»It's about finding your own path«
Gürkan Koyuncu on being a role model for future IT talents
Engineer the Future is Denmark’s technological alliance, consisting of approximately 50 companies, educational institutions, and interest organisations, including Netcompany. Together we create space for all children and young people in technology and science.
1. A different journey into the IT industry
Working in IT wasn’t originally in the cards for me. I wasn’t particularly interested in anything related to school and my dream was to become a professional soccer player. However, at 19, a knee injury put an end to that dream, and I had to consider other career options. I had a friend who was studying IT at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and he recommended that I apply and that was the start of my journey into the IT industry. It soon turned out that my desire to go to school and my interest in IT grew along with my accomplishments. Something I hadn’t experienced before.
»It's important for me to help break down some of the assumptions and prejudices that exist about the IT industry and to challenge the stereotype that IT is nerdy. Because IT is so much more than that«
2. The mentality of working hard comes from home
My father has always been my biggest role model. Throughout my childhood, my father had his own business and I remember him working very hard to provide for me and the rest of the family. From him, I learned that hard work pays off and if you pursue the things, you’re passionate about, you’ll be able to reach your goals. That’s something that really resonated with me and it’s an advice that I pass on as a role model for young people.
3. A good role model must be able to »walk the talk«
For me, it’s important to »walk the talk« and show young people through my own personal story that there are many ways into the IT industry – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be the direct or most traditional one that is necessarily the right one. It’s about finding your own path. I want to show young people who are feeling uncertain or pressured by expectations regarding their education that they can make something of themselves, even if they don’t love going to school.
4. The goal is to inspire and motivate
My parents are from Turkey, and I have sometimes found myself being different and standing out from others. Therefore, I want to show that even if you stand out from the crowd, it doesn’t determine your success in life. I hope to be able to motivate and inspire young people to dare to pursue their dreams – no matter where they come from.
5. IT is not necessarily nerdy
I chose to be a role model with Engineer the Future because it’s important for me to help break down some of the assumptions and prejudices that exist about the IT industry and to challenge the stereotype that IT is nerdy. Because IT is so much more than that. For me, the best thing about working in IT is that there are so many career options to choose from. If you work with socially critical IT solutions, you can make a real difference for people in society, and I want to help put even more focus on that.
