Ravi Jay creates innovative environments
He came to Sweden to study 18 years ago. Since then, his career has taken him to various places, most recently to a pharmaceutical company in Paris.
“I started studying at the University of Gothenburg 18 years ago. I had a background in electronics and noticed that many of my peers with a different background had an advantage over me. To balance the scales, I pursued a master’s degree in computer science, with a particular focus on natural language processing, or artificial intelligence.
Gothenburg was a turning point. The NLP focus gave me a strong technical foundation, but more importantly, it taught me how to think critically and work collaboratively – skills that have stayed with me throughout my career.
I chose the University of Gothenburg after travelling in Asia and realising that there was so much to learn from other countries and cultures. I chose a university that I knew would put me at the leading edge of change. Where I would be uncomfortable, but where I would learn a lot.
After my studies at the University of Gothenburg, I have had several different roles at companies across the world. Over the last decade, I have guided several organisations through the adoption of an agile mindset. Digital transformation isn’t just about technology. It’s about people, mindset and creating environments where innovation can thrive.
For the last couple of months, I’ve been working as an agile transformation director at a pharmaceutical company in Paris. After living in the UK for a long time, this is something new for me. A new job, a new culture and a new language. Something that my time at the University of Gothenburg prepared me for – to have that resilience to overcome all these barriers that you could view as challenges, or as opportunities depending on what kind of lens you see the world through.
My advice to current students would be to stay curious and open-minded. The world doesn’t only need coders and technical folks but also system thinkers; people who can connect ideas across disciplines.”
Berättat för: Camilla Persson
Education: Master’s degree in computer science (NLP), University of Gothenburg.
Current role: Vice President, Global Head of Agile Center of Excellence at Sanofi.
Lives in: London, United Kingdom/Paris, France.