Kona is proud to partner with women++ and their 6-week hands-on software development programme for social good “deploy(impact)“. This programme brings together software developers, communicators, data scientists, project managers, creative minds and business experts from all different backgrounds to create real social impact through tech.
This year, 20 incredibly talented and hard working tech enthusiasts are working for 6 weeks in 3 teams to bring to life the very idea that led us to found Kona Connect: the alternative legal aid app connecting people in vulnerable situations to organisations who can help them. Read more about the app “Dots.” here.
You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.“ — Simon Sinek
„You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.“ — Simon Sinek
Source: https://quotepark.com/quotes/2074492-simon-sinek-you-dont-hire-for-skills-you-hire-for-attitude/
Some of the participants may be relatively new to the tech industry. Their dedication and passion for the field however is unparalleled. The innovative solutions they are coming up with and designing are better than anything we at Kona could have dreamt of. And you, dear reader, are lucky. Some are actually looking to maybe join your company and team! Don’t waste this opportunity to invest in this incredible pool of talent and potential.
Why? Because bringing together people from all different backgrounds united by their shared passion for tech is the key to unlocking not only theirs, but your company’s / organisation’s potential and success.
Introducing
the deploy(impact) participants
Kona Team A
BEATRICE NEACȘU
UX DESIGNER & COMMUNICATIONS EXPERT
Beatrice Neacsu is a UX designer based in The Hague, Netherlands, but originally from Bucharest, Romania. She has a background in communication and customer support for SaaS and in the past 2 years went through an exciting and super-intensive reskilling process to UX design. Beatrice is currently working for Emakina, a digital agency with headquarters in Brussels. At Kona Connect, Beatrice works on designing and building the app Dots together with her team, Kona A.
YULIA MIKHAYLOVA
SOFTWARE ENGINEER & FINANCE EXPERT
Yulia Mikhaylova is a junior Software Engineer with a background in Finance. She has finished Full Stack Development Intensive Bootcamp of Le Wagon and discovered her passion in IT. She is innovative, creative and loves designing, building and managing projects from the ground up. She enjoys collaborating with a team but is also very capable on her own. Being reliable and results driven, in her previous working experience she was meeting deadlines, budgets and detailed projects requirements. Currently she is looking for an internship to apply her technical skills and broaden her expertise in Software Development.
ALEXANDRA BÖDTKER
FULL STACK DEVELOPER & SALES MANGER
Alexandra Bödtker is a full stack developer with a background in sales, training and strategy. After having led large teams ranging from 36 to 70 people, she pivoted into tech and learned how to code. Her favourite part about becoming a full stack developer is finding creative and pragmatic solutions to complex problems. She loves the logic in coding and the endless possibilities. Currently, she is working on the Kona A team, focused on building a user friendly and efficient “Dots.” app.
KAT KAVALIOVA
SOFTWARE ENGINEER & HISTORIAN
Kat Kavaliova, with a background in art history and museum studies, works as a software engineer to help bring online art experiences to life. Committed to merging both her creative flairs with proficiency in technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, MongoDB, and React to bring innovative solutions for developing sleek and modern software.
SUJIN PARK
DATA SCIENTIST & STATISTICIAN
Sujin Park is a data scientist based in Frankfurt with a background in statistics. Currently she is working at Staworx, a consulting company for data science, machine learning & AI based in Frankfurt and Zürich. Hands-on implementation of good ideas is what excites Sujin. She loves brainstorming and problem solving, especially making all kinds of processes effective and efficient by focussing on the essentials.
VIKTORIA MAYER
IT PROJECT MANAGER & ECONOMIST
After graduating as an economist, Viktoria Mayer became involved in regional development projects – particularly in the field of urban development and public education. She later drifted into IT, obtaining SM and PMI certifications. As an IT project manager, she is currently involved in mainly SaaS development projects using a hybrid PM methodology. In recent years, she has also gained experience in product development, first as a PO, then in UX strategy and research. She believes in the power of teamwork, and that effective communication is the basic element of success. As a project manager and also as team-coach, she is working to support and facilitate this, also in the Kona A team.
Kona Team B
GILDA FERNANDEZ CONCHA
DATA SCIENTIST & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER
Gilda is a Peruvian-Swiss industrial engineer currently based in Zurich. She has previous professional experience in Corporate Finance and Sustainability and has obtained the Level 1 CFA. In the last year, Gilda obtained the Data Science Certificate from Propulsion Academy where she developed a project that quantifies social progress. This experience further enhanced her desire to contribute to the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through technology. The passion she has since a young age to contribute to society and her previous experience made Gilda join the Kona B team as a Project Manager.
LORNA MUDDIMAN
HUMAN RIGHTS UX DESIGNER
Lorna Muddiman is a human rights policy expert and has worked in international human rights organisations including the Council of Europe and the United Nations. Over the past year, she qualified in UX design and digital accessibility to pursue her interest in the intersection of human rights and digital technologies. She is passionate about using technology for good and has joined the Kona B project team as a UX designer.
FRONT END DEVELOPER & FINANCE EXPERT
Emilie Humbert worked for many years in finance and administration and has been part of various research teams in different parts of the world. She got her first taste of coding while managing websites in her previous positions. Emilie has now retrained as a frontend developer and has joined the Kona B team. Emilie has recently moved to Zürich and is looking for a job opportunity.
BLANCA CABRERA GIL
DATA SCIENTIST & MEDICAL ENGINEER
Blanca Cabrera Gil is a data scientist with a medical engineering background currently working at the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. She is passionate about using technology to bring and improve well-being. Committed to her goal, she has joined the Kona B team as a project manager.
Heba Hussein is a junior Software Engineer based in Egypt, currently working at Magalix. She has a background in Data Science, Physics and History. She is passionate about applying her Computer Science skills to different fields for good cause. Heba is looking forward to doing a MSc in Physics, in Switzerland, while pursuing her career in tech.
Kona Team C
NATAYRA SANTOS
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER & CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERT
Natayra Santos is a software developer that embodies the mentality of delivering value to users. She understands how to leverage software to create great experiences for the consumer. Her past experience in customer support roles translates into unparalleled customer empathy and reasoning from their perspective. She joined the Kona C – ConnectingDots team to propel the team to deliver a polished mobile application.
CLAUDIA NICOLAE
IT PROFESSIONALClaudia Nicolae is an enthusiastic IT professional with over 10 years’ experience in leading and delivering Agile projects in the finance industry (banking and insurance). She has a software development background and strong technical skills that support her in assessing different solutions and architectures managing the risks, issues and dependencies for complex global projects. Claudia is really passionate about women rights and the use of technology for social good which she supports by participating in different initiatives.
BOLORCHIMEG MUNKHBOLD
FULL-STACK DEVELOPER & BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Bolorchimeg Munkhbold is a Full-Stack Developer with a multidisciplinary profile. She is passionate for intuitive designs and appealing interfaces, she enjoys having a holistic view in projects and working on the backend. Besides her development skills, she is interested in IT security topics, which is the reason that she combines IT development work with her studies in Cyber-Security. In addition to her IT technical skills, Bolorchimeg holds an MSc and a BSc in Business Administration.
Justyna Zurawska recently obtained a diploma as a Full-Stack developer from Propulsion Academy, where she developed frontend projects with React.js and created REST API testdriven backend with Python and Django. She pursues her career in technology as she loves to learn and write code. Interest in coding and IT’s inner workings, initially sparked by simple curiosity about how all that works (Internet, applications, etc.) has quickly emerged into her new passion. Justyna has a pragmatic and humanistic approach to her work and enjoys working in interdisciplinary teams. She holds Swiss HR certification and during her work in Human Resources and Sales Operations she especially enjoyed curating organisation culture and having a direct impact in the workplace while shaping the employee experience. She loves empowering people to build on their strengths and developing an open feedback culture. Justyna has a Master in Intercultural Communication and Bachelor in Business
At the deploy(impact) “Meet and Greet” before kicking off the 6-week hands-on software development programme for social good.
Kona Connect is a proud partner of women++ – a non–profit committed to designing collaborative and supportive environments that encourage diversity and inclusion in the Swiss tech ecosystem.
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