Technical skills and design interest led to Spotify
Classmates from all over the world and a chance to combine technical expertise with a large design interest inspired Juntima Nawilaijaroen to study the Master's programme in Interaction Design and Technologies at Chalmers. Even before the programme is complete, she has already worked at Spotify and decided to stay in Sweden with the ambition to start her own business in the future.
23-year-old Juntima Nawilaijaroen is originally from Thailand and has studied information technology and telecommunications. When choosing between different universities that offered a master's degree in interaction design, she picked Sweden and Gothenburg for several reasons.
- Students from all over the world study at Chalmers, and it gives me a unique knowledge when different cultures and beliefs are brought together in group work and projects. Sweden also has good stats when it comes to opportunities to start up a business, and I also want to learn a third language, she says.
Encouraged by Chalmers teachers
Juntima has one semester left of the programme and right now deciding subject for her master thesis. She describes that her design mind blossomed while in Chalmers, not least thanks to the encouragement from various teachers prompting students to think freely and creatively in their studies.
New ideas combined with a strong personal drive helped Juntima to get an internship at the Spotify office in Gothenburg in the summer of 2014.
- I didn’t have the right background as a programmer, but I applied anyway and got a chance to show my skills during an interview, she says.
Her job at Spotify was to develop an iPhone application and she got to work closely with the manager which she describes as a fantastic opportunity. And she is clear about what it takes to get a job or internship at a company like Spotify.
- Be brave, step out of your comfort zone and apply for a job even if you do not have exactly the right qualifications. Do not sit and wait for a vacancy, but let the company know you´re out there.
Participate in Spotify hackaton
The work at the global streaming giant increased her appetite for challenges and now she's on her way to the Spotify headquarters in Stockholm as one out of 40 students selected to attend a hackaton with the slogan think it, build it, ship it, show it. Besides the information that half of the attendants are men and half are women from different backgrounds, she does not know exactly what the participants will do during the weekend; the rest is a kept a secret.
However, what she wants to focus on in the future is clear. Juntima is interested in working with what is called user experience and the development of digital tools in software for people with various disabilities, such as hearing or visually impaired. She could well imagine continuing to work at Spotify, or perhaps Ericsson, considering her telecom background and to gain experience to bring into future.
- I like Gothenburg. People are nice and workplaces and universities have more of a flat structure and are characterized more by conversation and discussion compare to Thailand, which is more hierarchical. And I learn more and more Swedish all the time, both on my course and when I shop at the supermarket. I definitely want to stay, she says.
FACT:
Name: Juntima Nawilaijaroen
Age: 23 years old, student at the Master´s Programme Interaction Design and Technologies at Chalmers University of Technology.