok, faking might sound unethical, but suggesting really is not. I’ve been particularly successful using it when helping consultants, or anyone engaged in proposing projects. Their modus operandi is simply to propose new projects to clients by presenting a kind of draft business case’s set up in bizcase.net with a double Gantt chart such as Figure 1.
Figure 1: In it, I suggest the time it will take for the consultant, a “Pro” to complete a
suggested starting, relationship-warming type of project and how long time I think it would take for the client to do the same things herself more as a “Novice”, and at what internal alternative cost I think is relevant for the client. It turns out everyone is tantalized by such proposals and will want to dig deeper and interact. I may not always be correct in my assumptions, but it opens up for both Pro and Novice to be sitting and sorting out the issues on the same side of the table and thereby getting closer to know exactly how the client will think about it.
Have you tried these steps already? If not I urge you to give it a try, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and I might be able to guide you further, good luck!
Cunningham’s Law “The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it’s to post the wrong answer.” The concept is named after Ward Cunningham, the inventor of wiki software.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
17
FOCUS TOPIC
ENCOUNTERS WITH THE SHADY SIDE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Henrik Rudberg Local Group Gothenburg
It was 1996, a late spring in Paris, and all of us
Students in the room who knew very well of my own
final year Engineering students of ENSAM, Ecole
Swedish background and knowledge of Russian,
Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, got a surprise
the DGSE themselves were quite unaware of my
lecture outside of regular classes by none other
presence. Well, this was until they concluded their
than DGSE, the French equivalent of CIA.
last story by saying that generally, “we will trust Swedes, as long as they don’t speak Russian”. Now,
DGSE was coming to talk us into not being too
the whole room burst out in giggling or outright
gullible in the workplace.
laughter and all heads were turned towards me. My cover, as just any other French Engineering
Particularly if we were to be outside of France.
student in the room, was definitely blown!
And particularly if we were to be talking to foreign nationals.
I didn’t have another encounter with the hushhush side of intelligence until I was contacted
I had done my Military Service in Sweden in a
about a patent I had filed.
tactical Intelligence unit, where the Swedish neutrality stance was openly stated. However,
I had had this idea of correlating cell phone usage
most of the exercises were in the Russian
movement across geographical locations using
language to the point of being rather fluent (at
GSM network probes reading the Mobile Area
least when talking political or military matters),
updates (this was from before GPS existed in every
and most of the tactics examples studied were of
mobile phone on the market and in order to use
cold war Soviet techniques. With this background,
triangulation, you needed to know which phone
you might think I’d be more cautiously suspicious
to check whereas my method would check the
of just about everything, but I rather scoffed at
movement of all phones in real time).
paranoia going over the top with both old officers and these DGSE agents.
My thoughts of how to use it when coming up with the idea would rather be as a Friend Finder type
This didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy all the stories:
of service, so I was quite surprised when I got a
According to DGSE, France was then the number
phone call from someone who had found my
three in the world of filling databases with
patent useful. He was from Scotland Yard. Hmm,
information, but only number 16 in retrieving it.
perhaps not too surprising they’d be interested in tracking the movement of some individuals, and
18
I learned of French Engineers getting caught in
what kind of people would be moving into the
customs abroad when it turned out the gift they
same spots. I have to admit I was quite surprised
had received was an invaluable antiquity that by
they
law shouldn’t leave the country, and that they
A) searched for and found my patent, and
were going to face many years in prison. Unless, of
B) took contact to ask for help to achieve the results
course, they were to start to work with the foreign
when they could have just tried to implement it
government on providing information.
themselves and I would have never known.
The final story was about a female engineer who
Of course, I’ve watched all James Bond movies,
even married whom she thought was a Swedish
so I should have known Britain must be over-
Engineer, though he was in reality working for
represented in spy-like scenarios. It took many
Soviet intelligence. Contrary to the other French
years until I again saw evidence of foreign
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
FOCUS TOPIC government intelligence (then by watching them follow all, and I really mean ALL, link-clicks in all emails to a certain high-level CEO). My next intelligence encounter, however, was of more lawful enterprise-side business intelligence when I did due diligence work for Cisco in the UK. I also hadn’t moved very far physically when I next ran across some very shady corporate business intelligence, as it was also indeed on British soil: My company was together with Hewlett-Packard pitching a solution to British Telecom (BT). We had worked many weeks together on the architecture while physically having our bid-room in a building where all BT suppliers could rent offices in Adastral Park, the BT research facility in Ipswich. We knew we had a killer solution and our particular expertise was so to the point we were sure no other would be able to come up with it. But a week after our bid was in, we had been rejected. And BT had favored an almost exact replica of our solution, just much cheaper! How could this be?! A few weeks later, we got the answer: When HP moved out of our bid-room at Adastral Park, fiber optic and microphone cables were found running through the AC conduits just above our bid-room to another office. And you guessed it, the winning bidder had indeed been renting that exact room…
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
19
FOCUS TOPIC
START WITH BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AS AN IEM STUDENT “Data is the new oil. Like oil, data is valuable, but if unrefined it cannot really be used” [1], was coined by Clive Humby, a British mathematician, in 2006 and it is widely cited afterwards.
Vivian Quoika Local Group Hamburg
We generate a lot of data during the day. While browsing the internet, writing emails, working, chatting via smartphone or when using our smart watch. The capability to analyze and structure data with Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing is very useful and this skill is easy to learn as an IEM student. Find out more in this article.
What is a Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence?[2]
Why should you learn about it? And why do I like it?
A Data Warehouse can be compared to a
Business Intelligence is easy to learn. It may work
warehouse in logistics. It collects and stores large
in a similar way to working with Excel Tables
amounts of dissimilar data from different data
and Pivot Tables. It is easy to explain and easy
sources. A good Data Warehouse which is backed
to use in your local group and in the business
by business meaning, structures data for future
context. You do not need a Data Warehouse for
extraction and analysis and makes it available
using it. You can start with two tables in Excel.
for other applications. This may include, for example, the translation to different currencies or
The management of data is often an unsolved
conversions between different units of measures.
problem in the information technology industry.
In general, you can think of a data warehouse as a
According to projections in the office around
set of tables (like Excel) in the backend where you
one-third of the time is searching, finding,
can retrieve data with associated dimensions (like
and assessing unstructured data – this can be
region, calendar week or products) from.
simplified by Business Intelligence. It creates surprising insights into the information that can
Business Intelligence (BI) on the other hand is a
be updated automatically.
type of application which can use data from the
How to start with Business Analytics? How did I learn it?
Data Warehouse. It collects, integrates, analyses and visualizes the data from different data sources to support making better business and project decisions and is a frontend. BI could be
I
started
Data
Warehousing
and
Business
considered synonymous with data analytics in the
Intelligence after my studies. I always wanted to
business world.
combine my technical interests with a business perspective. I knew from the start that a software
Examples of use are reporting or KPI measurement
consulting company with an agile environment
and it is a great tool for knowledge sharing and
with low hierarchies would be the right fit for me.
knowledge management within an organization.
When starting as an assistant consultant in a
But Business Intelligence can as well form the
tech consulting company, it took me 1-2 years to
basis for advanced analytics, machine learning or
grasp all the methodology. But it was more about
AI algorithms.
grasping the project management, stakeholder communication and navigating in the company politics. These are things which you need to learn in every first job. All in all, I can say that entering Business Intelligence consulting as an IEM student
20
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
FOCUS TOPIC is quite close to our field of study and it is a field which is growing. The newly developed tools get more user friendly as well.
What are the next steps?[3] I hope I spiked your interest in Data Warehousing and
Business
Intelligence.
If
you
found
it
interesting, don’t hesitate to try out Microsoft Power BI or Tableau in your next project - in your study, in your local group or otherwise. Questions, comments on the 4MAT or thoughts to share? Just email me at vivian.quoika@estiem.org I am happy to help out and curious to hear ideas! Special thanks to ESTIEM trainers committee.
Find out more: 1.
Bhageshpur, Kiran, Data is the New Oil, Forbes, 2019.
2.
Business intelligence:
3.
O’Neill Blackwell, J. (2012), Engage – The Trainer’s Guide to Leaning Styles.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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SCENE
HOW TO NOT GET TRAPPED IN YOUR WORK: WORK SMARTER INSTEAD OF WORKING HARDER
Martijn Buijvoets Local Group Eindhoven
Have you ever felt like you gave it your all, yet still,
provide a dynamic explanation of how a capability
you didn’t manage to succeed? Even if you put in
trap evolves over time. Such diagrams originate
more effort, the results would somehow worsen?
from system dynamics literature and have become
Has it ever occurred that you spent a lot of time
common in management and organization studies
improving a situation, yet all your improvement
to capture and explain feedback-driven systems
effort went to waste, and your (genius) solution was
involving dynamic behaviour over time.
not adopted in the end? These phenomena can be explained by a model developed by researchers
Each arrow represents a causal link between
from MIT[1], which later became known as: ‘the
variables in this diagram, and the ‘+’ or ‘-‘ denotes
capability trap.’
its polarity, e.g., more Performance leads to less performance shortfall. However, a set of variables
In my master thesis, I studied how this capability
and arrows form a system of interrelated feedback
trap model could be applied to health workers in
loops. These loops can be self-balancing loops
low resource settings. If you’re interested in how I
labeled with a B, and self-reinforcing, labeled with
approached this, look at my thesis . In this article,
R in nature, e.g., the first balancing loop is called
however, I want to elaborate upon how and when
Working Harder. Here, the process owner chooses
this model is relevant for all of us and what lessons
as a response to more Performance Shortfall
we can take from it. I will structure this explanation
to put in more Work Effort, which causes more
around a model developed by the researchers
Performance, thus reducing the Performance
(see figure). They used a causal loop diagram to
Shortfall again. Overall a self-balancing effect.
[2]
Archetype capability trap structure[3] 22
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
SCENE The last elements of the syntax are shown at the
Processes tend to degrade in the level of
top of the model. Here you see a box representing
Performance due to depreciation and the natural
Capabilities. Boxes in system dynamics are called
effect of entropy, which results in Capability
stocks, and the valves surrounding a box are called
Erosion. Suppose this Capability Erosion remains
flows. A stock accumulates the difference between
unchallenged by a dominant Working Harder loop.
its inflows and outflows[4]. The box with DELAY on
Then, it will steadily reduce the Performance over
the arrow from Improvement Effort to the flow
time, while more and more Work Effort is being put
Investment in Capabilities denotes a substantial
in! This situation is a slippery slope and can result
delay. So now the model syntax is fully defined,
in Ruin (loop R1). However, this scenario can be
let’s look at the two remaining loops and discuss
countered by systematic continual Reinvestment
their implications.
into Improvement Effort. Therefore Capability Erosion
should
be
challenged
by
sufficient
Loop B2 is called Working Smarter. Here a process
Investment in Capabilities. However, this is not
owner realizes that the current capabilities[5] are
easy to do since Improvement Effort will reduce
insufficient to tackle the Performance Shortfall at
the amount of time available for Work Effort in the
hand. Therefore instead of more of the same Work
short term.
Effort, Improvement Effort is preferred, which, over time, should increase the Investments in
So what do you need to do the next time you feel
Capabilities. The increased capabilities themselves
you’re in full-on fire-fighting mode? First, recognize
will, in turn, generate more Performance which will
that things are not going well and prepare for
lower the Performance Shortfall resulting in the
a Worse-Before-Better period. Make sure your
second self-balancing loop.
Investment in Capabilities will rise above Capability Erosion – the Working Smarter loop. Reinvest initial savings in further improvement to escape the capability trap and not fall back in.
Visualisation of the Worse-BeforeBetter Dynamic
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
23
SCENE
References and additional information 1. 2.
Repenning, N. P., & Sterman, J. D. (2001). Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened: Creating and sustaining process improvement. California Management Review, 43(4), 64–88.
Full report 3. 4. 5.
24
Video of the defense
Replicated from Lyneis, J., & Sterman, J. (2016). How to save a leaky ship: Capability traps and the failure of win-win investments in sustainability and social responsibility. Academy of Management Discoveries, 2(1), 7-32 Sterman, J. D. (2000). Business dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world. Irwin McGraw-Hill. “Capabilities are a set of routines that enable production of a particular output given a set of inputs and targets” from Rahmandad, H., & Repenning, N. (2016). Capability erosion dynamics. Strategic Management Journal, 37(4), 649-672.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
SCENE
SELF-IMPROVEMENT, CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT & GOAL SETTING Although at times hard to work on, improvement is
Basically, we should implement everything we
truly important. During our studies, we always hear
learnt in university. First, set your goals, and then
about improving – processes, organizations, skills,
try to meet them step by step, planning those
knowledge, and so on. But nobody teaches us that
steps beforehand.
we have to improve ourselves as well. Somehow,
Goal setting
Dragana Slavić
I am sure you have already heard that goals should
Local Group Novi Sad
everybody considers that people already know how to set goals and improve themselves. But how are we actually supposed to do that?
be SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant,
and
time-based.
This
means
you
shouldn’t be too hard on yourself! Give yourself time to think about what you truly want and how you could fulfil your dreams, and then sit down to write your goals, making sure they are realistic and sustainable.
Improvement Next step to meeting your goals is naturally, working towards them – improving yourself. Keep in mind that all improvement should be step by step, and that it is normal to go a step back while climbing the staircase. Not everyone is comfortable with the same steps, so choose your path wisely. Don’t overload yourself with work, and try to motivate yourself by having little prizes after every few successful steps. By implementing improvement into your daily life, slowly but steadily, it will become a part of your routine, and then it all comes easily and naturally – habits are hard to gain, but hard to lose as well. The hardest part can be losing motivation, and that’s when self-discipline comes in. Think about your goals, why you set them in the first place, and how your life will look like when you meet them. Also, it is important to keep yourself accountable, to find a way to make sure you won’t quit. There are several strategies for this, but some of them are really simple and easy, like telling your friends or family about your goals. The journey is tough, but it is surely an adventure!
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
25
SCENE
BEAUTY CAN ARISE FROM DISCOMFORT
Mia Nedeljković Local Group Novi Sad
Nowadays our lives have become incomprehensibly
differ. How about: ’’Fake it until you become it’’?
unpredictable, which forces people to face the
Instead of sinking in despair, this courageous
unknown all the while constantly expanding their
woman proved to everyone who bet against her,
tolerance of fear, acquiring new knowledge and
including herself at one point, that unfavourable
ultimately embracing growth. However, what if
life circumstances ought to be used as turning
someone is scared of growth?
points and forces for good, rather than excuses that enforce renouncement. Carl Jung once said:
Why is comfort so desirable in the first place?
“Everybody acts out a myth, but very few people
Familiarity is not an equivalent to security,
know what their myth is’’. It is apparent that truth
something which many people subconsciously
is not something that can be spoken, rather acted
tend to sweep under the rug while evaluating
out. As the marvellous André Gide once noted:
the quality of their life. The first step to leading
“Trust those who seek the truth but doubt those
a meaningful life is realising that in order to
who say they have found it”.
achieve meaning, one has to accept the myriad of responsibilities said meaning carries and hold themselves accountable, given that every minor detail makes for a substantial determinator of further course of action. Furthermore, one has to be aware of what fills their life with value and pursue those noble goals. Only then can an individual claim that they are consciously stepping out of their comfort zone and going after their aims. Indeed, a dose of precaution is necessary when someone ventures into the unknown, so be sure to find a cause worth such a sacrifice. Impressive aiming skills become useless if the target is poorly chosen-on the contrary, they become tools for detrimental, spirit-crushing outcomes that may be unveiled much later down the road. What would motivate an individual to step out of their comfort zone, which supplies them with all their needs and a strong sense of security? Perhaps the desire to fulfil their wildest dreams or escape mediocrity, since certain individuals strive for a career, not merely a job. Determining what an individual is aiming for is the first and compulsory step of every decisionmaking process, but what about the practicality of it all? Simply put, in order to become everything you have ever wanted, you have to actively practice ’’being’’ it. Some would call it ’’Fake it until you make it’’, but Amy Cuddy would beg to
26
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
SCENE
THE REAL-WORLD COST OF FALSE POSITIVES We all know the frustration of an incessant car
This includes research in medical environments
alarm that just won’t stop. It may affect your mood.
to determine the impact of desensitisation on
You might try to shut out the noise. Over time the
healthcare. Research has suggested that 72% to
monotony of the alarm’s cry dulls your reaction. It
99% of clinical alarms are made in error.
becomes the boy shepherd in Aesop’s fables. It is the car that cried wolf. Until one day it isn’t and the
In Monitor Alarm Fatigue: An Integrative Review[2],
Tolga Ermis
wolf has turned up.
Maria Cvach explains how alarm fatigue is a
Local Group Paderborn, Co-founder&CEO of promiseQ
national problem in the US. Evidence exists that false alarms desensitise safety systems, waste resources, and dilute
In her 2012 research article, she explains how
human reactions to real-life security threats and
from 2005 through 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug
emergencies. According to a study by the Ponemon
Administration (FDA) Manufacturer and User
Institute in the US, reacting to false positives and
Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database
needless security alerts amounts to around 21,000
received 566 reports of patient deaths related to
wasted work hours. That’s more than two years’
monitoring medical alarms. A four-month review
worth of time wasted. The cost globally is likely
of the MAUDE database between March 1, 2010
unquantifiable.
and June 30, 2010 revealed 73 alarm related deaths, she writes.
In his book ‘Cry Wolf: The psychology of false alarms’, psychologist Shlomo Breznitz posits that
Cvach makes the point that when an alarm is
the human psyche may well be the weakest link
viewed as a nuisance, caregivers may disable,
in any security alarm or early warning system. A
silence, or ignore the warning intended to signal
single false alarm reduces the fear reaction to the
threats
next threat by close to fifty percent, according to
reactions contribute to loss of life, although the
his findings.
true impact is largely unquantified. Rather than
or
emergencies.
It’s
possible
Luke Holohan Journalist, Copywriter, Producer
these
creating a safer environment, a large number of In ‘Alarms and human behaviour: implications for
nuisance alarms have an opposite effect, resulting
medical alarms’[1], a research paper carried out
in desensitisation, she says.
at the University of Plymouth, it is suggested that people will tailor their reaction according to the
A more recent study[3] in Poland used available
perceived reliability of an alarm. The more one
literature on false alarms and intensive care
thinks an alarm is wrong, the more a person will
units to determine the impact on nurses. In the
likely ignore it. This is a problem when businesses,
analysed studies, 389 nurses assessed tested,
medical professionals, or law enforcement rely on
working in different intensive care units. The study
these triggers to do their job.
found that the nurses felt overburdened with an excessive amount of duties and a continuous wave
“If a system is perceived to be 90% reliable then
of alarms.
they will respond practically every time an alarm is sounded, whereas if it is perceived to be only 10%
It concluded that alarm fatigue - contributed to by
reliable then they will respond only infrequently,”
false positives - may have serious consequences,
the research paper stated.
both for patients and for nursing personnel. The researchers advised that it may be necessary to
Studies on the impact of false positives have
introduce a strategy of alarm management and for
been carried out across a number of workspaces.
measuring the alarm fatigue level.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
27
SCENE So the research appears to confirm that false
For example in Seattle, alarm companies are
alarms can impact workload and quality to varying
billed directly from the City of Seattle Finance and
degrees. In a study of Aviation Safety Reporting
Administrative Division for use of police services
System data
from 2015-2020, analysts looked
including false alarm fees[7]. The fees included a
at 370 reports for hits, misses, false alarms, and
cost of $115 for responding to a false automated
correct rejections.
burglar alarm.
The study surmised that errors associated with
The system came into place in 2004, after the
automated signals are more likely to include false
Seattle Police Department found that 97% of
alarms. It also suggested while excessive alarms
its callouts were false. Despite hitting people
can increase operators’ response times, overall
and companies with a financial penalty, the
response rates can decrease .
department estimates that it spends $1 million a
[4]
[5]
year reacting to inaccurate alarms.
Economic impact
In the UK, the London Fire Brigade is considering charging for false alarms. The emergency service
But false alarms don’t just affect psychological
states on its website that in 2017, its firefighters
response and working conditions. Bogus alerts
attended 38,000 false alarms[9].
threaten the bottom line. It is estimated that billions worth of revenue is lost annually to
An expenditure analysis[10] of the Fire & Rescue
inaccurate security alerts or false positives. In the
New South Wales agency provides further insight
case of a camera security system, a false positive
into the financial costs of false alarms.
could be an alarm triggered by rain or something as innocuous as a bird landing.
The average net cost of false automatic fire alarm system alerts for the government agency was
From the promiseQ security solution perspective,
estimated as AUD$234 million, with a median net
these false positives are a major problem for
cost of AUD$229 million.
security monitoring centres. It’s why we exist as a business - to cut out non-threat alerts and
False/non-malicious events increase noise for
increase the accuracy of CCTV monitoring using
already overworked security teams and can
artificial intelligence.
include software bugs, poorly written software, or unrecognised network traffic, the analysis stated.
False alarms not only burden organisations with extra workloads but can also result in significant
For promiseQ, an alarm system that regularly
financial costs, either through increased labour or
swamps its SOC with inaccurate alerts is a
mental strain, or even large fines due to police or
significant weak link to any network.
fire units being mistakenly dispatched. It’s a liability rather than a strength. We are now Research by the Centre for Oriented Policing into
working on cloud-based analytics and artificial
police practices
indicates that US authorities are
intelligence solutions in an effort to cut non-
constantly fighting against a tide of false alarms
malicious alerts and reduce costs for businesses
with around 3 million monitored security systems
and government agencies.
[6]
added to the nation’s infrastructure each year. Shockingly, some $1.8 billion has been wasted by US police per year as a result of false alarms picked up by many of these often unreliable systems. False alarm systems are now in place in US cities in an effort to recoup costs of wasted time.
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
SCENE
References and additional information
[1] Alarms and human behaviour: implications for medical alarms
[4] Aviation Safety Reporting System
[7,8] Seattle Police Department: False Alarm Program
[2] Monitor Alarm Fatigue: An Integrative Review
[5] Alarms, alerts, and warnings in air traffic control: An analysis of reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System
[9] London Fire Brigade
[3] Impact of Alarm Fatigue on the Work of Nurses in an Intensive Care Environment-A Systematic Review
[6] False Burglar Alarms, 2nd Edition
[10] The economic cost of unwanted automatic fire alarms
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
29
SCENE
FINDING MOTIVATION IN UNSTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES Any person can experience a time in their life where everything is out of control, and they don’t want to do anything. Here are some strategies to help you find motivation in a variety of unstable Anna Bobryshova
situations.
Local Group Moscow
Motivating yourself is difficult. It is more difficult
If there is a pre-made plan, you’ll achieve your goals better. Abstract goals like “try to do better” work noticeably worse than concrete ones, such
to maintain enthusiasm during this period than to leave a state of procrastination. Litres of coffee and inspiring quotes will not help here. We must remember that everyone has their own motivation. What inspires one may not impress the other.
2. Don’t think about the problems, focus on the goals.
Five sets of techniques will help to
support your motivation:
1. Give it time.
as”learn 5 pages of text”. The first rule is that goals should be specific. It is important to learn to find at least something pleasant in the activity. Think more often about how to get satisfaction from fulfilling your duties. Perhaps an unloved study gives you a chance to get a good job, or help a lot of people. Even if there is chaos around, it is important to remember the effects that your actions will bring later. The situation may change, but the result of the work done will remain.
Give yourself time to get used to the situation. You may be nervous and anxious, because there are reasons for this. You can get angry, feel despair and powerlessness, because you cannot influence the situation. You can experience uplifting spirits and hysterical fun, this also happens and it does not mean that you are a bad person. You cannot feel anything or not think about the situation at all, your mind is trying to freeze emotions so that they do not torment you so much.This normally needs time to get used to the unstable situation, and you need time. The main thing is to take care of yourself.
3. Routine is an important part of the day. When something goes wrong in our life, we fall into a depressive state or, on the contrary, we begin to commit uncharacteristic actions. All this causes a lot of stress on our minds, as it is not our usual activities. A daily routine can help us here, which helps us stay stable even in difficult periods. In its basic form, a routine is a series of regularly performed actions. You may have a morning routine consisting of things you do when you first wake up (showering, making breakfast, planning the day). Or an evening routine that will help you relax and disconnect from work. What matters is not the exact nature of your routine, but the fact that you have it and you stick to it. It helps to trick your brain. You will think that everything is fine, since everyday things have remained the same, which means that what is happening around is just temporary interference.
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SCENE
4. Find ways encourage.
to
effectively
Come up with external motivators for yourself, short-term or medium-term. It is especially good if they supplement some kind of reward. For example, decide that after completion you will take a couple of days off or treat yourself to a coveted purchase. There is a mistake in choosing incentives that
quickly. Much more often we feel like Eeyore the donkey. If you have to pull yourself by the hair to an important goal, find internal and external motivators, choose good incentives for yourself, shift the focus of attention forward or backward depending on the proximity to the finish line – and do not forget to use the influence of the environment. Self-motivation is one of the most difficult skills, but you can not achieve success without it.
destroy the achieved result. If, as a reward for your hard work last week, you allow yourself to relax on the current one, it will smear the impression of your successes. Such methods cause “excitement” and help to maintain motivation in any situation, since not only the result of the work done depends on your actions, but also encouragement or punishment.
5. Use the influence of others. When we see the results of a person who easily adapts to the situation and begins to act, we can react in different ways: either get inspired, or lose interest. But you can use the influence of the surroundings to your advantage. Do not passively observe a purposeful and successful colleague: this can demotivate you. It’s better to ask a person why he/she works so hard and why he considers it important. Sometimes giving advice is even more useful for motivation than asking for it: by consulting others, we become more confident in ourselves and feel a surge of strength. Offering others a plan of action, you can begin to follow it yourself, becoming more active and successful in the process. Remember that you are an individual, and all people react to situations differently. The main thing is to find the right attitude to the influence of others. To sum up, in an unstable situation, the state of motivation is difficult to achieve – or it passes
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
31
CAREER
GETTING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE DURING PANDEMIC - 8 KEY ELEMENTS
Emre Çetin Local Group Istanbul Bogazici
Nobody was expecting a global pandemic. Yet
Once you have determined your strategy, you
in 2020, Covid-19 came into our lives and the
will choose the technology, since you use tech
definition of normal has changed ever since.
as the main infrastructure for reaching your
Most businesses came to a bottleneck during the
audience. During this selection process, if you are
pandemic. People mostly stayed at home and
starting from scratch, it may be a good idea to use
most of the physical stores closed. It was a sudden
SaaS or PaaS tools because they are providing
shift, so there was little to no money to spend on
quick ways to create your online store and the
emerging needs at the beginning and people were
most demanded features by global consumers.
starting to buy all they needed online.
With such a choice, the launch time of your online business can be shortened, you can start to sell
After lockdowns became the norm, businesses
your products and services immediately and can
and consumers increasingly purchased goods and
focus on the behaviors of your consumers. While
services digitally. According to UNCTAD, United
deciding on tech, cloud services for your hosting
Nations Conference on Trade and Development,
could be an efficient solution; they are more cost-
online retail sales increased by 20-25% in 2020
effective and help you to get a good service for
and made the share of online sales in total retail
optimizing your website speed.
to 19%, while it was 16% in 2019 and 14% in 2018. Many countries also experienced two-digit growth
The brand, business, and online assets of
in 2021.
your company should reflect the lifestyle and characteristics of your audience in order to make
I have experience in digital commerce and have
a lasting impression on your customers. User
been giving growth consultancy to enterprise
interface and experience should project this
brands since 2017. At the time Covid-19 spread
similarity as well. Unique and engaging screens
started, I was a consultant, providing growth
will help your visitors to navigate the shopping
strategy to enterprise companies in Europe,
stages intuitively and complete the purchase.
Turkey, and the Middle East. I have worked with
Nielsen Norman’s 10 Heuristic Design principles
multiple brands recovering from the pandemic
may help you to create your pages effectively.
and have gained familiarity with crisis strategies and tools. In 2020, I have participated in a research
After you create your designs, website and launch
team with UNCTAD for measuring the change of
your online store, what comes next? You need
consumer behavior during and after Covid-19 in
to attract visitors to the website and analyze
9 different countries. This participation has given
their navigational
me some unique insights on how businesses
increase your sales. In the beginning of the
should start planning for a major event like the
Covid-19 pandemic, many companies cut their
pandemic. In my experience, the main idea is to
advertisement budget to their online stores;
start simple and to adapt and iterate quickly with
because there was an increased demand for
consumer expectations. In order to achieve this,
products after physical stores were closed. This
you need to understand some key elements.
led to a rise in visitors to online stores. Some
& purchasing behavior to
brands even had to implement waiting rooms to First, you need to determine your target
reach the website in order to give an adequate
consumer group and understand their lifestyle
website speed and experience to their customers.
to establish a correct strategy.
There are algorithms and tools to understand
Answers to questions such as how the pandemic
website analytics, create insights, and take action
will change their purchasing power, where they spend their time during the day, what their needs and concerns are, are the critical aspects of your strategy.
32
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
accordingly. In all complex scenarios, there are a few metrics you can observe; how many people visited your website, which channels and sources they come from, how and how much they
CAREER interacted, and the conversion rate in the shopping
support channels, answering your visitors’ or
stages such as category and product page visits,
shoppers’ questions quickly and establishing an
adding products to basket, filling necessary
effortless cancellation and return policy will help
information and completing the purchase. It is
consumers to see that your business is on their
also important to know how frequently the same
side.
visitors or consumers come and shop from your store to understand their loyalty to the brand.
Every business needs a contingency plan in moments of crisis. Although circumstances could
One of the best ways to acquire visitors and
vary greatly, there are certain elements of strategy,
convert them into shoppers is quality content.
design, and user experience that will make all the
Catchy content that emphasizes your value
difference between a successful and failed online
proposition will increase the chance of clicking
presence. Always focus on target audiences’ needs
and being directed to your website in social media,
and desires carefully, understand the dynamics of
search engines, and advertisements. People
the changing environment and behaviors, and be
are searching for products on search engines,
consumer-centric at all times.
marketplaces and spending quite a significant amount on social media. So you need to leverage these areas to build awareness of your brand, products, or services. Many brands or businesses are targeting the same or similar audience as you, and the content you provide can be a key element to differentiating your brand. Establish your SEO and content strategy based on how people are searching the category you are in and what keywords they are looking for. Pandemic has also accelerated the innovation in the fintech and payment sector related to e-commerce. The “buy now pay later” approach spread quickly since it allows people to manage their purchasing power while still being able to shop products in their wish lists. BNPL applications gained a 2% market share globally and in some countries, like Germany, that share reached 18%, according to Statista. Now you have transactions and products waiting to be fulfilled for your customers. The Covid-19 pandemic also shifted the expectations on the delivery of the physical products. Delivery in 3 days is now too slow for a regular shopper. Nextday delivery became a norm and many new companies utilizing same-day delivery emerged. The ability to provide these options increases the conversion rates significantly; but if there is a failure in the implementation, it will decrease consumer satisfaction by an equal degree. After certain momentum you acquired with your online business, loyalty will become a crucial element to gain stability in a fast-changing, unpredictable pandemic environment. Providing
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
33
CAREER
CONSTANT SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND GOAL SETTING
Hugo Bueno Local Group Madrid
Once a great friend of mine taught me the three
words of Elon Musk, also known as the Da Vinci
keys for anyone’s life: to learn, to forgive and
of 21st Century: “There need to be reasons to get
to travel. Nevertheless, taking a deeper look
up in the morning. Life can’t just be about solving
into them we can notice that forgiving teaches
problems. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
emotional intelligence and traveling expands interculturalism, so they both have important lessons to teach us. Learning means selfimproving and it is quite important, as it broadens one’s ability to further interact with others with a
One of the best ways to set up your strategy is OKRs & KPIs system:
greater range of topics and within different social groups. The beauty of it is that you can progress on almost anything you want: subjects in whatever sector, languages, human interaction, philosophy of life… ESTIEM is an even greater treasure chest when it comes to life lessons: I joined the organization to meet international engineers and have fun while traveling, but little did I realize I would
Furthermore, striving for growth and accomplishing
evolve ten times more than in any other stage in
our goals makes us improve progressively which,
my education. Everyone starts discovering new
whether we notice it or not, transforms us into
cultures and making friends from all over Europe;
more attractive people to spend time with. And
later this passion moves you to the Central level,
who doesn’t feel flattered getting recognition for
where you begin to struggle with multitasking;
the hard work they’d done?
and finally, you may become a Leader, facing team responsibilities, strategic overlook of your
Thus, I encourage you to dedicate a slice of your
entity and the biggest possible approach to\ an
time to think about your dreams. Try to bring them
international network. Besides, ESTIEM provides
down to reality through a couple of objectives you
a broad portfolio of personal and professional
can tackle. In the end, even if you do not achieve
development events, as well as a feedback
them, you will feel proud and thankful for both
philosophy that makes you feel comfortable to
the passion/interest you have invested and the
ask for improvement points, so that you become
growth you have experienced. In short: don’t be
a better person. After all, self-improvement is a
afraid to aim high!
choice! The aim is simply to be the best version of yourself, which will be highly rewarded in all aspects of your life, from work atmosphere to bonds with your loved ones. Naturally,
self-improvement
usually
comes
together with goal setting. Why? Because setting your own objectives brings your mind’s idealization to tangible stuff, whether your dream is to become an astronaut or have a big family with a calm routine, giving you a direction to follow. In the
34
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM
COLLEGE: AN EVENT TO DEVELOP ESTIEM AND YOURSELF ESTIEM offers a wide variety of opportunities from
Generally, College is organized in the middle of the
academic to personal, intercultural and central
Board mandate, around February, between the two
events. During the pandemic, everything switched
Council Meetings. This timing suits the aim of the
to an online regime and some concepts needed
event and gives the possibility to collect new ideas
to be adapted, while some new event types were
to work on in the future months and to check the
born, such as Short Online Activities. Among all
direction in which our network is developing. The
the different events ESTIEM offers, there is one,
agenda is structured around sessions, where the
generally held once a year that might be worth your
participants and the board discuss different topics
attention: ESTIEM College. The name can be a bit
together, work in groups to solve the problem at
misleading; you may think that it is an educational
hand, all the while each session is facilitated by
event providing knowledge about ESTIEM, but the
one or two people to allow everybody to express
truth is that it’s a completely different experience.
their thoughts and ideas. In addition, there is also a
College is the event in which you will have the
timeslot called “Parking Lot”, the purpose of which
possibility to discuss the current situation of
is that participants propose topics for discussion
ESTIEM, the future of the network, and bring new
and after collecting ideas, everyone votes on the
ideas and directions for further development.
subject they would prefer to further explore. The
Federica Rotta Gentile Local Group Milan
“Parking Lot” is an opportunity to speak up, raise Everybody can apply to participate, but usually the
some topics you care about and listen to different
participants are active people on the international
perspectives, in this way a continuous engagement
and/or local level, who are quite knowledgeable,
in the conversation is created.
and motivated to develop ESTIEM together. The main aim of College is to bring together active
The event generally lasts for a week, in this way,
ESTIEMers and the board, allowing them to open
there is also time to do a “City Tour” and enjoy
discussions about our organization, bring new and
“Night activities”. Therefore, the participants have
fresh perspectives, and develop soft skills such as
the possibility to see the city that hosts the event
public speaking, critical thinking, and creativity.
and to get to know the students of the Local Group,
The spirit of the event is such that any idea is
which is a key part of ESTIEM’s events, to be the
appreciated, and discussion is a way to grow
connector of IEM students.
together.
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
35
INSIDE ESTIEM Each Local Group that is interested in hosting
skill and clarity, but also train people to actively
College can apply on the Event Open Call Page,
listen to others.
same as for all the other events. Since there are participants from different countries, the hosting
College is an experience that will allow taking part
Local Group has the chance to familiarize with other
in the open discussion and to see things from a
cultures and traditions. In fact, an International
different angle, so it is about the development
Night is always present on the Agenda, so there is
of ESTIEM but also about enhancing your skills.
also the opportunity to taste food and drinks from
Furthermore, you will have the chance to meet
all around Europe. The hosting Local Group has
people from different Local Groups, get to know
to take care of accommodation, food, transport
different cultures, and discover the beauty of the
inside the city, night activities, and city tours, while
city that hosts the event.
the sessions during the day are designed by the board and the participants, so the only necessity is to provide a room and materials such as post-its,
ESTIEM College 2022
pens, and flipcharts. The meaning of having College is the sharing of
After two years of the pandemic, College took
different thoughts; every participant is invited to
place in Budapest from 15th to 21st February. A
speak up and state his view. In this way, an open
group of nearly 20 participants and two externals
dialogue is created and conflicts raised from
(from BEST and EESTEC) had the chance to work
participants with divergent opinions, but only
together and spend one week in Hungary.
through an exchange of views, makes it possible to collect innovative ideas to solve current problems
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the event, two
and draft the future of the network.
members of the Board tested positive, so the event was held without them.
Moreover, two
For sure it is an opportunity to share viewpoints
boardies and one participant were close contacts
and new ideas directly with the board, in this
but tested negative. To guarantee health and
way if you want to bring something new to the
social safety, before starting the event, every
network, College is the event not to be missed.
participant expressed a vote about the admission
Furthermore, open discussions allow for listening
of these people to the event. The final decision
to different points of other ESTIEMers, in order to
was to isolate the close contacts and test them
create value for all the participants, for the board,
daily. After some days of negative tests, they were
and for ESTIEM as a whole.
allowed to participate.
The environment of this event should be friendly
Considering all the effort and work the Board did
and calm since one of our values is “Embrace
to make this event happen, it was a pity to not have
diversity” and we believe that every idea is valuable,
the whole board present, but the understanding
therefore my suggestion is to not be afraid to state
and availability of all the participants were
your opinion. Moreover, to fully respect this value,
admirable. Every leader and participant was
everyone should make an effort to understand a
ready to help to facilitate sessions to still get the
different viewpoint, thus listening and respect are
most from this College. The start was for sure not
essential.
the easiest since only two board members were able to be present, but people were motivated to
The event is also a checkpoint for the board, in fact,
actively give their contribution and interested in
some of the sessions focus on topics that need to
the discussions. The presence of BEST and EESTEC
be addressed during their mandate or problems
was beneficial for the whole event because
that need solving in an innovative way. In this
externals provide a different point of view, way to
sense, a different perspective is always beneficial,
work and always took part in the discussions.
and working in groups guarantees the design and
36
detailing of a solution shared by the team. After
Since the agenda was changed and adapted
this experience, each group has a space to explain
day by day considering the developments of the
to other participants the job they did. Therefore,
situation, not all planned sessions were done,
being responsible for explaining the work of your
these decisions were made by the board based on
team to everyone will help your public speaking
the feasibility of some discussions and availability
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM of the board members.
split into smaller groups. Each group developed a solution through an internal discussion, after a
Some of the sessions were canceled with the
fixed working time every team had to explain their
intention to reschedule in an online environment
solution and point of view to others. One or more
in the upcoming months, others were covered
people from the groups presented and, after the
and the topics discussed were all connected to the
presentation, answered questions posed by other
development of ESTIEM.
participants. This activity was useful to improve skills such as public speaking, active listening,
In fact, participants were engaged in conversations
critical analysis, and team working.
regarding our organization: from the growth of the network to inclusiveness and safety, IEM
Since some participants were unable to physically
regulation,
definitions,
attend, the sessions were held in a hybrid module.
Council Meeting, knowledge thresholds, and much
Through one laptop people could connect to
more.
a live stream and multiple smartphones were
online
events,
entity
used as microphones to allow everyone to listen The Local Group of Budapest was really kind
and participate in the conversation. Even if at
and flexible to change the agenda based on the
the beginning the setup of the devices was not
necessities of the circumstance. Their collaboration
optimal, afterwards a great solution was found
and availability were remarkable; thus I take this
and everyone was flexible enough to adapt quickly
opportunity to thank every ESTIMer involved in the
and the system ran smoothly. This allowed for
event organization on behalf of all the participants
holding open discussion without losing the voice
and the Board. The effort of organizers had
of the ones that were online.
allowed everyone to be in a friendly atmosphere and discover the city.
The atmosphere during the days was friendly and cozy so that participants could share different
Budapest is a highly recommended destination,
points of view. In many situations there were
full of history, art, and architecture. The City Tour
discussions and even contrasting opinions, but
was a great experience: from walking along the
this process is useful and beneficial for the value
streets, passing through the bridge from Buda to
creation and for the event. The fact that during
Pest, seeing the beautiful Hungarian Parliament
the working sessions people could have opposing
and the Buda Castle, everything was a pleasure!
opinions about some topics, but during the breaks
The event was structured to have two or three
and lunch everyone was chit chatting and chilling,
sessions during the day and in the evening,
is one of the best parts of ESTIEM. The professional
some leisure activities. The daily activities were
part did not interfere with the personal side thus
structured to work and discuss together; there
participants had the possibility to know each other
were sessions focused on a specific topic to
and connect.
address some questions, all participants in a circle could propose solutions and comment, following
This event had faced some obstacles and for sure
the fingers rule. Indeed, having clear social rules
it was not held in the way it was designed, but
is necessary to give the possibility of everyone
the ESTIEM Spirit was shared and felt, therefore
participating.
in the end people are always the key factor to a successful experience.
In order to keep track of everything, in each session a person took the minutes allowing for
I sincerely hope that after this article you have a
these topics to also be explored further in the
clearer idea of what ESTIEM College is and why it
future. Some other sessions were structured
is organized. Some final words that in my opinion
as brainstorming ones, where everyone used
are crucial: the main point to be aware of is that
post-its to write the answers to a question
College is an event to be experienced, if you want
raised, after which the facilitator decided how
to see what is behind the curtains and be more
to cluster different opinions and analyzed
the
active in the network. Before applying to any
main outcomes. Another type of session was
event, think about what you want to learn from
designed as working groups, where the facilitator
that experience and the meaning that it has for
first explained the topics that were about to be
you, but at the same time be curious to go beyond
discussed, after
the limits and always aim high!
which the participants
were
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
37
INSIDE ESTIEM
ORGANISING ESTIEM’S BIGGEST EVENT DURING A WORLD-WIDE PANDEMIC If someone had told us two years ago that we would be organising ESTIEM’s biggest event during a worldwide pandemic, we would for sure laugh it off. How did we come to this? Well, gather round because we have a story to tell you!
Nikolina Gklezaki Local Group Xanthi
The Council Meeting
The Board’s role
With a quick google search, you will find the
Let’s go back to August 2021 with a newly elected
definition of a Council Meeting (CM) as “an
Board and a Vice President of Administration that
assembly of people meeting for discussion and
has never attended an offline Council Meeting.
consultation”. Moving now to ESTIEM’s Council
We immediately realised that after three online
Meeting, it is the statutory meeting of ESTIEM and
Council Meetings, the knowledge and experience
it takes place twice a year. It is composed of two
was lost and this made it an even harder task
parts,
for our board. We suddenly had to reinvent the
• Claudia Caus Regidor Local Group Seville
•
General
Assembly,
is
wheel and start things from the beginning, dig out
updated on what is going on in ESTIEM, and
where
everyone
information stored deep in the shared drives and
decisions are made through voting, and
approach previous board members to help us.
Working Groups, Training Sessions and Company Workshops, where smaller groups either work to develop ESTIEM or improve
Local Group Seville’s role
their soft skills. The first communication with Local Group Seville The initial purpose of the Council Meeting was to
for the 32nd Board started in the first days of the
gather ESTIEMers and make decisions about the
mandate and it was already really close to the
future of the network but as it is obvious by now,
assigned dates of the Council Meeting. The Local
it started to serve a bigger purpose. It became
Group had not organised offline events for two
the place where we gather to invest time in our
years and most of the members were practically
organisation, to meet new and old friends and
newbies, so only two of the members had ever
where we celebrate the ESTIEM spirit.
been organisers offline. This was one of the biggest challenges, but not the only one. They also did not
The story of Council Meeting Seville
receive the right information regarding the Council Meeting organisation and a lot of knowledge regarding the actions taken for the cancelled LXI Council Meeting Seville was lost. At that point
The story of CM Seville dates back to CM
there was a struggle to find sponsorships, work
Famagusta, when two motivated students from LG
with the university, figure out the logistics of the
Seville decided to take this challenging step! After
event and have motivated people to support this
that LG Seville started the hard work but sadly, the
huge event.
COVID-19 outbreak occurred and resulted in the cancellation of the three Council Meetings that were to come, including CM Seville. During the
The collaboration
LXI Online Council Meeting, something crazy had happened! Local Group Seville reapplied to host
In order to make this work, we started learning
the LXIII Council Meeting!
together. After having many long chats and constant support provided from both sides, we
This is where an outstanding challenge started for
managed to become a team and found the best
both Local Group Seville and the Board of ESTIEM.
way to work together. Here we need to mention the outstanding motivation of the LG members when nothing worked as they wished it did. Their
38
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM enormous urge to make it happen is what resulted
an important decision regarding the number
in the first offline Council Meeting after two years!
of participants. With the COVID-19 outbreak
LXIII Council Meeting Seville
still going on, we needed to make sure that we were prepared for the possible infection of the participants, something that would be harder if
All the aforementioned actions brought us to Seville
we had the usual number of participants, that of
in November 2021. The LXIII Council Meeting took
250. After thural analysis of the possible scenarios,
place in Seville, Spain between the 8th and 14th of
we made the hard decision to invite only 150
November 2021. It was the first Council Meeting
participants, meaning that every LG could only
that took place offline after two years and the
have one delegate representing them. In addition,
first Council Meeting in Spain. This may sound not
we needed to create and/or update the tools we
important, but it also increased the difficulty, due
needed to use, something that took a lot of time
to the lack of support of Spanish universities within
and effort both for the organisers and the board.
the network. It was a rather difficult process, with
Last but not least, everything had to be done as
many challenges. However, we managed to have
close to the event as possible in order to avoid big
a great event with 180 participants from 76 Local
losses in case of possible cancellation due to the
Groups from all over Europe.
pandemic. This resulted in problems regarding the communication with the participants and logistics
Coordinating such a big event means coordinating
of the event.
a big team, something that is even harder during a worldwide pandemic. After all, these ESTIEMers are what have kept ESTIEM moving forward during
The outcomes
the difficult times we are living in and seeing how this event brought them back together as well as
Even though there were multiple problems and
the impact it had on them, is definitely rewarding.
challenges, the Council Meeting happened! Maybe it wasn’t the biggest and fanciest Council Meeting
The challenges
in ESTIEM’s history but it will for sure stay in ESTIEMers’ hearts forever as the event that brought us all together after two years of online work.
While organising the event, we had to make
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
39
INSIDE ESTIEM
INTRODUCING ONLINE EVENTS AS THE WORLD MOVES OFFLINE – DOES IT MAKE SENSE?
Sigurd Elias Halse Local Group Trondheim
After one and a half years of exclusively operating
The main concern was whether people would
online, ESTIEM could finally start offering offline
apply, to willingly spend 6 hours of their day at
events again in the second half of 2021. That begs
an online event. The scenario that wanted to
the question: “Do online events still have a future in
be avoided was getting just a small number of
ESTIEM?” Well, judging from the first edition of “Be
applicants. However, that turned out not to be the
X for X Hours”, organised in February, it seems like
issue at all. By the end of the application period,
they do.
there were triple the number of applicants than the available spots.
In 2021, there were two online “Be X for X Days’’ events. Technically, the same format could have
With limited time, the agenda was drafted to fulfil
been kept for 2022, but times have changed. The
our value proposition as efficiently as possible.
assumption was that people in 2022 are less keen
After a quick introduction and a “get to know”
on multi-day online events, since offline events
game, the agenda had three main sessions. Firstly,
were now available. Taking this into consideration,
one to present what data visualisation is and what
whilst thinking online events could still be useful,
a professional in that field does. Secondly, an
the idea of a shorter, yet still practical and insightful
interactive session where the participants learnt
“Be X for X Hours” was born.
the basics of a data visualisation tool – Tableau, to be specific. Finally, a case study to use the
To give some context, Be X for X Days events
knowledge that was gathered throughout the
have a certain profession as the event’s topic.
event. Looking at the aforementioned goal, giving
They usually include interactive sessions held
practical insight into life in the profession and the
by company representatives, company visits,
skills required, the agenda was created with that in
workshops and case studies. The goal is to give
mind. The participants were actively involved and
people practical insights into what life is like in
motivated throughout the event.
that profession, and what skills are required to do a good job. When we offer an event online, some
What is also exciting about this event is its
of its value is lost (i.e, it is hard to visit a company’s
potential as a source of income both for the entity
offices online), but the value proposition is mostly
and the network as a whole. Just as the Local
the same. Now, when organising the first edition
Groups who organize this type of events can be
of Be X for X Hours, the goal was to use the event
funded by partner companies,partners can be
as a proof of concept: To see if there was interest
found for our centrally organized online events.
for an online alternative like this, and if there is
Those resources can be used for the development
potential for future editions.
of both the network and the entity.
Our first step in planning the event was to
To conclude, the pilot of keeping the online events
brainstorm possible topics. At some point, data
of “Be X for X Hours” concept was a success. The
visualisation came up, which was a favourite
number of applicants will probably depend on the
among the time. To be able to come up with more
event topic. Still, for topics that are popular within
ideas, a list was set up to collect during Council
the target audience, it is entirely possible to create
Meeting Seville, where ESTIEMers wrote
down
a high demand online event like the one described
topics they found interesting. After selecting our
here.. Even when offline events are happening
topic, it did not take long before one of the team
simultaneously.
members found someone to lead the sessions: Sinisa Pavkovic, a previously active ESTIEMer who works with data visualisation. By then, confidence was built up that the event would happen, but did not know how successful it would be.
40
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM
MEDITERRANEAN REGION: SO HOT! Mediterranean Region… The hottest region with
Bogazici Yildiz ITU Economy Bilkent METU Xanthi Chios Baku Deu Famagusta XX
the hottest people, hottest song and the hottest spirit. Currently, there are 10 LGs in Mediterranean Region as follows: Ankara-METU, Ankara-Bilkent, Famagusta,
Istanbul-Bogazici,
Istanbul-ITU,
Istanbul-Yildiz, Izmir-DEU, Izmir-Economy, Xanthi
Eren Bağçıvancıoğlu
and Piraeus. One year later, during the Motivational Weekend It is within this region that The Hotties Spirit has
in Famagusta, two more sentences were added
emerged and spread throughout ESTIEM. The
to the song which fit perfectly: Mediterranean
regional coordinators have started to be the
Region, so HOT!
Local Group Istanbul-ITU
source of motivation for the region and increased the spirit even more. The Region started to have
After Chios and Baku got excluded and Piraeus
traditions, drinks, songs and more, specific to the
joined as a guest group, the 2 sentences of the
region. From all of these, I would like to share with
song were updated by a lovely Mediterranean
you the story behind our lovely Region song that
RC(2019-2020) Zeynep Esra Isler:
you can hear everywhere.
Xanthi Piraeus Deu And Famagusta!
In 2014, during the ReCoM that took in IzmirEconomy, when Reyhan was our dear RC, in a working session, there was a group which was about to create this amazing song that caused
Everyday, the Hottest Region is growing and
an incredible positive effect on the motivation
developing
of Mediterranean region members, that we
important it is for a region to have a spirit and how
still sing today. A group including Alaz Ata Senol
much it can affect the activeness of its members.
more
and
more,
showing
how
(VP of Activites of 26th Board) and Kaan Erdem (Mediterranean RC 2015-2016) came up with these
Stay HOT everyone!
lyrics while using the melody of the song “Simarik” by Tarkan:
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
41
INSIDE ESTIEM
HOW I MET YOUR ASSOCIATION My experience creating a Local Group from scratch in the pandemic Maybe you are wondering how I got here.
and also the fact that the Technical University of
As
Group
Cartagena is supporting the internationalisation
Cartagena in Spain, I am going to tell you our
the
founder
of
the
new
Local
of the students with the EUT+ programme
short story and how this process has been.
(European University of Technology). This new European University with delegations in Troyes,
Francisco López Soler Local Group Cartagena
I will tell you a summary of how I started
Darmstadt, Dublin, Cluj-Napoca and Sofia among
ESTIEM. It all started when I was studying in
others has promoted our first exchange with
Seville, two years before the pandemic. I could
LG Sofia, being our first and marvellous event.
see first-hand how a good LG works. I helped in the organisation of an event where I could
On the other hand, as a founder of the LG, it is
enjoy what ESTIEM Spirit is, although I could not
a totally new and very enriching experience in all
travel that year to any other event in Europe.
fields. I am meeting a lot of people that I am telling about this new project and they think it is a very
My life changed that year and I moved to
good idea; I am also learning about many different
another university more than 500 kilometres
fields such as negotiations with companies
away to continue my studies in Industrial
and rectorate, logo and merchandising design,
Engineering. In the beginning, I did not know
social networks, recruitment of new members...
anyone and even less in online classes, but I found a small group of friends who helped
All these reasons have led to the fact that right
me to develop my project, to create ESTIEM in
now we have about 30 active members and that
Cartagena, a small and very welcoming university.
next year we will be able to organise several international events, I hope you will visit our LG
In Cartagena, after the return to on-site lessons,
Cartagena and we will be able to meet each other
the university was full of students eager to do
and that you will visit our wonderful city in the
new things and travel. This favourable point,
South of Spain.
LOCAL GROUP CARTAGENA
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM
THE BEGINNING OF THE ESTIEM PODCAST What could be a better way to hear other
In the preparation phase, the ESTIEM Podcast
ESTIEMers’ stories and experience the spirit
team writes the script of the episode and writes
as if you were with them in your daily life,
the questions that will be discussed. Then, they
whether you were going to class, working, or
invite diverse guests, a group of people from
travelling? You guessed it: the ESTIEM Podcast!
various Local Groups and different experiences in ESTIEM so that every listener can hear
With the ESTIEM Podcast, one of ESTIEM’s
something relatable. After this, the recording
newest initiatives, we aim to deliver entertaining
process takes place via online meetings as the
and
host and guests are spread across Europe.
insightful
content
about
ESTIEM
while
Sena Horoz Local Group Istanbul-Yildiz
connecting ESTIEMers and IEM Europe by sharing experience and knowledge on relevant topics.
So far, I am delighted to inform you that the first two episodes have been recorded and the first one
The idea for the ESTIEM Podcast has been floating
has already been published. Starting with ESTIEM
around for a while, and some attempts have been
events, the first season of the ESTIEM Podcast
made in the past, but it never became reality
focuses on introducing the network and its core
due to a variety of factors ranging from technical
values to the listeners, to you, the ESTIEMer. The
difficulties to laptop thefts. As a result, this year I
remaining episodes will cover topics ranging
decided to make mine and many other ESTIEMers’
from working in an international environment to
ideas and dreams a reality, and I began developing
the founding of ESTIEM, and the first season will
the podcast. We started working on the project
conclude with the Council Meetings episode, which
after getting some really cool people on board,
will air just before CM Belgrade. So, we plan to publish
including Umut from Ankara-Bilkent, Erik from
seven episodes by the time you read this article!
Gothenburg, and Vasco from Aveiro. As the first months are the most difficult, planning the
We
framework and recording the very first episode
season with you and are looking forward
are
very
excited
to
share
the
first
were the most significant milestones, and they
to what the future holds! Who knows, you,
were also the ones that took the longest time to
yes you, could be the podcast’s next guest!
finish until an effective process was established.
Link to ESTIEM Podcast
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
43
INSIDE ESTIEM
DATA PROTECTION IN ESTIEM
What is personal data? Personal data can be any kind of information that assists someone to identify another person directly or indirectly. The purpose of personal data protection is not to just protect the person’s data, but to protect the
Nikolina Gklezaki
fundamental rights and freedoms of people that are related to that data.
Local Group Xanthi
What is GDPR and who does it affect? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the toughest privacy and security law in the world. Though it was drafted and passed by the European Union (EU), it imposes obligations onto organizations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. In addition, companies and NGOs that have any connection to the EU must comply with the regulation. The GDPR basically obligates the data processors to treat personal data in a unified way across the EU. This, as a result, affects ESTIEM and its Local Groups.
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
INSIDE ESTIEM
The 7 protection and accountability principles of GDPR The following principles represent the main building blocks and set the tone for the Regulation:
Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
Purpose limitation
Data minimization
Accuracy
Storage limitation
Processing must be lawful, fair, and transparent to the data subject.
You must process data for the legitimate purposes specified explicitly to the data subject when you collected it.
You should collect and process only as much data as absolutely necessary for the purposes specified.
You must keep personal data accurate and up to date.
You may only store personally identifying data for as long as necessary for the specified purpose.
Integrity and confidentiality
Processing must be done in such a way as to ensure appropriate
Accountability
The data controller is responsible for being able to demonstrate
security, integrity, and confidentiality (e.g. by using encryption).
GDPR compliance with all of these principles.
Data collection in ESTIEM
ESTIEM’s Privacy Policy
Before collecting personal data, there are four
A privacy policy is a statement or legal document
specific questions that ESTIEMers ask themselves,
that discloses some or all of the ways a party
as mentioned below:
gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer
•
Why they are collecting the data;
or client’s data.
•
Where they will store the data;
•
Who will have access to the data;
In ESTIEM, we believe that every effort done
•
How long they will keep the data.
towards ensuring someone’s privacy is a show of respect. We fully agree with the principles of GDPR
With these questions in mind, we have built
as much as we want them respected when our
ESTIEM’s Privacy Policy, where we explain how
data is on the line, we want to hear a reason for
ESTIEM will treat the personal data that it collects.
keeping data, we want it to be confidential, and kept just for the time needed.
Check ESTIEM’s Privacy Policy here!
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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EXPLORE
FINNISH STUDENT CULTURE – THE CULTURE OF OVERALLS AND SAUNAS You might have seen a little bit of Finnish student
the year. Somehow students have begun their
culture if you were present at an ESTIEM event
celebration of Wappu even earlier and earlier,
with Finnish participants; they might have been
and in Lappeenranta we have the longest Wappu
wearing overalls or even a white cap with a tassel
in Finland and in the world, lasting over a month!
during International Night. Overalls (or “haalarit” in
Every day there is a party or at least some activity
Saara Mäenpää
Finnish) are the most visible part of student culture
going on that you can take part in. One activity
Local Group Lappeenranta
in Finland. The color of your overalls depends on
that is happening during Wappu is sitsit. Sitsit is
the city and university you are studying at, as well
an academic table party where you sing, eat, and
as what your field of study is. There are quite a few
drink according to etiquette, and they happen
rules and traditions about the overalls. The overalls
throughout the year, not only during Wappu. Sitsit
are decorated with badges, which you should sew
can have different themes and they are usually
on yourself, and any other accessories you might
followed by an afterparty. We have our own
want to have on them. You can get badges from
songbook, and most songs are sung to a familiar
different events you attend, or you can buy the
melody but different words.
ones you like from people who sell them. During your first year you cannot sew badges on top of the
Sauna is something special to the Finnish culture
sponsors’ logos, as the overalls are sponsored by
but also to our student culture. In Lappeenranta
companies. There is also a tradition of exchanging
we have a sauna night every Tuesday, where you
parts of your overalls with your significant other
can go to sauna, play some beer pong, or just hang
or a friend, if they have different colored overalls;
out. There are also multiple saunas on campus
if you are dating, you can exchange the pant leg
that can be rented out, for example, for an event.
of your overalls and with your friends you can
The housing organization for Lappeenranta’s
exchange the sleeves. You cannot wash your
students also has saunas in each of their housing
overalls unless you are wearing them and go into
complexes and you can go during a common turn
the lake or the sea.
shared with all the residents or rent out a time for your own turn. Fun fact: Finland has a population
During the orientation weeks in Lappeenranta
of 5,5 million people and 3,3 million saunas, and
in your first year, you are “baptized” to become
Finland’s sauna culture has also been added to
a freshman of engineering (or a “teekkarifuksi”).
UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible
Throughout your freshman year, you will have
Cultural Heritage of Humanity (United Nations,
to collect points by, for example, participating in
2020).
different events to get your white cap with the tassel for the 1st of May which is called “teekkarilakki” in
Everything written here is based on my own
Finnish. On April 30th you get “baptized” to be an
experiences as a student in Lappeenranta.
engineering student (“teekkari”) by going down a slide into the lake and when you get out of the lake, you are not a freshman anymore. On 1st of May you get to wear your cap for the first time. 1st of May is also called Wappu. It is a holiday, also called Labour Day, and even though it is a holiday for everyone, students – especially engineering students – have really taken over it, and it is considered our biggest celebration of
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
References 1.
United Nations. 2020. Finnish sauna added to UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage List.
EXPLORE
BE CURIOUS. BE ONE OF US. Study industrial engineering and management in Finland in Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. » Bachelor’s Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management lut.fi/bsc-ind-eng » Master’s Programme in Global Management of Innovation and Technology lut.fi/gmit
» Master’s Programme in Innovation and Logistics lut.fi/inlog Our programmes are located in Lappeenranta, Lahti and Kouvola. READ MORE ABOUT LUT University: lut.fi/en
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
47
EXPLORE
THE TREASURE TROVE CALLED MEXICO Something that I’ve learned during the past
sights, its own traditional dishes, and its own
three years is that Europeans do not know much
cultural mix. Even after travelling across Mexico
about Mexico. I made a study exchange there in
for more than half a year in total, my bucket list of
the autumn semester of 2021, which marked my
places to see is still astonishingly long.
second visit to this unbelievable country. I had Mikko Sairanen Local Group Tampere
made a backpacking trip some years back and
But how is it to live or study in Mexico? My home
always knew I wanted to return.
during the exchange was in the north of Mexico in the city of Monterrey. Monterrey is an industrial
To be honest, Mexico has it all. You can find
city, less visited by tourists and not so bustling with
breathtaking
rivers,
culture as the other big cities, but it is a good place
mountains and volcanoes, dense jungle, vast
to live in. The city is surrounded by magnificent
deserts, cloud forests, and everything filled with
mountains, and I ended up completing a whole
animals, plants and fruits you have never seen
lot of fantastic hikes during the semester. By
before. There are countless fascinating towns,
Mexican standards, it is an expensive city but for
called pueblos mágicos, but also metropolises so big
most Europeans still very affordable. For example,
that most European capitals do not even get close
apartment rents vary roughly between 150-400€
to their size. You can find Mayan and Aztec cultures
and a restaurant dinner might cost you 4-10€.
beaches,
magically
blue
still mixed inside all the post-colonial development, visible in art, traditions, and of course the abundant
My exchange university was Tecnológico de
indigenous communities. Every state has its own
Monterrey, one of the most prestigious private
Hometown mountains in Monterrey
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE universities of Latin America. It was easy to see in the campus that the university has a lot of resources; facilities are very modern and there are some curiosities, like an abundance of animals (peacocks, ducks, and even deer) on the campus area. Studying was a little bit different from what I’m used to. For example, the atmosphere is very social, with the students often guiding the discussion. I eventually had all my courses in Spanish, which also posed a little challenge, but everything went well! In exchanges, I generally recommend selecting courses in the local language bravely, even if you haven’t studied the language for that long. Maybe the best thing about the studies was however that I could choose online courses due to the pandemic. Therefore, I was able to travel the country more than would have been possible otherwise. So many amazing places would deserve to be told about here, but I’ll have to limit it to a few, which are also shown in the pictures. Firstly, local friends took us on a trip to Real de
Frida Kahlo’s altar, ofrenda, for the Day of The Dead in Mexico City
Catorce, a former mining town in the middle of the desert of San Luis Potosí. To reach the town, you must drive 3 hours through the desert, 30 minutes
Second travel highlight mention goes to Bacalar,
on a narrow cobblestone street, and finally
a sweetwater lagoon in Quintana Roo, laying
through the only entrance, a 3km long tunnel.
right next to the Atlantic beaches. Due to the
Things that I got to experience in this fairytale-like
composition of the lakebed the water here has
town included horse-riding up the mountain to
unbelievable colours; it’s called the Lagoon of
explore the abandoned mines and taking a tour
Seven Colours for a reason. As mass tourism
down a side of a huge canyon sitting on the roof
pouring down from Cancún has not quite reached
of a jeep.
this place yet, it offers a perfect paradise escape. Lastly, I also want to mention Mexico City. Despite its gigantic size (22 million people) it has always felt very open and welcoming to me. The city feels modern but is still very cheap - a metro ticket costs 20 cents. There is a lot to see especially in terms of culture; Mexico City hosts a variety of brilliant museums and historical buildings. By now it must be clear that I highly recommend Mexico as a travelling destination. To conclude, I have to point out that Mexican people are some of the warmest and most helpful I have ever met. You will hardly find a place where you would feel more welcomed!
Looking over Real de Catorce on horseback ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
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EXPLORE
CARNAVAL: A BEAUTIFUL TRADITION, TURNED INTO AN EXCEPTIONAL EVENT Carnaval Activity Week, a unique event with legendary stories, pulchritudinous participants dressed up in crafty costumes, and some tremendously tasty beer. An event that has been widely known across the network and has never Remco Vis
failed to amaze and inspire ESTIEMers. Still,
Local Group Eindhoven
many questions remain. How did this terrific tradition even start, what is the original purpose of Carnaval, and how does everybody find the willpower to remain motivated for such an intense and exhilarating event? Today is the day that all of these questions will be answered. Carnaval is celebrated amongst a lot of countries
Max Sturkenboom
in the world. Though, in the Netherlands, we do
Local Group Eindhoven
party that starts off a period of fasting, to be
it the Dutch way. Originally Carnaval is a catholic precise 40 days of fasting before Easter. In most countries, it is celebrated for only one day, but in the Netherlands, it’s celebrated from Friday until Tuesday. It all started hundreds of years ago when Carnaval was the last opportunity to eat well before the time of food shortage at the end of the winter. Even back in the middle ages, there were already parades and masquerade balls. The Carnaval as we know it today has only been there since the Second World War. During the war, it was prohibited to wear masks, and before the war, it was extremely limited and exclusive to people of higher classes. After the war, it was decided that Carnaval should be for everyone and so started the Carnaval as we know it today. In current times, the fancy masks made room for funny outfits, and the one-day celebration turned into a full weekend of partying. But some traditions were kept, most towns still do a yearly parade with beautiful carriages and uplifting music.
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE Carnaval is only celebrated in the south of the
Activity Week traditions. In true Carnaval style,
Netherlands, and this area has natural borders
we begin the event with International Night. This
due to the big rivers, the Meuse, Rhine, and
allows participants to adapt to the utilisation
Waal. Every city that is located in this area has its
of spirituous beverages and the crazy, fun, and
own traditions with Carnaval, for example, their
especially exciting atmosphere. Another tradition
own colours, their own costumes or their own
is the Carnaval parade in Maarheeze. In this cosy
songs. And every person will say that their way of
village, a wonderful parade of decorated carriages
celebrating is the best way. To experience the best
and other embellished vehicles are displayed.
and more traditional Carnaval, it is suggested to
Another tradition that is worth mentioning is
go away from the big cities and enter the smaller
‘Stropdaszuipen’ (Tie drinking). Every participant
towns and villages. In these places, the Carnaval is
receives a tie with 15 names of bars on it. At every
still focussed on traditions.
bar, an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage can be obtained by showing the tie. This results in a mind-
The Carnaval Activity Week has been a famous
blowing and diverse pub crawl where a variety of
event in ESTIEM for years. The event happened in
beautiful places will be explored.
physical form 10 times and online once. The event attracts ESTIEMers from all over Europe, many
If you want to experience this legendary event
of which return the following years as an event
yourself, we can only suggest applying next year!
crasher. Including organisers, participants, and
Since it will be the return after an absence of
crashers the event usually counts around fifty to
2 years of the Carnaval Activity Week, it will be
sixty people.
bigger, better, and funnier than ever!
Carnaval Activity Week has many recurring
See you in Eindhoven!
activities, that we can now call true Carnaval
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EXPLORE
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE
WHAT MAKES TRAVELLING IN ESTIEM SO APPEALING While writing this article, I am sitting at the
new stories happening every second. I drank
Konstantin the great airport in Nis, Serbia, waiting
Rakia with strangers on a Serbian fortress, I was
to get home from my latest trip to Local Group
challenged to chess games while barely conscious,
Novi Sad. Exhausted because I have spent the last
anywhere I went I was stressed by the organizers
week sleeping only five hours a day (a definitive
shouting, “CHOP CHOP!” at me, and, thinking that
improvement since my first ESTIEM event as that
it was one of my friends, I unknowingly slapped a
average was two hours a day). I feel tired and my
stranger on the butt. I am not sure who was more
head hurts, yet I feel true nostalgic happiness
shocked, him or I.
over the last couple of days. Why is that? What is it that makes ESTIEM events so unforgettable? Is
Reminiscing on the stories from my first ESTIEM
it the exotic new locations that we get to explore,
event, I realize that I am writing this more to myself
the local life rhythm that we are privileged to
than for any other audience. The stories surely
experience or is it the hidden local gems that our
sound more like random unconnected gibberish
hosts reveal to us? Maybe it’s the knowledge on
that provide almost no real value to the reader, yet
interesting topics that we gain, skills in new fields
these are some of the happiest and most personal
that we obtain or the satisfaction from coming out
memories I have of the network. Thus, I want to
of our comfort zones and overcoming personal
conclude this little private note with a challenge
challenges? Or perhaps it is the new friends that
to You, the person holding this article. Take five
we made along the way, the old friends that we
minutes and relive your favorite ESTIEM event. Go
met once again, or momentary sparks of love we
figure out yourself why it is so special to you and
feel after a stolen kiss?
enjoy the nostalgia!
To share my personal answers to these inquiries
Cheers from Serbia!
Erik Viktor Pymay Local Group Gothenburg
I want to go back to the very first ESTIEM event I experienced abroad. After one and a half years of meeting ESTIEMers online I made it to Belgrade for a Europe3D. Upon landing, my phone broke down and I was lost in the white city without any directions or idea of what to do. After wandering for two hours, I was rescued by the current President of ESTIEM who happened to come for the same event as I did. Later that afternoon we were welcomed by the local group who took us to their favorite cevapcici place. Later that night my host gave me his own phone to use during the following week. We went to LG Novi Sad for a four-day visit and got to watch cinema on top of a mountain, explore dungeons beneath a castle and drink with the locals. After returning to Belgrade, I participated in the most well-organized event I’ve been to, with activities around the clock and a warm organizing team to take care of me after the activities. I didn’t sleep at all during the nights and during the days I walked around like a smiling zombie. The time passed by like an arrow, with
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EXPLORE
TOUR OF THE NORDICS, 2022 Participants Why did you decide to participate in this event? Martin Klasa, LG Gothenburg: As a member of the board in LG Gothenburg, and as a born and raised Swede, I felt the urge to show other Europeans the most beautiful parts of my country. I especially wanted to show my hometown, Stockholm. I also had a great time the last time I visited Finland, therefore I felt like I just had to see the ESTIEMers from Helsinki again!
Joseph Tschoerner, LG Berlin: I actually did not consider applying for the event in the beginning, but after participating in my first ESTIEM event one month earlier, I was immediately hooked on the ESTIEM spirit and applied right away on the train on my way back. Erik, one of the organisers, also took part in that first event and after some discussion, my decision on going was set.
Stephane Charrot, LG Lyon: I decided to participate in this event because my friend Leo and I are finishing our studies soon, and we have never had the chance to participate in an ESTIEM event. Moreover, the agenda looked cool and the idea of meeting other Europeans was intriguing!
Kate Weber, LG Munich: I have not had the opportunity to participate in an ESTIEM event previously. When a friend told me about the Tour of the Nordics and I looked at the information about the event, I was honestly immediately excited. I have always wanted to visit the northern countries but I just haven’t had the motivation to do it yet. I have also never travelled with a group of strangers before but have always wanted to take part in an experience of that sort, also just to challenge myself. So there was no other or better choice than to sign up there!
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE
How did you enjoy travelling and changing countries together with over 20 other ESTIEMers? Arvid Imgård, LG Gothenburg: I absolutely loved it! The beauty of people from so many LGs and cultures coming together is that you feel like you didn’t just travel between Sweden and Finland. You feel like you’ve experienced many more different cultures from talking and bonding with all the participants of the event.
Martin Klasa, LG Gothenburg: I love it! This was my second ESTIEM-event and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one! I got to meet some awesome people from all around Europe and experience fractions of other countries’ cultures(especially during International Night).
Joseph Tschoerner, LG Berlin: At first I want to say that I mostly felt like a homogeneous mass travelling together, which I did not expect at all. The similarities overweigh the differences by far and in this group there was no majority or minority, so these events make me question borders and prejudices. Still, talking about topics like food, studies, patriotism, language or families, all of us having a different relation to it growing up, felt really enriching for my cultural understanding and also my empathetic skills.
Stephane Charrot, LG Lyon: It was a so nice idea to travel, and the transportation parts aren’t annoying at all, that’s why the ferry is my favourite moment of the trip. The organization was very good!
Kate Weber, LG Munich: I was pleasantly surprised and also found it incredibly nice. We were a large group of students from over 12 countries who didn’t know each other at all beforehand. Despite that, from the beginning, we were just a group, just students who are all here for the same reasons and want to have a good time together. In the meantime, we had completely forgotten that we were all from different backgrounds and cultures. At the same time, it was also very exciting to learn more about the situation and life in other countries. I would not have expected that you could be together with so many people (who even speak a different language than you) and feel like a part of a group, taking care of each other and making the best memories together.
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EXPLORE
TOUR OF THE NORDICS, 2022 Organisers
How did you decide to organise the event? Meri Ruuska, LG Helsinki: Our local responsible of 2020 was elected as the mother organization’s board member for the year 2021, and during the elections, she promised that we would organize the Tour of the Nordics in 2021. When I was elected to be our local responsible for 2021 and heard about the event I was immediately on board with organising it. I reached out to Erik in February to see if Gothenburg wanted to collaborate with us on the event again.
Erik Rudberg, LG Gothenburg: It’s been quite a long time coming actually, Meri hit me up sometime after I was chosen to become the new LR of Gothenburg to ask me if I was down to organize this event called Tour of the Nordics! Naturally, I didn’t know what that was at first, but after having a chat with her I realised the potential in this type of event and decided along with the rest of my board that this was something we wanted to do. We’ve been talking continually for the better part of the year 2021 about what times we should do it and how we would organise it when the time was right and when Covid-19 regulations became more manageable. Luckily, during the end of my mandate, that time came to fruition and we decided upon the times that we now actually had the event. There were some complications of course because I was no longer in the local board as of the year 2022, but we overcame these issues and we’ve had an amazing event because of it!
What were your expectations? Erik Rudberg, LG Gothenburg: I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the event. It feels like everything about it has been quite unclear up until the point of actually putting everything together. I still did feel like everything we did was quite novel, even if we had of course planned it before! I did know for sure that this was going to be a really fun event, and I was looking forward to getting to know all of the people at the event as well. I have to say though, even though the event was quite a lot of scrambling for resources, considering how expensive the Nordics are unfortunately, just the fact that we managed to put out an event that was this much fun blew my expectations out of the water completely. I knew it was going to be fun, but I had way more fun than I thought I would. It’s my first event to actually organize internationally as well, so I might have thought that I would not have a lot of fun because of that. That was wrong! I had a lot of fun, even during the parts that I was fixing stuff. I am so so happy about how everything turned out.
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ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE
Read the whole interview here:
What was the biggest challenge? Meri Ruuska, LG Helsinki: Our biggest challenges came before we organised the event. In February, when I reached out, the Covid-19 situation looked bad and we didn’t know when it would be possible to organise this event. We talked back and forth on the dates and finally agreed on them only to realise that our mandates have already ended by then.
Can you share an interesting story? Erik Rudberg, LG Gothenburg: You guys reading this, that aren’t from either Sweden or Finland might not have encountered the term “Sit-sit” yet. It’s quite similar in both Sweden and Finland but there are some key differences. The things that are alike are that it’s, in short, a three-course dinner of varying quality, sometimes it’s a nice entrecote dinner, sometimes it’s a hotdog thrown in your face. There is always a lot of singing during these sit-sits, so it’s basically like a seated party of sorts. Oh well, regarding the differences… We in Gothenburg have something called Gyckel (Gückel) during these sit-sits, which is basically “an act” divided into 3 parts. What does that mean? Well, it could be a song, then a challenge for some of the other sit-sit participants and finishing with a dance. It could also be a theatre piece or a homemade short film. The possibilities are endless… During the Finnish sit-sits, we got the opportunity to show the Finns how we do our gyckels so we put on a dancing show to the song “Das Rote Pferd” as our first act. Then we did an intense drinking challenge for our second part. A challenge for the participants was to build the highest beer can tower possible in 3 minutes, with a couple of twists… And the last one was a couple of verses with mentions of adult content. It was a blast, to say the least!
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EXPLORE
OBRIGADO LISBOA Last semester was the first time since the
the beginning of the semester the parties took
Covid pandemic started that students from the
place outdoors where the streets were completely
Technical University in Eindhoven were allowed
filled with students, like fish in fishing nets.
to go abroad for an exchange semester. Partly due to the experience I have in ESTIEM, I was sure
Apart from meeting other students in the streets
Jari Flinterman
that I would love to spend my semester abroad.
of Bairro Alto there were other ways to get to
Local Group Eindhoven
For me, an exchange semester can be viewed as
know new people. In Lisbon there are two big
an extension of an ESTIEM event and has one
student organisations for Erasmus students,
important similarity: Everyone starts from zero,
these organisations facilitate activities and events,
nobody knows each other. After 20 weeks you
like rooftop parties, surfing activities, and trips
are best friends with people from all over Europe.
to, for instance, the Algarve and Porto. I joined
ESTIEM gave me confidence that going to a new
the organisation on several events to, amongst
place and starting from scratch is something
others, the Algarve, Porto, Sevilla, and Gibraltar.
very enjoyable and nothing to be afraid of. I was
When you visit the Rock of Gibraltar be careful of
selected to go to the IST university in Lisbon. After
the monkeys stealing food out of your bag and be
finding a room and buying a flight ticket I realised
aware that baby monkeys are not trained to go to
that my exchange semester was finally getting
a regular toilet. After visiting the Algarve I realised
started. The fun started way before I arrived, since
that Portugal has an astonishing coast line and a
I looked up every single Google page about both
beautiful nature. This feeling was fully confirmed
Lisbon, Portugal, and the surrounding countries.
when I visited Madeira and the Azores. These two
My bucket list became so extensive that this list
islands are really beautiful and recommendable to
would not fit in my suitcase. In other words, I
visit - you will hardly see such green islands with
realised that staying only one semester is short
such a beautiful nature. Closer to Lisbon there are
and time will fly by.
some beautiful places as well, like Cascais, Belem, and Sintra where a beautiful palace is located,
Halfway September it was finally the moment for
looking like one from a fairytale. Setubal is also a
me to go for a one-way trip to Lisbon. Packed with
very nice city next to a bay where you can go on a
two suitcases and two pieces of hand luggage
tour to see dolphins. Last but not least, if you want
I was fully prepared to go for a whole new
to see the biggest waves in the world, visit Nazaré.
experience, out of the comfort zone in Eindhoven.
The waves can be crazy high, as you have probably
After being settled in my apartment it was time to
never seen before! With these experiences a part
plan activities and to act like a tourist. Lisbon is a
of my giant bucket list was fulfilled.
real student city with a lot of universities. All these
58
universities are inviting international students, like
There were still a lot of things left on the bucket
me, to go for an exchange in Lisbon. As a result,
list, like exploring the Portuguese cuisine and
many exchange students are present in the city.
tasting port wine in Porto. Eating pastel de nata
One of the first places I got to know is the area
and snacks with codfish are dishes which I got
where the bars are. The hotspot where drinks
addicted to. Steaks are served with an egg on it,
are served for students is Bairro Alto, a compact
which is (apparently) typically Portuguese. Next
district in the centre of Lisbon. This is heaven for
to hanging around with other exchange students
every exchange student since it is common to go
and travelling, the exchange semester was a great
out multiple days a week. In Bairro Alto there is
opportunity to get to know Portuguese culture.
even a bar called `Erasmus corner’ which was a
Portuguese students have somewhat different
guarantee to get the party started. Especially in
habits than what I am used to, some of which
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE
came as a surprise. Students often eat fries with
Celsius), which was way better than the weather
a small steak between two pieces of bread. Also,
in the Netherlands (rainy and about 5 degrees
if a lecture starts at 10 AM, then the students
Celsius). Also, Portugal was in control with regard
will arrive at least ten minutes afterwards. Some
to the Covid pandemic. As a result, bars, clubs,
students are dressed like actors from Harry
everything remained open which was a blessing.
Potter. At last, a lot of Portuguese students start late with their assignments, causing issues close
To conclude, going on an exchange semester
to the deadline. Subsequently, the teacher often
is an amazing experience and if you get the
postponed the deadline, which was good for the
opportunity to do it, go for it! For me the most
exchange students as well.
important takeaway is that working/living abroad is something that is very exciting and enriching.
Thinking about Portuguese culture, something
Moreover, going out of my ‘bubble’ or ‘safe zone’
that comes to my mind is that Portuguese people
can lead to meeting new and interesting people.
are extremely patient. I rarely saw Portuguese
Also, collaborating with people from a different
being in a rush. Moreover, they are really polite,
culture teaches you much about understanding
speak English well, and are willing to help. Going
other people who have different points of view
to a restaurant where ‘fado’ is performed is a truly
from your own. I believe that any city is great for
nice experience. The thing that I missed the most
an exchange semester since there will always
was being in the exchange vibe with friends from
be fellow students from other universities in
all over Europe. Everyone had a lot of free time
the world. However, if you also like to do a lot of
and were outgoing. An often used reasoning was
surfing, hiking, partying, and chilling on beautiful
that sleeping was for the weak and can be done
viewpoints and rooftop terraces then I would
once the exchange semester is over. The thing that
definitely recommend you to go to Lisbon.
my Dutch friends were most jealous of is the great weather in Portugal (sunny and about 18 degrees
Obrigado Lisbon for the amazing experience!
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
59
EXPLORE
HOW TO TRAVEL FOR 18 DAYS WITH ONLY A 26L BACKPACK?
Alexandre Coquillaud Local Group Lyon
A few months ago, while offline events were
I had a lot of questions at that moment. Where was
starting to take place again, I decided to apply
I supposed to sleep for 2 days in Sofia before the
for my first offline event. At that time, I was not
beginning of the event? Where would we sleep in
experienced at all with travelling by plane and I did
Belgrade for 3 days? How can I survive for so long
not know what an ESTIEM event would look like. I
without a suitcase? And, last but not least, how
wanted to attend 2 events, the first one in Sofia,
was I supposed to bring a bottle for International
and the second one in Novi Sad. Since there were
Night if I wasn’t allowed to take more than 100mL
just 3 days between the 2 events, it did not really
in the plane? That was actually my biggest concern
make sense to go back to France in the middle, so
at that moment. Indeed, I realised very fast that
I decided to attend one after the other.
the ESTIEM Spirit was even more awesome than everything I expected. Hosting me for 2 nights was
The plan was to go from Lyon to Sofia first, by
not a problem at all for Local Group Sofia, it was
plane, alone. Then,I was supposed to go from
even almost part of the organisation. My friend
Sofia to Belgrade with a Swedish friend that was
from Novi Sad already asked one of her friends
also attending the event in Bulgaria, to spend
to host us in Belgrade (and she had a washing
some days there with a friend of ours from Novi
machine that literally saved my entire trip). Even
Sad. After that, my friend from Novi Sad and I
better, many people from Local Group Belgrade
planned to go from Belgrade to Novi Sad to attend
spent those 3 days with us, even though it was not
the second event, which other people from Local
an event at all.
Group Lyon were also attending. In the end, we were supposed to come back to France all together
So basically, the plan was to be hosted by 2 people
by plane. You need to know that I had only met
I had never met before, in 2 cities and 2 countries
these 2 friends online, since I joined ESTIEM during
I’ve never been before. Surprisingly, I wasn’t
the pandemic, so it was already an experience
worried at all: I knew these people were ESTIEMers
itself just to meet them for real for the first time.
and so that everything would be fine. Of course, I did not tell my mother…
While booking my tickets, I realised that I needed to save money as much as possible. Therefore, I
My last single problem was: what to put in my 26L
planned several things. Firstly, it was cheaper to
backpack, the only one I had that was more or less
arrive in Sofia 2 days earlier. Secondly, I realised
fitting the plane requirements?
I needed to pay to be allowed to bring more than a carry-on bag in the plane, and I refused. I was
Naturally, some clothes. But I needed to be
probably naive at that time, but I expected large
strategic. First of all, there is no limit regarding
cabin bags to be free. Thirdly, it was cheaper to
what you are wearing during the flight : I decided
take the planes from Geneva instead of Lyon, and
to wear pants, a t-shirt and a hoodie. It was the
to pay for a bus from Lyon to Geneva. In particular,
end of the summer but still warm, so I actually
for the round trip, the cheapest flight was landing
wore the hoodie just to pass the control. In my bag
in Geneva late in the evening, at a time where
I firstly put the very basics: some tee-shirts and
there was no option to go back to Lyon. So we
underwear. Did I need extra pants? Extra hoodie?
decided, with 2 fellow French ESTIEMers, to spend
Had I enough space to bring formal clothes for the
the entire night in Geneva, while waiting for the
Gala Dinner? And what about International Night?
early morning.
Should I bring some cheese or hope to find some in Bulgaria?
60
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
EXPLORE In the end, I survived with one extra pair of pants,
Even if it wasn’t always easy, this experience was
one polo shirt for the Gala Dinner, no extra hoodie,
really awesome and enriching. All the people I met
no food and no bottle. I luckily found everything I
during those 18 days were very dedicated and
needed for International Night in Bulgaria. I also
incredibly hospitable. Travelling with ESTIEM is a
had no beach towel even though it was needed:
unique experience and that’s mostly because of
I instead asked my host if he could lend me one.
its amazing people. That’s why you should never
Little trick: I put everything that was not clothes in a
forget:
little plastic bag so it was easy to find everything in
ESTIEM Spirit is the force that has been uniting us
the middle of the backpack, and faster for security
for 30 years. It is something that all ESTIEMers share
checks in the airport.
in their heart, it is the force that brings us together again and again. Make sure to spread it as much as
Fun fact: the towel was the official towel of Technical
you can: it’s every ESTIEMer’s responsibility to ensure
University Sofia and my host decided to give it to me
it will never disappear.
in the end. I still keep it as a souvenir and a symbol of what ESTIEM Spirit means to me.
May the spirit be with you!
Here is the full and exhaustive list of what I had in my bag: •
1 extra pants
•
6 T-shirts
•
1 toothbrush + 1
•
1 USB Type C Charger
toothpaste tube
•
1 paper sleeve with
•
2 polo shirts
•
1 electric razor
important papers
•
1 swimming shorts
•
1 wax pot
(printed boarding
•
1 shorts
•
1 deodorant tube
passes, printed covid
•
Underwear for 9 days
•
1 fingernail scissors
certificate) + some LG
•
1 sunhat
•
1 comb
•
1 sunglasses
•
Some facemasks
•
1 France flag
•
1 pack of tissues
•
1 LG flag
•
1 15” laptop
•
1 LG bandana
•
1 Laptop Charger
stickers •
1 expired passport (just in case)
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
61
EXPLORE
NOWHERE INTERNATIONAL? My Erasmus semester brought me to Skövde.
Last but not least I need to mention the beautiful
Skö… what, you ask? Skövde is a small city in
scenery of Sweden, where lakes and primordial
southern Sweden, right between Stockholm
forests are shaped by Nordic wind and weather,
and Gothenburg. Though located next to a busy
interrupted by lovely cities like Stockholm. The
railway line, upon arrival I felt a little like I was
landscape suggests biking or hiking, and I have
Fabian Czilwa
thrown into the middle of nowhere. Despite the
learned that you should adapt your activities to
Local Group Darmstadt
fact that I grew up in a small town, I needed to
the country you visit. Go for what is possible there
adapt to the quietness I faced here. For a reason,
and not for what you would do at home. Discover
Swedish society is so well described with the words
the new! Eventually, I felt at home so far in the
“lugn och ro” (like tranquillity and calmness). Less
north, even at a place which felt like nowhere to
calm on the contrary was my student dorm, which
me at first.
was packed with exchange students from all over the world, with kitchens as messy as the nights were vivid. Here I spend most of my time with other exchange students, having the best parties. Nevertheless, I also began to meet more Swedish people. I joined Skö… Sex, which is an association that runs the local student pub. Foremost, I came to Sweden to live with Swedish people and experience Swedish culture, as I have been considering moving to Sweden after my graduation. Joining a local association was perfect for that. In my opinion, all the small parts of which a culture is composed are only perceivable when head jumping into that culture. Therefore, I would recommend you to use an exchange semester to experience a country in which you are considering living, as not every culture might fit you. Mingle with the locals as much as possible, they are often as curious about your background as you might be about theirs. The change of university culture I also enjoyed strongly.
While
impersonal
and
in
Darmstadt
delivered
everything
through
is
crowded
lectures, in Skövde a personal approach with individual assistance and small groups during lectures is preferred. Instead of having only one final exam, I needed to submit assignments throughout the whole semester which helped me to comprehend the topics thoroughly.
62
ESTIEM Magazine | 62nd issue - The Puzzle of Business Intelligence
HOW TO WRITE FOR ESTIEM MAGAZINE
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