‘The Wolves of Tech Street’

There’s a dynamic tech team determined to challenge the dog-eat-dog laws of the business world and to create a ‘pack’ that welcomes everyone who works or wants to work in tech – from lone wolves to true ‘alphas’.

We have a team working on modern technologies, largely made up of seniors, or, to use the metaphor of the title, alphas, who prefer to help each other and support those wanting to learn. UpScale has set out to create a sense of belonging for people in the tech sector: hosting professional meetups, webinars, writing blogs, making podcasts, running Reddit and Discord channels, and organizing community (and social) events. On 19 November, for example, the company is inviting all professionals – whether they work behind a computer screen, at home or in the office – to a tech tree planting event. But what is this ‘pack’, or as UpScale calls it, Tech Community? That’s what we discussed with Jennifer Rab and Bernadett Tóth, UpScale’s Tech Community Builder experts, and Managing Director Szabolcs Pintér.

Knowledge sharing above all else

The world is undergoing a huge cultural transformation: the emphasis used to be on protecting intellectual capital above all else — on secrecy. Today, however, companies are making their patents available to the public, even to competitors. This has given a new boost to innovation: for example, the world has been able to respond immediately to a pandemic, but it has also helped the rapid spread of electric cars.

“The technological environment is changing almost daily, which is difficult to keep up with alone – DevOps, DevSecOps, now MLOps, OnPrem, Cloud, PublicCloud, MultiCloud, HyperScale, Serverless technologies, new service mesh solutions have appeared, and we could go on and on”, said Szabolcs Pintér. “We have recognised that there is a huge need for an organized platform where IT professionals living and working in Hungary can share their knowledge and ask each other questions. UpScale wants to be a pioneer in knowledge sharing and has stepped up to lead — sharing their knowledge in Hungarian, reflecting on local technological challenges and taking into account local market conditions; be it GDPR or specific problems affecting Hungarian businesses,” added Jennifer Rab. However, the professional strength of the tech community will come from the knowledge of those who join it, so we welcome anyone who wants to be a partner in creating such a world.

Everything’s better when done together

“However, the Tech Community is about much more than sharing knowledge, fostering innovation and improving efficiency,” said Bernadett Tóth. “Learning from one another is a much more personal experience than using Google or Stack Overflow to solve problems. It also gives room to build good relationships, and possibly friendships, between professionals with similar interests. The tech sector is arguably the biggest winner of covid, as our work is perhaps the most home-based one, which gives workers a lot of flexibility. But on the other hand, it is also the segment that will be the biggest loser of the pandemic in the long run,” he said. In many places, the IT sector has become increasingly distant and isolated, which can easily lead to burnout combined with the constant pressure to develop. “It is no coincidence that UpScale has held its second meetup on this topic already. Previously, after a presentation by Franklin Covey experts, communication specialist Péter Szerémi gave a live situational exercise with András Pál, an actor from the Radnóti Theatre; and most recently Imre Limpár, a counseling psychologist, gave a presentation titled ‘Self-stabilization – From Stress Management to Burnout’, whose book on the subject, A lélek igazságai (The Truths of the Soul), is getting published in the next few days. By building the Tech Community, UpScale wants to create the experience of belonging to a community”, said Szabolcs Pintér.

© UpScale

A community based on tech expertise in the making

“We currently have active R&D partnerships with five universities and friendly relations with several of our competitors. Of course, we welcome all those interested to join the community. It is important to note that, in order to maintain professionalism, recruiters and recruitment experts are welcome in other forums,” the experts continued.

“UpScale events will be structured thematically from 2023 onwards,” said Jennifer Rab. “These events are targeted specifically at frontend or backend developers, DevOps professionals, business analysts, quality assurance and testing professionals, as well as data scientists and artificial intelligence professionals.” The interactive meetups feature engaging presentations, panel discussions and occasional demos. “In addition, our colleagues will share our knowledge in the form of blogs and podcasts, but we encourage all professionals joining the community to do so as well,” said Bernadett Tóth. The first conference presentations, meetup recordings and blog posts are already available on the UpScale website. The team has recently opened its Reddit and Discord professional channels to the community.

“In addition to UpScale colleagues, anyone can upload interesting content in their area of expertise to these channels and ask questions to the experts registered there. A critical mass will be needed to get this up and running, but we are confident that many will soon hear about the initiative,” added Jennifer Rab.

Standing together for our environment, our future

“UpScale is about more than just profit. Their monthly salary is not the main motivation for our colleagues. Our employees want to constantly grow and create, do meaningful work and give something back to their communities. First and foremost, they want to be part of a good team and have a good time, but they also value volunteering and social activities,” says Szabolcs Pintér. UpScale’s nearly 50 members recently helped with the landscaping of a kindergarten, but the company also sponsored United Way’s annual gala evening. The team has also participated in blood donation, collected food for Ukrainian refugees, and at Christmas the company supported the planting and maintenance of trees on behalf of all its customers and employees, while colleagues packed many shoebox presents for children in need as part of the Santa Claus Factory campaign.

” We aim to inspire more people to do good deeds through our community activities. Fortunately, we meet a lot of people in the tech sector – especially from the younger generation – who are committed to do something for their environment, society and their future,” continued Jennifer Rab. “That’s why we’ve decided to call tech workers to action on 19 November to join UpScale in our acorn planting reforestation campaign. In addition to sponsorship, our company actively participated in the same reforestation campaign last year, where the team planted saplings together. It was a great experience, so this year we thought we’d invite our environmentally conscious colleagues from the tech sector to the event,” added Szabolcs Pintér.

In the social and volunteering event people can participate in the planting of a forest area prepared by the Foundation for Community Forests (MyForest) and supported by UpScale. The location is peaceful and quiet: the areas of Kerekharaszt and Szarvasgede are relatively close to each other and both areas are easily accessible directly from an asphalted road. Just like last year, the volunteers will be guided by a professional forestry supervisor who, as a local resident and local farmer, will explain what to do and how to do when planting in a professional manner.

“We will also set up a cooking area in the fields, where we welcome the volunteers who join UpScale after about half a day of work”, said Bernadett Tóth.

© UpScale

Source: https://hvg.hu/brandcontent/20221104_A_Techstreet_farkasai__Avagy_sok_jo_alfa_kis_helyen_is_elfer