Juraj Mičko: “Cambridge is like a candy store full of opportunities”
This is one hell of a StarLifter! Juraj may only be 20 and come from Košice, a town in eastern Slovakia, but that did not stop him from getting into Computer Science at Cambridge and enjoying an internship at Spendee in Prague last year. In addition, he mentors younger students, organizes workshops and takes part in coding competitions across Europe. We caught up with Juraj when he was traveling from Hex hackathon in Eindhoven to Bratislava, where he co-organizes a competition for young entrepreneurs.
While many of your peers spent last summer travelling or not doing particularly much, you chose to apply for an internship at Spendee in Prague. Why?
My friends from high school and I do something every summer: We compete in tech competitions, go to IT camps… You know, we’re geeks looking for something new and exciting to do! And when we asked our senior students in school, they told us internships are a great opportunity to learn new stuff, so we thought, why not?
That’s an admirable attitude!
Well, I really am just thinking about my future, that’s all. But the fact that I enjoy trying new things and meeting new people makes it rather easy!
What did the three-month experience at Spendee give you?
The most valuable lesson for me was that every problem has a solution. When you work on your own project, it’s easy to give up when you encounter an issue that seems unfixable. But here you are, sitting in an office, and if you get a task, you must complete it. There is no other choice! So I used Google, asked people on forums, and at the end, I usually found out that the solution to my problem was not really that difficult.
Also, I admit that I wanted to try working for a start-up because I had no experience in that environment. And I want to create my own company in the future! So, naturally, I had many questions: How do start-ups work? What’s the atmosphere? How are they different from corporations?
Did the internship help you answer them?
I still feel rather inexperienced to give comments about the start-up scene, but I can say that Spendee is a very creative company where I fully enjoyed my time.
From my observations, you usually do everything at a start-up. For instance, my colleague and I were the only developers who worked on the Android version of the Spendee app, so our roles were not specialized. One day, you’re fixing a bug, while the other you are implementing a new feature. The advantage is that you work on something new all the time, the problem is that you may lose focus. I actually prefer working on bigger projects, maybe even on something more abstract — for now, I feel this is something start-ups may not be able to give me.
So how would your, ideal start-up look like?
It would be a tech company, of course, but I don’t care about its focus. It could be traffic, law, medicine — whatever. Ideas come with time and the right team of people. I’m still learning about the start-up scene, but I’m ready to dive into something cool as soon as there are time and an idea. I’ve learned that you might have to try numerous ideas or approaches to find the one that works for you, and not just in tech but also in life.
You started coding at the age of 10. Was it just out of curiosity?
I’ve always been interested in math, but I wouldn’t call what I did at the age of 10 “coding.” I was lucky that teachers motivated us to play with various programming languages in school, and my uncle pushed me to try website coding.
Then, when I was 13 or 14, I realized I wanted to dedicate myself to coding. At the time, I was lucky to know a guy from my hometown who was willing to help me develop my skills. We started with Java, so it was more theoretical, but suddenly I saw the depth of code. I wasn’t just trying to make a point move across the screen, I had to think about purpose and design.
In high school, you attended an IT-oriented class. Three of your fellow students are now attending the Imperial College in London, and you and a peer of yours got into Cambridge last year. The probability of it is almost impossible, given that you all come from Central Europe. What was so special about the class?
I think it was the mix of people. Having a background in math and logical thinking really helped us being focused on IT. There were many bright people in the class, so it motivated all of us to be even better. Drive is very important.
So how did you get into Cambridge?
It wasn’t my plan, actually. As you hinted, students in Slovakia and Czechia tend to think it’s impossible, and so did I. I was only sure that I wanted to study abroad. Initially, I picked The University of Edinburgh, but we could pick up to five schools in the UK, and Cambridge was among them. The only problem was that the deadline at Cambridge was three months earlier than at other schools, so I had to hurry up and prepare the required documentation, including my personal statement, in advance.
I was not sure whether I should risk it — I didn’t want to waste my time — but then I thought I might regret my decision in the future.
So I started with the personal statement, even though I had no idea how to begin. The first version — and the second, third, fourth! — were all horrible, but luckily, I was able to get advice and feedback from senior classmates, and I even contacted some people in tech to give me suggestions.
Understandably, my aim was to show how determined I was in computer science and list all my achievements in the field. Cambridge is looking for people who will stand out. Only later I found out that achievements alone are not that important unless they are proving a greater point.
Can you describe the admissions process at Cambridge?
I had to go through two rounds of interviews and a math test. In Cambridge, math is perceived as a fundamental skill, while IT is “something that they teach you.” They give you a difficult mathematical problem, and you have to lead them through your thought process as to find the solution. The problem is often designed so it can be solved only with additional clues they give you so the professors see how you can apply new information.
The interviews were on a similar note. Nobody at Cambridge expects a high degree of knowledge — they are concerned whether you can think logically and get a grasp of greater concepts.
Is the reality of Cambridge different from what you envisioned?
I love it! It’s like a candy store full of opportunities! You can sign up for so many different activities, programs and events; Hack Cambridge takes place every year. Not to mention that you get to meet hundreds of inspiring people. Frankly, the biggest challenge is to choose from all of those great opportunities and manage time wisely.
To think that I almost didn’t enroll… It motivates me to inspire people to use their time to the fullest, to do something that makes sense for their future. It really does pay out!
And you do a lot, from organizing seminars, camps and competitions to volunteering and mentoring younger students…
I am a very intuitive person, and as I said, I like working on new things and meeting new people. I enjoy being on a team, and I don’t care whether it’s at a competition or in a classroom. And such activities help me be surrounded by enthusiastic people who are willing to work on exciting stuff.
It’s also my way of inspiring other people to push themselves since I know not being lazy is not easy, but it is worth it.
Are you a young developer from Czechia or Slovakia? Would you like to launch your career in a startup in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast? Contact us right now via our website, Facebook or Twitter!
