In #UBKoffice David is not only responsible for project management and communication with customers

He is in his fifth year at UBK since the hilarious story of his first interview. How was he able to travel to the USA thanks to his work, ✈ and what is his second family like? Read more about it on ubk.cz. As the David says: “The staff here are not just lines in the database, we are more like a bigger second family. This is not only about me, but about us, and maybe about you too?”

• How long have you been at UBK?

As if it was yesterday… well, actually it wasn’t. In July it’ll be four years since I went on the interview, picked the wrong floor by mistake and ended up at the gynecologist. I think I’m gonna forget that day not so easily. Fortunately, after this little faux pas, which probably scared not only myself, I managed to find the right door and save it in my memory (it was not very complicated, there was a UBK sticker on this door).

• Why did you choose UBK?

I found my preference for programming already in high school. After that I tried some other fields, but because I studied the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, specifically the Faculty of Applied Sciences, I wanted to do something in my subject to gain practice and experience. Especially from UBK I heard for the first time from my classmate and long-time friend (current colleague) Mathew. He made my choice easier by “going through” all the IT companies in Pilsen and he just chose UBK. I took his words seriously and sent my CV here. 

• What did you learn during this time?

Since I started here? That’s a whole series. I joined the Ivy team in the beginning. I didn’t know about this technology (except that it is based on the Java programming language), but I’m thankful that this technology was my first one, because it is optimal for learning. After a while I started to be attracted to mobile applications, and that was the beginning of the path I am on right now. I started to work with the programming language Swift (iOS), which fascinates me and I really enjoy it. At the moment, I am already much less involved in development and rather look for solutions and lead the projects in the VMA team (development of mobile applications). What I would raise most is working with people. Thanks to UBK, I have gained a lot of experience in this field – not only thanks to managing projects and leading the team (you have to be able to synchronize people to make collaboration work properly), but also thanks to communication with clients, which is not always easy.

• Which trainings did you participate in?

I started with the Swift training, after some time I was able to write my own API and so I learned the basics of PHP. Over time, as I mentioned before, my work shifted more towards project management and business activities, which also led me to get to know other technologies such as Python, React, Flutter… Even though I don’t fully dedicate myself to development as such anymore, I always want to understand the technologies that are used in the respective projects. This makes it easier to determine what is not possible, to estimate the time needed, or sometimes even to help with the development itself. Furthermore, I have completed some training courses that our (mainly partner) customers have requested due to the intended closer cooperation.

• Would you recommend UBK as a great employer to your friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

It’s a simple question…! Sure, it’s happened before. And not just once! And not just once. Why? I think you can tell from the rest of this conversation.

• How do you like working at this company?

I like the fact that you can appreciate the individual’s own opinion here. If someone can’t do something, there’s no shame in asking and taking advice. Everything can be solved if you take a courageous stand on it! The employees here are not just lines in a database, but rather a kind of larger, second family.

• What do you value most in your workplace?

Most certainly the collective that we have built (build), without that I probably wouldn’t be satisfied at work (in general). Nobody plays the others, there are no braggarts here, we are all human beings (as I already mentioned to the last question). We spend a lot of time together, even outside working hours, be it in the form of company events or just sitting together with some colleagues… Yes, I think that this is my priority – it’s about the people.

• What benefit would you like to introduce as standard in UBK?

Sport is very important to me, it allows me to relax (as do several colleagues), so my favourite benefit is the Multisport Card! (Although it is not accepted everywhere…). It would be nice if it would get a bigger donation from the company, maybe it would be used by several colleagues and we could spend more time together doing sports. I know that some employees do not use it because it is not worth it for them.  

• How do you feel about going home after work?

Is it raining or is the sun shining? … Of course, it’s not always the same, sometimes a little more, sometimes less… But for the most part, thanks to the calm and friendly atmosphere that prevails in the company, I often feel like I’m smiling!

• Where and how do you prefer to work?

It’s what I work on. I have set up an office at home, so if I need to discuss something with clients, I prefer to be there, have more peace and quiet there. If it’s development related, where several people are involved, it’s in the office. But every now and then I also go to a café or a park. That is a pleasant way to relax.

• Does the UBK organise events for employees?

We are experts at that! We have divided our company into teams according to the technologies we work with. So, apart from the classic team-buildings organized by the company management, which take place once or twice a year, each team is free to prepare an event for the rest of the company. Because of the coronavirus crisis, which has affected us all, we couldn’t do anything at the moment, but I believe that we are now picking up where we left off! This is an important part of our corporate culture. It’s great that thanks to these events we can see who enjoys what… this way we have the opportunity to get to know each other better. 

• Describe, please, some of your experiences in UBK (whether from office, event or teambuilding)

Wow, this is difficult… Maybe – I would start in Žlutice… (so from the beginning). This was my first team building I took part in, I think the second week after joining the company. It was a great event, not only because I had to meet all my colleagues at that time. Another very successful event was “Water”, where we hid the canoes for our colleagues, Bertik’s green beans a thousand times different, Barča’s birthday party (actually she didn’t have a birthday)… Well, and this was followed by a quarter year in America, where I acquired orders and realized them in cooperation with colleagues in Pilsen – this is a big part of my career at UBK so far. I represented our company in the European Parliament in Brussels, where I had the opportunity to meet e.g. the President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce – Ing. Vladimír Dlouhý or the Member of the European Parliament Martina Dlabajová. Trade fairs all over Europe… As I say, a whole series!

• What can improve company management in the future?

There is always room for improvement. Specifically, I have certain ambitions to expand into the American market, where we already have some clients… It would be great if we could “conquer” the West, but that doesn’t depend only on leadership. This is a challenge for me, for us, and maybe for you too?

#UBKstories #UBKgeeks #UBKteam #team #developers #software #development #outsourcing #geeks #interview #david #pilsen