Computer Science graduate with foreign qualifications

- Artyom Fefers

 

Easier than expected

Actually he was going to go to university to start an education when he noticed the computer science programme. He applied, got in, studied and got a job even before graduating. Oh well, there’s nothing unusual about that is there? That’s what most people do.

 

But in Artyom Fefers’ case it was surprising that his way through the Danish education system could be so easy. He came to Denmark from Israel eight years ago. The education that qualified him for entry was taken in Russia and is difficult to compare to a Danish upper secondary education.

 

“At UCN - University College of Northern Denmark they evaluated all my qualifications, my education as well as my experience and they were willing to enrol me to the computer science programme. That was my luck, because it can be difficult to get into Danish higher education programmes as a foreigner.” says Artyom.

 

System developer at Jyske Bank

Today, Artyom is a system developer in E-bank at Jyske Bank and the got the job even before his final examination.

 

”When our studies were nearly finished the job offers were pouring in at UCN - University College of Northern Denmark. So even though it was actually my plan to go to university to continue my studies I applied for a couple of the most interesting jobs. I went to two job interviews and the one at Jyske Bank ended with their offering me a job that I accepted.” says Artyom.

 

E-bank where Artyom works is Jyske Bank’s home banking solution and at the moment he is just waiting for something to go wrong. Artyom is part of a watch team that steps in to fix errors as soon as possible after they occur in the system.

”Faulty bank systems may have serious consequences because so many people and companies are completely dependent on their functionality. That is why we have to act and react fast if something unexpected happens”, says Artyom.

 

Much of what he learnt on the programme at UCN - University College of Northern Denmark is useful in his daily work. The project models and principles of project management that Artyom got to know during his studies are also used at the bank.

 

Valuable education

”It was a really good study programme and theory was closely connected to practical assignments to allow us to see the value of what we learned continuously. But I think the best part were the extensive possibilities for the final exam project. My group developed the idea of a web based SMS service where users could send SMSes abroad cheaply.

 

Apart from the technical part of the project we also performed a market survey using an on-line questionnaire that we had drawn up ourselves. We also prepared a business model where we used the knowledge of marketing, logistics and organisation theory that we had achieved during out studies.”

 

Furthermore, we looked at possible sub-suppliers and picked out the best suited ones. Now the whole system is on a server in Texas, finished and ready to use. So all in all it is a programme that qualifies you for all aspects of business life, says Artyom and points to the fact that there are three Computer Science graduates from UCN - University College of Northern Denmark employed at Jyske Bank. Three from his own class and three from the class of the year before.