My 10 favorite moments of 2023

This past year has flown by, as if time did not exist. We are close to the end of the year, and my personal tradition is to close the year with my 10 highlights from the past year. Hopefully, you, as a reader, will find some inspiration in my favorite elements and how they helped me to find my core, my #Ikigai.

Favorite 1 – The promotion of the book “Data Literacy in Practice”

X-mas Eve 2022 at 8 PM the doorbell rang and there it was, the printed copy of the book “Data Literacy in Practice” that my dear friend Kevin Hanegan and I have written in 2022.? Publisher Packt delivered 2 free copies of the book and the excitement was amazing! The buzz around the book started ?early 2023 with planned activities such as Presentations, Webinars, and so on. Looking back to 2023 it is amazing to see that there are lots of books sold. This made us so proud and gave us the confidence to start discussing our second book and we started writing bits and bites of the new book.

Favorite 2 – Playing around with AI tools, and then there was ChatGPT

Five years ago, I had the privilege of pioneering Augmented Reality technologies, scanning products, and engaging customers. We gathered vast amounts of valuable data, yet the world wasn't ready for such innovation. Despite this, we pushed boundaries with predictive analytics for healthcare clients and help them to achieve results. Fast forward to November 2022, ChatGPT by OpenAI launched, captivating me with its capabilities. The world had caught up, embracing this technology, even overwhelming OpenAI's servers at times. At the beginning of 2023 I've started playing with chatGPT, as I was curious and now, at the end of 2023, I broadly use Generative AI daily.

Favorite 3 – QlikWorld 2023

I had the privilege of traveling to Las Vegas with Barry Harmsen , where Qlik , our favorite vendor, held their annual global conference after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. We traveled together with one of Bitmetric’s customers, Rob van Vliet , and we certainly had a blast in the days leading up to the conference. As has been said many times, it was wonderful to be all together again! It was definitely one of my favorite experiences at #QlikWorld. Meeting my dear friends, fellow Ambassadors, and Luminaries, ?signing over 100 books with Kevin, presenting the #qlikacademicprogram story, giving interviews, making recordings, and so on. And all of this brings a big smile to my face.

Favorite 4 – Finding a friend at the Grand Canyon

Of course, we had met virtually and listened to some great stories, but we had never met in person until that day. During Qlik’s annual conference, we seized the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon—a long-cherished wish of mine with Barry Harmsen and Rob van Vliet. While admiring the overwhelming beauty of the Grand Canyon's West Rim, with my #vizlib backpack on, I suddenly heard someone call out, 'Angelika?' followed by a tap on my back. It was my first personal encounter with Priscila J. Papazissis Paolinelli , marking the start of our friendship in a truly special way. Meeting Pricilla and Rafael G. Paolinelli Moraes at one of the most beautiful places I have ever been was indeed special.

Favorite 5 – Soul searching isn’t that bad

In an earlier published article (https://rb.gy/jxbmou), I wrote about the horrid period in 2022 when I faced a life-altering accident. During that dark time, it became necessary to find my core and discover what makes me happy in life. Thanks to a therapist, friends, family, good conversations, and reading books, I found what makes me happy and tick (my #ikigai). This is why I made the decision to leave Bitmetric and start a new career at Business Data Challengers , where I became responsible for the #BDCacademy. This new path has made me truly happy in doing the things I love. Leaving the operational management of a team, something I enjoyed for over 30 years, is still (and will be) a fond memory, but to be honest, I haven’t missed it for one minute! I am at my happy place now, where every day passes by as if there is no time, and I love what I do every day. The promise made by Hans Van Diggelen and Willem de Fiouw has come true, and I am so thankful for that!

Favorite 6 – An opportunity that did not came true

Although it might sound negative, during the summer in warm Chiclana de la Frontera I had the honor and experience of auditioning to become an instructor for a digital learning platform. At the end it gave me insights into how to improve my presenting skills and clarify my stories more effectively (lessons learned, thanks to Angeline Corvaglia ). The only thing missing in this case, was clear communication; “we’ve found another instructor”. Not receiving an explanation, why I did not become an instructor was a feeling that took me a while to come to terms with. However, the ability to turn something negative into something positive is a very good feeling, so yes, I am glad that I applied to become an instructor and learned my lessons.

Favorite 7 – Finding friends and partners in my new role

Leaving a place where everything breathed technology and #Qlik, I came to a place where being more agnostic than ever is necessary. However, partnering with more tools is not a disadvantage; in fact, I can see the benefits as well. It provides deeper insights into the strengths of various tools and processes. Becoming a #qlik partner again is fantastic, and I hope that supportive products like Vizlib - insightsoftware , Motio, Inc. , Mehrwerk GmbH and Inphinity ∞ will join us in the near future. Last but not least, the 'serious data/executive trainings' that we were able to set up and conduct for customers were amazing. Working with Roeland M?ller and Maarten van Bunnik from the Smart Training Center has opened my eyes to incorporating more interactivity and gaming into my training offerings. I believe the 'Data Escape Room', along with improved storytelling capabilities, is here to stay!

Favorite 8 – Amazing Ambassador / Luminary meeting in Lund

Words cannot express how amazing it was to meet my fellow ambassadors and luminaries for the second time. The whole setup was amazing and so well organized by Qlik’s representatives, Jeannine Boot-Tazelaar and Sarah Urbiss , and their colleagues. The opportunity to listen to Mike Capone discuss his vision and explain the 'why' behind the changing pricing model, to hear Brendan Grady marketing vision, and to learn from the stories of Michael Fawcett , among others, was enlightening. Sometimes, we just need to understand why things need to change and why we need to approach things differently. I loved my chat with Marcus Svensson about the user stories that can lead to a better product or outcome. The discussion on why a #DataStrategy is becoming essential for our clients and customers was also engaging and thought-provoking. It's always gratifying to see that the story you’ve been telling for many years has become a necessity nowadays! A short video recap op the meetup can be found here: https://rb.gy/7cqgds.

Playing the Serious Training, aka Data Escape Room, with all the partner Ambassadors was a festive and engaging experience. It was so good to see the drive, endurance, and joy on my fellow ambassadors' faces. A short video recap of the Data Escape Room can be found here: https://rb.gy/js8rm4

Favorite 9 – My most favorite one – The Data Girls talk at the university of Lund

Priscila J. Papazissis Paolinelli , Laura Rodriguez Llanza , and I, aka 'the three Data Girls,' were invited to Lund University School of Economics and Management by #qlikeducatorambassador Blerim Emruli to give a guest lecture. Priscila delivered the lecture on her vision of introducing Data Literacy to companies (which can be applied in any company!). I had the opportunity to discuss 'handling data responsibly,' and Laura demonstrated the usage and setup of the Qlik environment. We, the three data girls, had so much fun doing this. Two students won free signed copies of the book 'Data Literacy in Practice,' and based on the photos that were taken, we’ve created a short video, which you can find here: https://rb.gy/p8vwd7.

Favorite 10 – Endurance, hope and AI

The world is changing, the climate is changing, and the way we work is changing, but there are moments in life that help us stay positive and happy. Every change can be transformed into a chance! Providing necessary help to those in need always feels good; helping others is inherently beneficial.

Regarding the climate, we recently launched the Climate Risk Overview (CRO) app on the Qlik.org platform (https://changeourworld.qlik.com/#/). This app, built by Gerben de Boer from the dredging company Van Oord , marks the initial step in a broader plan to deliver climate adaptation solutions to vulnerable coastal areas. The chance to assist C40 Cities (thank you my friend Angel Monjarás ) with free data literacy training, among other initiatives, offers amazing opportunities to fulfill my personal dream of helping everyone become data literate.

In our work environment, I see amazing projects being delivered. These include our 'pose estimation' solution (a short video recap is available here: https://shorturl.at/yEPTV), our medical platform solution, and other remarkable projects. The use of #GenerativeAI in my data world, by #STAIGE from #Qlik and others, LLM’s to create messages, texts (though we should always be critical), generate images via #DALL-E, crafting video’s with #Lumen5 etc., has significantly improved my work life. I can see a bright future in using AI in our current world. However, it's crucial to remember that we must handle AI responsibly. We need to be transparent, clear, and concise, and ensure the fact that we need to explain the things we do when it comes to use algorithms and business rules, and allowing humans to make the final decisions.

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Take care, be safe, and be kind to each other!

Wishing you all an amazing 2024!

May all your dreams come true, I know that I am at my happy place!

Angelika

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