The Düsseldorf Chapter of Women in Big Data held a meetup event at Vorwek — Airgate Düsseldorf on September 12, 2019.

The world around Big Data and IoT, especially in connection to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is not only complex, but also confusing. The aim of this event was to give the audience a better understanding of a GDPR-compliant way to use IoT data. The value of structured communication and visualization was highlighted, with the goal of helping attendees position themselves and their work results as best as possible.

We welcomed around 30 participants from different industries and diverse backgrounds who have an interest in Data Analytics and visualization, and who wanted to learn more about technology and their individual impact on organizations in various verticals.

Activities

The doors opened at 18:30 and we welcomed our guests with lovely food and drinks, provided by our host Vorwerk.

Liisel Jessop and Anastasia Dobasis welcomed the guests and speakers to this fifth chapter event, marking the first anniversary of the WiBD Chapter Dusseldorf. They gave a short summary about the last year, the events that were hosted, and an outlook into the next year.

Benedikt Schmitz, Data Engineer at Vorwerk GmbH, started off the event by answering the question “What do our customers cook with their new Thermomix?”. He gave a short introduction about the general technology and history of the Thermomix. The focus of his speech, however, was the main IoT functionality the new Thermomix TM5 model uses to enrich the cooking experience. He explained the main data flow and data transformation path within the UsageBox—the smart ear inside. The internet connectivity of the product opened up a good conversation about the protection of personal data as a threat and the usage of information as an asset. This lively and energetic talk opened up the atmosphere into a super productive session.

Next, Anna Knaub, Change, Release & Deployment Manager, showed how to use communication and structured reporting to deliver clear messages from analytical results, in an easy yet rich manner. She referred IBCS-rules as her main point, and proved that PowerPoint presentations can be replaced by a set of well-structured flip charts. Her talent in calligraphic writing and drawing made her talk unique, interesting, and fun to follow. In the end, Anna also showed how she structures reports within her daily work at Vorwerk using IBCS rules and how this can be done using SaaS tools. Anna’s talk really had an impact and we had good discussions about how to restructure our own reporting according to Anna’s suggestions and examples.

After a short break to enjoy finger-food and drinks, Simone Rehage, IT consultant and freelancer, leveraged the group’s enthusiasm with a great start to her talk about “How to be and stay successful in the male-dominated IT world”. She explained how to position yourself in the male-dominated IT world, highlighting  that you do not need to be a specialist in data engineering to be relevant in-data related job functions. To be interested in a project, and to show that interest, and to encourage yourself to ask “stupid” questions are keys to developing your skills. Simone’s curricular insights turned the last part of the evening into a supportive and critical empowerment conversation between her and the guests. She left the audience feeling positive and encouraged.

Thanks to All

All in all, the evening’s atmosphere was upbeat and highly energetic, and we were very pleased to welcome both newcomers and our regulars.  We really enjoyed the hospitality and the generous food and drinks offered by Vorwerk. Thank you to Vorwerk for hosting WiBD and giving us insight into your business! We are very grateful to all who helped in making the evening a success—and we are looking forward to seeing you at the next Afterwork Event in October.

Meetup link