Dmytro Yakobiuk: “Enjoy your way, use the opportunities, do what you love”
Dmytro Yakobiuk from Ukraine graduated from Materials and Processes of Sustainable Energetics in 2017. Currently he is working for ABB at R&D department as an embedded software developer.
Dmytro is talking about his decision to come to Estonia, remembering university times and sharing his after-graduation experience.
Curiosity for international environment
In 2015 Study in Estonia was actively popularizing Estonian higher educational institutions in Ukraine. And so I have heard about an opportunity to study in Estonia from several sources at the same time. Back then it looked attractive to me for various reasons, among which:
- There was an interesting Master’s degree programme Materials and processes of sustainable energetics, offered at TalTech University. Sustainable energetics was getting more popular in Ukraine and worldwide, while European Union countries were already among recognised leaders in renewable energy utilization as well as in energy efficiency. So Estonia was a reasonable place to go for adopting experience and practice in this field.
- For some reason I always had this strange curiosity for international environment and studies in a different country was a way for me to get out of the comfort zone and satisfy my curiosity.
Good old university days
Funny
Well, I have come to Estonia with electrical engineering background to study sustainable energy processes. But eventually I ended up becoming an embedded software engineer. Isn’t it funny?
Challenging
The most challenging task for me was to find professional activity that I would enjoy doing after my graduation. I was actively trying myself in different areas: computer simulations in different environments, data science, 3D modelling and different programming languages etc. Accidentally, by participating in one of the university projects I have found out that I like embedded software development.
University friends
I think there is one really important benefit of higher education and it is networking. At the university you are surrounded with people that help you to become better. Of course, I have made friends with some people from the university and got a lot of cultural exchange experience. Sometimes we meet up with friends and share our life stories, work experience and important information, support each other or even travel together.
Things you miss
There was a lot of free time at the university, so I could spend it for myself. Thus, I have started doing some sport activities I continue with till today. And I am not sure if I would have started doing that without studying at TalTech.
Things you don’t miss
I guess I do not miss the exams :D I overall don’t like exams as a form of knowledge evaluation, because they make students to be afraid of their mistakes. And so it destructively affects students’ mindset. In real life mistakes are very bad only if repeated. I believe that exams must be reformed somehow.
After graduation
For some reason before TalTech I saw myself in management or sales. But after the first year of my studies I already knew that I would like to try myself in embedded software development. At the same time, I wanted to combine this with my background in sustainable energetics. I thought it would be cool to develop software for solar inverters or some smart energy management systems. However, so far I did not get hired for that kind of jobs.
Position of embedded SW engineer in ABB was very attractive for me as well. I knew that ABB has a very good reputation and all the processes within the company are very well-organized. ABB produces high quality power and automation products. So for me it looked like a good idea to start working there and to get some experience.
I had about 4 interviews and in the end I was declined. I tried to keep in touch with the management even after that, and eventually I got this position. It actually took me 7 months to get what I wanted, but it was totally worth it! Workplace culture and environment are very good. I work along the true professionals in the field I can learn a lot from. We collaborate with the teams from various countries: Finland, USA, China, India, Poland and Germany. I even had opportunity to live and work in Finland for a short-term assignment for several month.
Current activities
As an embedded software developer at ABB’s R&D department I am involved in a software design for frequency converters - devices that give an opportunity to control AC motors efficiently. Our products are used worldwide in different applications, such as lifts, cranes, conveyors, heat and ventilation etc.
I am also a part of the ISEAUTO project led by TalTech with the aim of developing the first Estonian self-driving car. My current company ABB supports the project in different ways as well. For instance, my team and I spend some time for development of the software for ISEAUTO’s safety controller.
As a part of my future plans, I would like to increase my technical expertise in software development, electronics and power conversion, as well as in soft skills, such as communication. This way I would like to increase my chances to participate in attractive projects or receive an attractive job position.
Estonia — digital, clean and cozy
When I think about Estonia the first association that comes to my mind is e-governance. This is just awesome! It simplifies life a lot. Of course, I have traveled around and there is very nice nature in Estonia with plenty of bogs, cliffs, rivers, lakes and islands. In general life pace is slow here, no rush, no significant traffic jams. Estonia is clean and cozy country.
Message to graduates
I think that events, that have the most significant impact in our lives are rather random. To some extent people are just pretending that they have a reliable plan. So, I wish the graduates to enjoy their way, to do what they love, and to be ready to use the opportunities that are presenting themselves.
Photos by Arno Mikkor (1,3) and from Dmytro’s private collection (2)
