Welcome to part 2 of our series, Meet the Kognicians, where you can get to know more about our amazing team working at Kognic! This time, we chatted with Data Delivery Coordinator Mengxue Nie, who we call Mia.
As part of the Data Delivery team, Mia takes on projects and works closely with colleagues, customers and annotators. Her day to day can vary from handling requests from customers, having meetings with Kognicians from the Customer Success team, making sure the requested data is received in a timely manner, coordinating users in the Kognic app, or monitoring the whole process of the data delivery. As a person, she is a creative soul and enjoys environments where she can learn as much as possible. She likes to take up new challenges, such as moving to a new country, not to exactly the biggest city… but to an idyllic medieval island; or getting up to speed in an area she hadn’t studied before.
Mia joined us in April last year, but it feels like she's been here longer! Up next, we sum up some of the topics we discussed during our interview, such as her background, her journey so far as a Kognician and Kognic’s company culture.
From a Bachelor of Engineering in Landscape Architecture in Sichuan, to a Master’s in Sustainable Destination Development at Uppsala University’s Gotland Campus, Mia’s curiosity for the world didn’t stop there. She has continued to acquire new knowledge and explore new areas, such as Project management. How’s life now, so far away from plants (and home)?
“I wanted to do something different. So here I am today! This is my third year in Sweden and the first one at Kognic. About my interest in plants, in my early 20's I had a strong interest in nature and design, and I felt that in the future I would become a designer, working with plants. With more in-depth study, I came to the conclusion that management was the right field for me, so I chose my first job within the project management field and instantly fell in love with it.”
Nature still plays an important role in her life, and not for nothing she chose Sweden as her next home. “What attracted me the most about Sweden was of course the nature and the scenery. When I discovered a master’s program at Uppsala University that interested me a lot, and that it was taught at the Gotland campus, I decided to come straight here. I thought it would be a great life experience, to be away from all the familiar things on a medieval island and explore a new lifestyle”.
Even though Gotland has a truly beautiful environment where it is possible to enjoy many outdoors activities, Gothenburg is by far Mia’s favorite place to live in this country. “The city is not too small, but not too big, so it doesn't feel too busy. Also, as someone with an international background, here it's easy to find and experience food from different countries, and meet people from all over the world! Apart from that, in the summer I can enjoy the sun on the nearby islands or wander through the forests. Gothenburg has everything!”
It’s no secret that our CEO Daniel Langkilde likes to write and so he shares his million ideas on machine learning, ADAS, and… pretty much everything on LinkedIn! Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Mia discovered Kognic thanks to one of his posts. She (of course) became curious about the company, and was lucky enough to find that there was a job opening as a Data Delivery Coordinator. “It sounded just perfect for me, so I thought why not try it? What caught my eye the most was the fact that the description was very different from any job advert I had seen before. Instead of an endless list of requirements, they emphasized on the fact that they valued your skills and future potential”.
As she narrates to us, “in the interview, my future manager took the time to explain to me everything about annotations, how the department works, and what she was looking for in candidates. I felt fully respected and seen as a person, and not just as a candidate, which can be the case in other recruitment processes. This time, I was even able to learn something new during the interview, and that also made me already look forward to working at this company”.
Mia highlights the people-first approach. “In other interviews, it's always what you can do and provide to the company, but here my manager wanted to know me first, and she gave me space to think if the job was a good match. What I learnt is that it’s essential to be a cultural fit for the company. There needs to be a reciprocal match, a recruitment process should be equal on both sides, and hiring managers should not only look for the right experience, but also the potential that you have”.
When we ask her about what’s the thing she likes the most about her job, her answer makes perfect sense: it’s the possibility of continuous learning. “I like the opportunity this job gives me, to keep learning every day. Working in project management means that I have the chance to work on different projects and face different challenges. As Kognic grows and projects become more diverse, I need to learn new skills all the time. And I really enjoy that”.
She adds, “working in a startup can be very challenging, everyone is faced with tasks popping up and having to act fast. Having said that, I like the fact that Kognic tries to take care of everyone, both at work and in life, I can choose to work from home or in the office; if I feel tired and want to rest a bit during work hours, there is always room for that, because asynchronous work is seen as something natural. Moreover, I have a team that supports me and that is there when challenges come and I need them. Everyone here is special in their own way and always open to help”.
Mia also values that company culture shapes everything at Kognic. In Mia’s words, “what I see is that Kognic is committed to providing the best service to all. For our clients, we help them by ensuring they get the data they actually need. For Kognicans, it is visible that the company cares for each individual and his or her development. Personally, I am happy to be working in a helpful and caring environment, where I feel that my ideas are respected and my voice is heard. Even though I am only one of many Kognicans, I feel every effort I make helps the whole company to reach great results”.
Where will you find her? Probably doing something creative, like watercolour painting, or going for a stroll with her lovely puppy Kokos, or learning something new. Have we mentioned yet that Kognicians love to learn and to get out of our comfort zone on a regular basis?😁
Do you share our excitement for extending your knowledge every day in an inclusive working environment? Visit our Careers page to learn more about our vacancies. Can’t find any job openings in your field? You are very welcome to send in an open application. 🤗