Welcome to the next episode of our ‘Under the Hood’ blog series, where we meet the amazing people who make New Zealand’s IT industry tick.
Today, we sit down with HMI’s Chief Digital Officer, Steffen Schaefer, to dive into how emerging IoT, AI and autonomous technologies are changing the Transportation and Mobility industry. Steffen also provides some insight into his extensive technology career as well as great advice for aspiring young professionals who are looking to move into transportation technology.
Steffen’s Career
Steffen returned to New Zealand in March 2017 to pursue an interesting opportunity that presented itself. Having already lived in the country for several years from 1997, Steffen was excited to return to the southern hemisphere.
Prior to joining HMI as their Chief Digital Officer, Steffen spent five years managing digital innovations in Siemens’s Mobility Management Unit in Munich. Before that, Steffen worked with IBM for 16 years, in which one of his roles led him to working on IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative and focused on advanced mobility and intelligent transport solutions.
Steffen’s Advice for Aspiring Technology Professionals
Mobility and transportation have very complex specialities. So, Steffen’s advice for technology professionals who are looking to move into this exciting sector is to build on your industry knowledge as much as you can. Although new technologies such as IoT, AI, cloud computing and automation will change the industry forever, there still are established technology and methodologies, such as traffic signalling and operation centres that have been around for decades. It would be too expensive to wipe the slate clean and start over so try and understand what already exists and how people have been working for the last few years, and take it from there. Read industry newsletters and publications, follow industry leaders and get to know this great sector to give yourself that important head start.
For more on Steffen’s career, how HMI are focusing on helping people get around New Zealand’s cities more intelligently, and some fantastic advice for technology professionals looking to navigate their way into this industry, watch Steffen’s video.
Keen to See More?
This is just one video in a comprehensive series where we follow individuals who are making a stamp on the IT Industry. For more insights and advice on various roles in the IT Industry from thought leaders and experts in the field, check out more of our Under the Hood series below:
- How AI Will Impact Customer Service and Marketing
- How to Secure the IT Job You Want
- How to Transition from Business to IT
- From the IT Department to a DevOps & Agile Approach
- The Evolution of Digital Marketing
- Becoming a Versatile Senior Project Manager
- Everything about a Career in Omnichannel Marketing
- The Transformation of Agile Project Management
- The Role of a Solutions Architect
- The Life of a Finance Business Analyst
- Searching for the Future of Online Marketing
- A Global Career in Project and Programme Management
- CRM Consultancy – Customers and a Journey of Understanding
- The Future of Project Management
- A Career as a Security Specialist
- Sales in the Technology Industry
- Contracting Your Way to Success in the IT industry
- Not Just a Desk Job – Business Analyst