Journey into the products: IoT-TICKET & Summium through Talent’s eyes

“I ended up in IT thanks to my father’s encouragement. Originally, I was planning to go into medicine in high school, since it seemed like the popular choice, but I’ve always been fascinated by technology and various devices from a young age. I wasn’t fully aware of the career options available to me until my father suggested computer science as a field. My first real exposure to IT came during my youth, setting up game servers with friends, and before university, I even got a small head start by exploring some of the courses I would later take. However, most of my introduction to the field happened during my university studies.

I landed my first internship through the Wapice Talents program. I hoped to learn as much as possible about real-world projects, workflows, and development environments. The workplace surprised me with the level of freedom and responsibility I was given; I’ve been able to work very independently, but help has always been available when needed. I have been working with the IoT-TICKET product ever since I joined the company.

During the Talents program, I learned to understand how a large software development project works as a whole and what kind of architecture a major software product can have. These skills have improved my ability to design various implementations. One of the most important things for me has been developing self-confidence — at first, I hesitated even to make small code fixes or share my opinions, but over time this has become easier. Additionally, getting to know other people and their areas of expertise has been invaluable, as it helps me know who to turn to for help when needed.”

“In the future, I want to specialize in a more focused area of my career and develop my expertise there. Now that my studies are complete, I believe I’ll have more time to do so. In my free time, I’ve recently gotten back into racket sports after a long break, play video games, and occasionally just relax — if that counts as a hobby.

For trainees and those dreaming of a career in IT, I recommend finding an area that genuinely interests you, perhaps inspired by a problem you encounter in everyday life or by developing your own software or hardware project that adds value to your life. Achievements like these are highly motivating, and it’s important not to get too caught up in trending technologies at the start or force yourself into them.”

“I started my studies in computer science at the University of Turku in the fall of 2020, and I am currently completing my master’s degree in software engineering. At the end of high school, I decided to pursue a degree in engineering, but why I chose computer science wasn’t immediately obvious. I had heard a lot of positive things from students and acquaintances about the field, its studies, and future prospects, and I thought that by choosing computer science, I couldn’t go too wrong. I enjoy logical reasoning and problem-solving, which are essential in programming, and at this point, I feel I made the right decision.

My first real contact with IT came at university, as I had never written code or engaged with the field before. At first, this felt intimidating, but I soon realized that prior experience isn’t necessary — motivation and the willingness to learn matter far more than your starting point.

I began my Talents internship in January 2023, as I was finishing my bachelor’s studies. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, as this was my first real job in software development. The biggest challenge initially was the uncertainty of finding my place and understanding the bigger picture. Gradually, everything started to fall into place. The internship met my expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was able to contribute to active product development. I worked on the user interface components of the Summium Selector web application and had the opportunity to program new features. It was rewarding to see my code quickly move into production and to experience the tangible impact of my work on the customer interface. This strengthened my confidence in my skills.

One of the most important lessons from the Talents program was increased self-confidence and improved programming skills, especially with web technologies. I also learned what it’s like to work in a development team at an IT company: the workflows, collaborating with other developers, and managing a large codebase.”

“My responsibilities have steadily increased. At first, I focused on user interface development, but now I also work on full-stack development, building new features, and contributing to multiple Summium products. For the past year, I have been the lead developer on the new web application version of Summium’s Smart Modeling Tool. In addition, I am working on my master’s thesis on leveraging AI in Summium’s information retrieval features, which has expanded my work to developing AI-driven solutions.

My advice to trainees and those interested in the field is that success in IT does not require programming experience from childhood. The best way to learn is by doing. Find a personal interest or hobby and combine it with software development or another area of IT — a project created for your own needs is both motivating and educational. For example, I built a web application for logging fishing catches, which was both fun and instructive.

In my free time, I stay active in various ways: I go to the gym, run, play padel, fish at the cottage, and in the summer, play golf. I’m also passionate about acrobatics and spend time on my own programming projects. I haven’t fully decided on the direction of my career yet, but I hope to continue working on concrete software development and problem-solving at the code level. Developing AI tools has sparked great interest in me, and I believe this could be one area I want to explore further.”

“I have been interested in the IT field since I was young, even though after high school I was guided more towards humanities studies. However, already during my school years I got my first experience in creating websites, which left a spark burning. I actually ended up in IT somewhat by chance, when I started working at a small digital and advertising agency. There I did a variety of tasks, such as copywriting, websites, and graphic design. I watched my colleague code, and at the same time got excited about coding myself. My colleague showed me how to make changes using the browser’s DevTools, and soon after that I got to try it myself and made my first style changes to real code.

Inspired by this, I applied to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology, which I completed alongside working. During my studies, I became especially interested in UI and UX design, and I am currently finalizing my Master’s degree specializing in Human-Technology Interaction. Before joining Wapice, I also worked on e-commerce projects at another IT company.

From Wapice’s Talents program, I primarily expected hands-on experience in UI and UX design as well as the opportunity to see how the work differs from studies. During the Talents program, I have been working with another UI/UX Designer Trainee on the IoT-TICKET product, and in the beginning the biggest challenge was to get a grasp of the product itself, as it is extremely versatile. We have been designing IoT-TICKET to be more user-friendly through design thinking and have built a prototype that we have tested with users and iterated based on their feedback.”

The Talents program is soon coming to an end, and after that my goal is to finish my thesis quickly so that I can fully focus on work. I want to develop myself as a UI and UX designer and strengthen my expertise in accessibility. I am also interested in the impact of generative AI on the field and want to keep up with the developments.

In my free time, I enjoy metal detecting, though the biggest treasures are still hiding for now. Maybe one day I’ll find my first gold ring! I also go to the gym, spend time outdoors, and enjoy being with my family and friends. Occasionally, I have also played badminton with my colleagues at Wapice.”