Retrospective of 2022: A year of growth and new adventures

As we approach the end of another year, it's natural to take a moment to reflect on the past and think about what we've accomplished. For me, 2022 has been a year filled with growth, learning, and new adventures. I've had the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities in my professional life, and I've also been able to pursue my passions and interests outside of work.?

New role at Microsoft: Senior Program Manager?

I began 2022 with a new role at Microsoft as Senior Program Manager, moving to the Skilling organization within the Contributor Success team. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience as I have entered the world of program management and learned and still learning many new skills. Although I miss the opportunities I had in my previous role to ignite and empower developer communities by supporting them and leading initiatives like Azure Heros, I am passionate about the mission of our team, which is to democratize content creation and empower people to share their expertise through the Microsoft Learn platform. I have also been fortunate to work with some talented and dedicated colleagues, and feel that I am making a positive impact within our team.

Co-Founding syntheticAIdata

In addition to my day job, I've also had the opportunity to co-found a startup with my community friend, Goran Vuksic . After a few years of collaborating on impactful initiatives like Climate Hack and Maker Show, as well as working on innovative projects like mind-controlled drones and robots, we decided to take the next step and start our own startup next to our daily jobs called syntheticAIdata . Our focus is on helping the developer community accelerate their vision AI model creation through the use of synthetic data.

It's been an exciting and challenging journey, and we've both been working hard to build our product and sharpen our skills as entrepreneurs. While it's definitely been a lot of hard work, it's also been incredibly fulfilling to see our vision come to life. We're excited to see where this journey takes us, and we're looking forward to what the future holds.

HackYourFuture Denmark

In addition to my professional pursuits, I've also been active in a non-profit foundation called HackYourFuture Denmark as chairperson of the board. HackYourFuture supports refugees, asylum seekers, and disadvantaged groups with limited access to further education and the Danish labor market in acquiring the necessary skills to become web developers and enter the job market. It's been a rewarding experience to see the impact we've had on the lives of these individuals and their families. It's been a privilege to be a part of this organization and to contribute to its mission of empowering and uplifting those who may have faced significant challenges and barriers in the past.

Spreading the Word on Inclusive Tech

One of the things I'm most proud of this year is my involvement in conferences and learning opportunities focused on accessibility and the role of software engineers in building inclusive applications. As someone who is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in tech, I believe it's crucial that we create technology that is accessible and usable by everyone. I've been amazed to see the progress we've made in this area, but I'm also aware that there is still a lot of work to be done. Many developers are still unaware of the tools and best practices that can help them create more inclusive applications, and I'm passionate about doing my part to change that. Thanks to my awesome colleague Henk Boelman , we delivered a few sessions around this important topic. It gave me a chance to expand my knowledge in that area and share it with others.?

Learning and Sharing about Green Software Engineering

Another area I've been focused on this year is green software engineering and the role of software engineers in creating climate-first applications. I'm grateful to Asim Hussain and all the members of the Green Software Foundation for providing such valuable resources on the topic of green software engineering. This year, I dedicated some time to learning about the principles of green software engineering and how to measure the carbon footprint of an application. I've also had the opportunity to speak at a few events and share my knowledge with others in the developer community, helping them to understand the impact they can make as developers.

A Personal Retrospective of the Past Year

On a personal level, I was finally able to take a long summer vacation this year to visit my family after the pandemic and years of travel bans. It was great to be able to spend quality time with my loved ones, and I was even able to plan the trip together with the one and only Ana Cidre and her beautiful family. It was an unforgettable trip!

On the other hand, Unfortunately, my dog is getting old and sick, and we're not sure how much longer he'll be with us. It's been a bittersweet time, I am grateful to have a job and a manager like Eugene Juric who is supportive of me working fully flexibly and remotely from home. This allows me to be with my dog and spend quality time with him during this challenging time. Thank you, Eugene, for your understanding and support. It means a lot to me.

Overall, it's been a year of highs and lows, but I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have come my way. I have been busy working on some exciting initiatives that I hope to launch in 2023, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.

Happy new year, everyone! ??