Sharing experiences in BTS Transformation Series
The BTS Transformation Series is a space in which digital leaders and experts of the industry share their career experiences and wide knowledge about the digital transformation in several sectors with the Barcelona Technology School Master’s students. An opportunity for them to get immersed in what is happening in the industry and what is yet to come.
In our first Transformation Series edition, we reunited professionals such as: Sudha Jamthe, a technology futurist, with experience as Mobile Business Leader in E-bay and now, CEO of IoT Disruptions. Christian Mastrodonato, Innovation enthusiast and Chief Technologist at Konica Minolta. Charles Ikem, expert in the User Experience Service Designer, with experience as researcher on customer journey at Amazon. Susanna Maier, BTS former student and Digital Transformation Consultant at Accenture.
Sudha Jamthe, wanted to give the students an idea about what is really happening in the real world and the endless possibilities that exist with technology, she also points out the importance of mixing business and a technology background, as with it the students will have the strength of both aspects and will be able to ask the right questions, they will know to deal with it in a professional environment.
She gave an introduction about three technologies and where these are being applied: IoT, Machine intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles (AV). She wanted to bring this to the table to explain how these are creating disruptions and how digital transformation is changing the business as all the industries are being impacted for it now.
Charles Ikem, emphasized the importance of the design of the service when developing digital solutions. Get to understand deeply the User Persona as well their pain points is fundamental when designing digital services. He commented also that any digital project should be driven by a bigger cause, it is important not to forget the real use that this should have to the society, it should be supported by the idea of helping the collective.
Susanna Maier, as a former student, explained how was the experience of jumping from a business-oriented career to the technology field, doing the Master in Digital Solutions Development. She commented to the students that at first It was not easy, in fact she struggled with programming and technical subjects, however as the time came by she realized that understanding the basic of those aspects would help her to focus on what really interests her the most. She recommended the students to be patient, to lean on their professors and classmates and keep learning and practicing outside of class.
Besides, she explained that the effort made throughout the Master is worth it, as it permits to connect points between technology and business. This new vision has helped her to understand more in deep how the digital business world works. Now, being a Digital Transformation Consultant at Accenture, she has been able to realize the real value of those skills acquired, she is able now to see the big picture and work with professionals of different departments understanding what they do and what to expect from them in a project.
She commented that concepts such as Agile and User Experience, for example, are daily used in her position and highlighted the importance of the subjects that the Master covers for its future application in the real life.
Mentorship as part of the Transformation:
Besides speaking about interesting topics such as digital transformation from machine intelligence, innovation in digital enterprises, the importance of the design of the User Experience, among other aspects, these professionals came to BTS to guide the students, as Mentors, throughout their academic stay in BTS and to help them to develop their future digital impact.
Sereen Masri, BTS student, tell us more: “as part of the Master, we had a Transformation Series event, with students from both the Master in Digital Solutions Development as well as the Master in Big Data Solutions.
We had some guest speakers who came to talk to us about their industry, their careers and how they have transformed through digital solutions. We heard from different digital leaders, one who was a previous BTS student, Susanna, where she shared her experiences with the Master in Digital Solutions Development and where she is now in her career. We had Charles, who spoke with us about his professional experience as a subject matter expert in the Service Design Industry and Sudha who is an IoT disruptions expert specializing in many roles across the digital industry. Also, Christian Mastrodonato who came to explain how digital transformation is affecting the way industries are working.”
Sereen also highlights that “one of the point of this series was to present these experienced people as possible mentors for the students at BTS. One of the greatest things I experienced when working for a large corporation was the resources they offered as mentors for every level employee. Everything I learned in the past two years was from the amazing mentors I had, my colleagues, peers and all of my managers. I was able to see their past experiences as a means to help take my position to the next level. This transformation series has offered BTS students the best resource there is: mentorship. Each connection that is made with all the teachers, mentors, previous students and peers only helps each of us learn and grow more from each another and understand different experiences across different industries, from all over the world!”
