BTS students accentuating innovation at Accenture

Román González, from Mexico, is currently studying the Master in Big Data Solutions at Barcelona Technology School. He has a degree in Biotechnology Engineering and his hobbies include coding, writing, gardening, as well as validating different theories.

As part of the Data-driven business subject, Roman and his classmates had the chance to visit the Analytics Hub of Accenture. They learned about current projects that the hub is running and also the students could present their innovation projects to the team. Here is Roman’s testimony:

Hello everyone! I’m here to relate our field trip to Accenture from our amazing BTS big data master class on the 13th of December of 2017, a delight from beginning to end, but without further delay, I will commence my story.

It all started on a cold December morning, the chilly streets of Barcelona still glistening from the early sea mist. I made my way through the streets in a bit of a rush to try to make up for lost time, since I overslept, and to try to get to the metro station in time. After riding a few stops, changing a couple of lines and way too many stairs, I finally made my way to Tibidabo’s metro station.

The scene was incredible, the mountain so close, the smell of the forest and still the busy streets thoroughly packed. The buildings of modern architecture stood out. A completely different landscape and feeling from Poblenou, where I live, just a 30-minute metro ride away to find such a different scene seemed surreal. And standing in the center point of this scene stood my destination, La Rotonda, home to Accenture’s Innovation Center.

After finally encountering my friends and teacher, with some help from texting, we made our way to the inside of the building and after some time at security, which was not their fault, considering we are 10 people from 9 different nationalities with different passports written in different languages, we made our way to Accenture’s offices. There we were, greeted with a hearty breakfast, as well as an introduction to what is Accenture. One of the world’s biggest digital consulting firms, with presence all over the world and with more employees than Malta’s population. There, in La Rotonda, stood the only office centered in technology and logistics, developing new innovative technologies and solutions for companies all over the world.

After the presentation, they showed us a couple of their amazing creations. First, a bot that after checking your credentials can send you any information you request and, of course, you are authorized to see through a simple text message to your phone. Great to share updated files and to refresh information on spare time before important meetings and when you are traveling around the globe. The second wonder was a pair of augmented reality glasses. Through them, you can see things in three dimensions and access things as if you were accessing a computer with simple hand gestures and voice input. Both of their gadgets were life-changing technologies that will change the way we live our everyday lives and will definitely add an edge for the companies that are intended to work.

Afterwards, we went to their logistics team to see a real case where they had helped a furniture company on all of their logistics and planning. By the correct implementation of machine learning algorithms and the clean data provided by their costumer, they were able to save an incredible amount of money to the company. By predicting sales and behaviors, they optimized their stocks, both in-store and warehouse, keeping thanks to this their customers happy. Of course, part of the challenge is modifying the corporate life to keep producing the needed data and formats, as well as training people on the know-how of the system as well as the correct usage of this data.

After all this grandeur, we presented our humble projects done through our Innovation & Creative Technology class. They patiently and intently heard our projects and presented us their feedback more valuable than gold. After talking about the working environment and the possible internships we finally left Accenture’s offices wanting to be part of them, finally returning to our daily lives.

Overall, our visit was a great experience and Accenture is a great place to work. I would recommend everyone to take a look at this amazing company which will is definitely compromised creating a better future!