World Programmer's Day: what else interests IT professionals besides computers and codes?
On the occasion of World Programmer's Day, we break down the stereotypes that portray them as geeks only interested in computers. Luxoft IT experts talk about their various hobbies.
World Programmer's Day is celebrated on the 256th day of the year, that is, on September 13.
But it's not just this "geek" information that's interesting to developers, even though IT experts are often stereotyped as geeks. We spoke with developers from Luxoft, and found out how they balance hobbies and work and more about their various and fun hobbies.
Igor is a C++ developer who enjoys climbing, cycling, and running in his free time:
"A colleague once invited me to a bouldering area, a place where climbing is practiced, and opened up a whole new universe to me."
I spend two and a half hours twice a week on the wall, and in ideal circumstances, I go to training three times a week." says Igor. "Climbing helped me develop spatial perception, memory, strength and agility. It taught me how small changes and persistence can bring good results.”
Elvin is a Senior Technical Support Engineer at Luxoft, and studies linguistics and etymology in his spare time. His interest in these areas began in his childhood when he had ABBYY Lingvo, Collins, and Oxford English dictionaries installed on his computer, in which he studied the definitions of English words.
"This hobby helped me to improve my English and to see the connection of English words with their roots that come from Latin, Greek, Hebrew. That way, I manage not only to understand words better but also to remember them better."
Elvin uses his knowledge to participate in the improvement of Wikipedia articles and says that with hobbies he began to think more independently, deeply, and freely.
His colleague from the team, Daniela, who is also a Senior Technical Support Engineer, does ballet in her free time, while also studying classical literature, and is a member of a reading club where she analyzes classical literature together with professionals.
She started practicing ballet a little less than a year ago, and at the beginning, her relatives told her that it is impossible to practice classical ballet at an older age, it must be started in childhood.
"Nevertheless, I persevered, and now I am already achieving excellent results, and in December I will perform in an amateur ballet performance."
She says that ballet brings her peace and relaxation, and with it, she found the perfect balance between work and private life. "Ballet makes me feel healthier, more flexible and fitter, and the reading club helped me understand Dostoyevsky better."
Pavel is a Data Analyst at Luxoft, and his hobbies are karting and chess, which he has been doing since childhood. "I fell in love with chess at the age of 3. I have several close relatives in my family who were professional chess players, and it was kind of natural that I got interested in that sport very early on. I participated in the junior Russian championship and the Moscow championship, although without any notable results, but today I play exclusively for fun, several times a month at tournaments organized by the Aktivni klub. Once I won second place in a tournament and a ticket to a music festival.”
Pavel says that with chess he learned to remember a large amount of information, which helps him in everyday life and work, and since he moved to Belgrade, chess, and membership in an Aktivni klub have helped him meet a lot of new and interesting people.
"As far as karting goes, it's pure enjoyment and a roller coaster. Sometimes I drive better, sometimes worse, but I always enjoy it and try to be faster."
Nikolaj works at Luxoft in the position of Director of Business Systems and Services, and his hobbies are football and ice hockey. "After a hard day at work, training for me is a great pleasure, physical and mental refreshment. I feel like, after training, my batteries are fully charged for the next day," says Nikolaj and adds:
"The most important achievement for me is the gold medal at the Luxoft Soccer Olympics 2015, as well as two gold medals with the Luxoft team at external competitions."
Hobbies and interests in free time are extremely important for the overall quality of life, all interviewees agree. Since the beginning of work in Serbia last year, Luxoft has organized numerous events for its employees intending to contribute to the quality of free time and a better work-life balance, to encourage above all the desire for outdoor and sports activities among employees, as well as the desire for getting to know the cultural and historical sights of Belgrade and Serbia, and of course there is also the aspect of closer bonding with colleagues and developing friendships.
Hiking trips on Avala and Tara, guided tours of "Beograd ispod Beograda", bicycle tours in Serbia, running marathons, Luxoft speaking club, and clubs for playing board games - these are just a few of the ones so far executed activities. Last week, Luxoft Running Club, a community where colleagues share a common passion for running, train with professional trainers, improve their physical and mental strength, and of course - have fun and make new friends, started its operation. This autumn, there are plans for several more hiking and cycling tours across Serbia.
The World Programmer's Day at Luxoft is extended - the whole week called "IT Professionals Week" is dedicated to various activities aimed at showing how much the company appreciates the hard work, commitment, and creativity of programmers.
