Can you tell us a bit about your rotations so far?

I did my first rotation in Business Intelligence, where I was in charge of building a new cloud platform. Now I am doing my second rotation, and I am working in Retail Intelligence, in the Data intelligence team. I am responsible for running a machine learning project, but I am also doing some data science and cloud engineering projects. The projects I have done so far are very interesting and challenging at the same time. The rotation I am in now is quite hard, as I get tasks to investigate new things I have never done before. All in all, though, I think it’s very fun.

What brought you to Denmark and to Demant?

I wanted to do a study abroad in Europe, so I started looking for programs in the Netherlands and Denmark, since they rank well for Engineering. I was particularly interested in the one at DTU, since it’s very flexible and you can choose among a lot of courses and do a lot of different projects.

Regarding Demant, I applied even though I didn’t think I could get the position, given that the programme is very competitive. At the end, I went through the screening, first round, second round, and then finally I got an offer. I really enjoyed the whole recruitment process, as in a few days I knew the result. My positive experience during the recruitment process made me think that Demant must be a nice company to work in, so that’s why I accepted the position.

Can you tell us about a project you particularly enjoyed?

At the beginning of my second rotation, my mentor told me about a project that consisted in finding a connection between two systems and create a bridge through a data science solution. The project was quite hard since the conversion rate was very low. The team had been stuck on for a few months, so my mentor asked me if I wanted to give it a try. If no solution was found, then the team would discontinue the project. I decided to accept the challenge and tried to solve the issue for a few weeks. In the end, it ended up working quite well and I was able to find a solution. It was a cool project, and at the end I even got to present to the whole Retail IT team.

How would you describe your experience on the programme, after one year?

I have had a very nice experience so far. With the programme you get an opportunity to meet managers and top leaders from whom you get a lot of inspiration. You also get a lot of flexibility and support when it comes to choosing your rotation. For example, when choosing a new rotation, my host manager first asks me what my interests are. Then he suggests some people that I could contact to hear if there is a possibility to do a rotation in their team. In general, people in the company are very nice and they care a lot about the graduates They give us complicated tasks and trust us a lot. My overall experience is very good, but I must admit there are some challenges. There are different work cultures in different teams, so you need to be able to adapt. Some teams are more operational and task-oriented, some others are more oriented to brainstorming. I would strongly recommend the programme if are adaptable, if you like different tasks and challenges, and networking.

What do you think are the pro’s and con’s of being a graduate?

The pro’s are for sure the possibility to try many different things, and meet a lot of people. I didn’t really know what to do after graduating, so I think the programme really helps you in understanding what you like and don’t like. Another positive aspect is the good connection you form with the other graduates and the possibility to network with people working in different functions and departments. Also, you get a lot of support and prioritization compared to employee in entry-level positions, as you get to talk to top leaders, visit production sites and our offices in Poland.

One of the con’s is that since you try so many things in two years, at the end of the programme you are not specialized in anything. At the same time, you can construct your rotations so that they create a consistent learning process. For me, it made sense to first join the Business Intelligence team, and then the Data Intelligence team, so I think I will have a good learning process. Also, we have a lot of social activities in the programme, so if you don’t like social activities so much, then the programme may not be the best fit for you.

What’s next for you?

I am considering doing a short-term rotation in Warsaw, where the Cloud Excellence team is located. The Director of the team, however, sits in the headquarters in Denmark, so I could spend three months in Poland, and the remaining five in Denmark. It would be very interesting for me to join the Cloud Excellence team. Until now, my experience has revolved around various cloud platforms in the realm of Business Intelligence and Data Intelligence. In this capacity, we've utilized diverse functionalities offered by these platforms. However, there's an exciting dimension to explore—cloud intelligence. The realm of cloud intelligence takes a more comprehensive approach. It centers on different aspects such as configuration, architecture, security, and resource management within the platforms. So, it would be cool to see how things work on the other side.

Do you have any tips for the graduates who are starting the programme in September?

I think they should focus on what they are really interested in, as that will be important for what rotations they choose. For instance, if you are interested in management, then maybe you should do rotations in project-management positions, whereas if you are interested in tech, then you should be ready to use and learn new software. Also, they shouldn’t stress out at the beginning, and take it slow. There is plenty of time to figure out things, so they should just focus on what they are interested in.

Chao Yu

IT Business Analytics Graduate

coyu@demant.com