Today we introduce you to Nelli, who moved to Austria from Finland two years ago and has been working at tmc in Linz since the beginning of this year. The software developer works in the Infrastructure Management team, has a son and a variety of hobbies, as she is interested in all sorts of things. She particularly enjoys hiking in national parks, but also the events organized by Mensa – the oldest high IQ society in the world.
From NGOs in Finland via Erasmus study program to Linz
Before Nelli began studying Computer Science at the University of Jyväskylä in central Finland, she already finished studies in the field of bio- and food engineering and worked for various political NGOs. In 2018 she decided to pursue a new degree program and thus a different career path and spent an Erasmus semester at the JKU in Linz. She was already endeavoring to learn German at this point and decided to move to Austria permanently after graduating.
The more appealing climate in Austria
As Nelli explains, one of her main reasons for leaving Finland was the dark seasons, when you hardly ever get to see the sun. Nelli also found the summers, in which it is only around 15 degrees and sometimes rains a lot, not very appealing and after feeling very comfortable during her exchange semester in Linz, she moved here with her son two years ago. Nelli is still learning German and has now even reached level B2, so she already understands and speaks the language quite well. Her son has already completed his last year of kindergarten in Austria and is now in year 2 of primary school. His German is even better than hers, says Nelli with a laugh.
Software developer at tmc
At the beginning of the year Nelli started as a software developer in the Infrastructure Management Team at tmc in Linz. At the same time she is also writing her master’s thesis in cooperation with tmc. Her main tasks relate to coding for the digital track surveying solutions, such as tmRTG. This often involves converting the survey data for other applications. She recently had her first ride on a surveying trolley, which was great fun.
With enthusiasm in nature
One of Nelli’s greatest hobbies is hiking. She loves long hikes, preferably combined with travelling, camping and national parks. But she doesn’t miss out on “hiking” when travelling to cities either and sometimes goes on 15-20 km city walks a day. Highlights of her hiking trips so far include a 3-week camping trip to the Baltic States and a trip to the Lofoten Islands in Norway.
Excursions with Mensa
What many of us only think of as the university canteen is the name of Nelli’s leisure club for the gifted. This network connects people whose IQ is above that of 98% of the population and offers them the opportunity to socialize and spend their free time together. There is a regular Mensa get-together in Linz and in Finland, where Nelli joined Mensa in 2015, there were board game evenings. Members also go on hikes, excursions and trips together. Recently, for example, the Mensa colleagues visited the Freistädter beer brewery. There are also meetings of Mensa groups at European level that Nelli enjoys attending, such as the upcoming New Year’s meeting “Silvensa” in Villach.
Thank you very much for your interesting stories, Nelli! Good luck for your future career and keep enjoying hiking, Mensa activities and the tricky tasks you solve at tmc.
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