The holiday season is in full swing and we would like to reflect on the past year and take a moment to celebrate our employees and their cultural holidays. In today’s post, a couple of colleagues share more about holidays —  their traditions, activities, and importance. Keep reading to learn more about their different celebrations.

Diwali

Sam (Customer Success), how many days is Diwali celebrated?

Diwali is celebrated over five days, with each day having its own significance and rituals. The five days of Diwali are:

1. Dhanteras: This day is dedicated to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. People clean their homes, buy new items, and light lamps to welcome Lakshmi into their homes.
2. Narak Chaturdashi: This day is believed to be the darkest day of the year, and it is associated with the victory of good over evil. People fast and pray for the well-being of their loved ones.
3. Lakshmi Puja: This is the main day of Diwali, and it is celebrated by lighting diyas (small earthen lamps) and bursting firecrackers. People also exchange gifts and sweets with their loved ones.
4. Govardhan Puja: This day is dedicated to Krishna, the Hindu god of love and compassion. People build a small hill of cow dung and worship it as Govardhan, the cowherd of Gokul.
5. Bhai Dooj: This day is celebrated by sisters to express love and gratitude towards their brothers. Sisters pray for their brother’s well-being, and brothers offer gifts to their sisters.

Paras (Product), how do you celebrate Diwali?

Diwali is celebrated over 5 days and people like to clean the interior and exterior of homes well in advance. People wake up early, take a bath, and wear new clothes. The exterior is decorated with lanterns, lighting, diyas, and rangolis. The Goddess of wealth and prosperity Lakshmi and the God of Health Dhanwantari are worshiped. Everyone lights fireworks, burns Crackers, meets, and greets each other sharing gifts and sweets. Diwali ends with a ceremony to celebrate the bond between brother and sister.

Kanchan (Product), what are your traditions, and what is important for you during that time?

For me, Diwali is a time for family and friends! It is a time to clear out the clutter from your life and bring in freshness and prosperity. It’s also an excuse to indulge in LOTS of eating and visit friends and neighbors with food.

Diwali for us is also about traditions — making atte ka halwa for the evening prayer and making rangoli (color-filled drawings on the floor). We aren’t an overly religious family but we still love keeping up with these traditions because it keeps us connected to our culture, to who we are.

For example, Diwali has always been a time for deep cleaning of the innermost corners of our homes. Cleaning and decluttering usually start a month before the actual festival and is a LOT of work but so satisfying! Right before Diwali, my mother-in-law and I either prepare or order Indian sweets and delicacies. Typical dishes include laddoos, mathi, namak para, mohanthal, kaju katli, dry fruits like almonds, dates, etc. We also share our good fortune by bringing gifts and sweets for our house helpers and apartment support personnel. On the day of the main festival, we have a nice leisurely brunch and in the afternoon, all the women and girls gather around to make ‘rangoli’, color-filled drawings on the floor in front of the main door. My daughters, since they were old enough to participate, love this part and have to be bathed right after. Men of the house keep themselves busy putting up flower garlands on the doors and hanging up lanterns and decorations. 

As evening descends, we dress up in our fine Indian traditional clothes (making sure they aren’t too flowy as there will be lighted lamps all around the house and can be a fire hazard). We also prepare one final sweet dish (“atte ka halwa” made from wheat flour) to be offered to the Goddess Lakshmi as we pray together in the late evening. In my childhood, we used to burst firecrackers out on the street till late at night. But now we are more environmentally conscious and refrain from smoke and noise-producing firecrackers. The day winds down with more delicious food for dinner, maybe visiting some neighbors to exchange good wishes, and falling asleep to lights sparkling in windows all around the city.

Smriti (Engineering), true or false? People set off fireworks for Diwali.

True. There are lots of varieties of crackers. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights with its variations also celebrated in other Indian religions. It symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.”

Christmas

Taylor (Marketing), what are your holiday plans for Christmas?

I am flying back to the United States over Christmas. I am looking forward to the time with family, delicious food, and hopefully, there is more snow than in Germany. On the 24th, I will celebrate with my grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins from one side of my family. On Christmas morning I will open gifts and celebrate with my immediate family. In the afternoon I celebrate with my other set of grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. I will be there for just over a week, so I will work remotely from Michigan for a few days before and after Christmas.

Jon (Product), are you celebrating with your family?

Yes, we will celebrate together! As SimScale employees, we are lucky enough to have the freedom to move countries and we did that this year. We moved from Germany to the UK in August.
Our son asked if we could stop inviting everyone over at Christmas and have a small party to enjoy our new home. So this year, we will do just that and have a few days with just the four of us. Then, we will visit our wider families and then friends for New Year’s Eve. For the record, I don’t like celebrating New Year’s Eve — I prefer to treat all days as valuable. Plus…I need my beauty sleep

Elisabetta (Engineering), do you have a ritual every year?

For me, Christmas morning always means cooking with my father (and trying not to be too late with all the preparations). Our little ritual is to put on some jazz music and occasionally one of the thousand Bublé’s Christmas songs.

Kerrigan (Sales), what are your favorite Christmas traditions?

As the holiday season approaches, my family and I eagerly look forward to the cherished candlelight service at the Biltmore House in North Carolina. This yearly tradition has evolved into a heartwarming ritual, consistently filling us with the festive spirit of Christmas. Yet, the true joy lies in those precious moments spent with family. Introducing new ways to embrace family time enhances the season’s delight, creating a warm and delightful atmosphere surrounded by the presence of our loved ones.

Stefano (Engineering), what is your favorite holiday food?

For Christmas lunch in Bologna, we usually eat tortellini in broth (a typical handmade stuffed pasta in the area between Bologna and Modena) as a first dish, then the tradition is to eat trotter and cotechino with lentils. It is said that lentils bring luck and money.

As dessert in Italy, we have special Christmas cakes called Pandoro (from Verona) and Panettone (from Milan), sometimes served with warm eggnog. The main difference between Pandoro and Panettone is that the latter has candied fruit inside, but the bread has a different taste. I personally prefer Pandoro.

Obviously, wine can’t be missing. I like strong red ones, like Sangiovese, Chianti or Amarone. With dessert a Spumante or Brachetto or, even better, Passito di Pantelleria.

Eid al-Fitr

Ali (Customer Success), what are you celebrating on Eid al-Fitr?

Eid ul Fitr is one of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar. It marks the end of Ramadan, a month-long period of fasting, prayer, and reflection. The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy by Muslims all over the world.

Eid ul Fitr is a time for family, community, generosity, and gratitude. It is a time to forgive and thank, to strengthen relationships, and to help those in need. The festival is celebrated in different ways in different countries, but the underlying message of love, peace, and harmony remains the same.

In Pakistan, Eid ul Fitr is celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm. The preparations for the festival start well in advance, with people decorating their homes, buying new clothes, preparing special dishes, and donating to the poor. The day starts with a special prayer, followed by a family get-together and a feast. People exchange gifts and sweets, and children receive gifts or money from their elders as a token of love.

One of the most important aspects of Eid ul Fitr is charity. Muslims are encouraged to give to the poor and needy and to share their blessings with others. In Pakistan, many people donate money, food, and clothes to the less fortunate, and organizations set up special programs to distribute food and other essentials to those in need.

Eid ul Fitr is a time to celebrate the end of Ramadan, to reflect on the blessings of life, and to renew our commitment to our faith and our community. It is a time to come together, to share our joy and happiness, and to spread love and kindness to all those around us.

Japanese New Year

Paul (Engineering), how does Japan celebrate the new year? Is it quite different from the Chinese New Year?

In Japan, the New Year, or Shōgatsu, is primarily a family-centric event, often celebrated with grandparents. For those who rise early, the day begins with the year’s first sunrise, known as Hatsuhinode. It symbolizes the start of a new beginning, reflecting hope and renewal.  The New Year’s breakfast features “osechi-ryori,” a range of symbolic dishes served in special layered boxes called jubako. Each dish in osechi carries its own meaning, representing wishes for health, fertility, etc. Mochi, made from pounded sticky rice, is another important element of the New Year’s feast, symbolizing strength and togetherness.

Breakfast is usually followed by a visit to a local shrine, a tradition known as Hatsumōde, where prayers are offered for good health and prosperity. After the conventional celebrations are concluded, many people eagerly make their way to nearby department stores to partake in the exciting tradition of acquiring ‘Fukubukuro.’ These are specially curated bags, their contents unknown, offered at significantly discounted prices.

Paul, do you have a Christmas tree in your house? 

While personal Christmas trees are rare in Japanese homes, the holiday spirit thrives in public areas. Shopping centers and city districts have stunning Christmas tree illuminations, enveloping the surroundings in a festive mood. For those keen on a traditional Christmas tree, IKEA is one of the very few options to get one, so large lines of Europeans can be seen buying the real deal. In our family, we embrace a different approach: my wife and kids paint a large Christmas tree on several pieces of paper, which we then assemble and display on our wall. On the evening of December 24th, my kids even find something nice below the tree.

Thank you all for your great contributions! We are so excited to have you on the team! 

Here at SimScale, we have more than 130 employees from over 35 nations, with over 45 languages spoken. No wonder that so many different holidays are celebrated by our colleagues.

Now all that’s left for me to say is Happy Holidays from the entire SimScale team!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Home for the Holidays — Let’s Celebrate! appeared first on SimScale.

For this reason, over the last two years, the ESG task force (i.e., a group of people from different departments who volunteer time during the quarter to work on environmental, social, and governance projects) has focused our efforts on raising awareness and taking small steps towards becoming a mature organization in terms of sustainability.

One example of this work was the focus group we held in September, led by Darren Lynch. In this meeting, we brought together different members of the SimScale team to discuss a very relevant topic: how does remote working impact our carbon footprint and what can we do to improve the situation?

Doing this type of activity is very important because while we know that remote working can be sustainable, we must identify potential pitfalls and act on them proactively. By understanding the environmental impact of our remote working practices, we can make informed decisions.

At the end of the session, we wanted to have a series of recommended actions to address the pitfalls we identified throughout our meeting… and we found them!

Some of the issues identified that negatively affect the environment when working remotely are:

• Central heating in home offices
• Travel to the head office for events
• Generation of plastic waste

Talking openly during the focus group helped us to share solutions that some of us were already implementing and to discover new ones during the brainstorming. Some points of agreement we came to were:

1. Zoned heating will allow us to stay warm during working hours in our dedicated office/room. Instead of centrally heating rooms that are not in use, the heating can be turned on an hour before moving to those other rooms.
2. Find and use more zero-waste shops. These places stock products but not in an individually packaged form. Encouraging shopping through these means would generate better consumption habits and a reduction in the use of unnecessary plastics.
3. Purchasing energy-saving electronic devices would also help to reduce electricity consumption during the working day. During breaks or at the end of the working day, it is important to switch off or put equipment on standby to avoid unnecessary consumption.
4. Encourage remote meetings and in case of travel, use the sustainability guidelines recommended by SimScale.

This was the first of many open talks SimScale employees will be holding on sustainability and what more we can do to care for our planet. We highly recommend that you take the time to talk about these issues with colleagues, family, and friends because while individual efforts are crucial, collective actions amplify the impact.

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Sustainability in Remote Work: Let’s Talk About It! appeared first on SimScale.

“When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfillment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best, for yourself and for others.”

Cara Delevingne

Why Is a Healthy Work-Life Balance Important?

Work-life balance is a vital part of a healthy and productive work environment. An individual who achieves this balance successfully dedicates an equal amount of time to work-related tasks and personal matters without experiencing stress or becoming overwhelmed.

Our Work-Life Harmony

Name: Parker Maples

From: United States

Position: Account Executive in North America

Time at SimScale: 2 years

Parker, what does work-life balance mean for you and how do you live it?

Work-life balance is just that, a “balance.” It needs to be a healthy balance for you to succeed at both work and life. Feeling accomplished at work feeds happiness into life, and having time to focus on your personal life allows you to put the needed effort and focus into work. Working from home allows me to be with my 4-month-old daughter throughout the day, giving her my attention as needed, while also having the time to focus on my work duties.

Are you satisfied with your work schedule?

Very much so, yes. Working from home lets me give my family my attention when needed and then get back to my work. If I was working from an office, I wouldn’t be able to run downstairs and help and then hop back on the computer.

Name: Gabriela Falcón

From: Brazil

Position: Growth Product Manager

Time at SimScale: Less than 1 year

Gabriela, you recently started working at SimScale. Do you feel on board now and do you enjoy a healthy work-life balance?

After 3 months in SimScale, I feel completely onboarded and ready to help my team achieve our goals. So far, the work has been well-balanced and I’ve been able to travel around the world while still being able to fulfill my tasks.

Name: Daniel Jovic

From: Germany

Position: Learning and Development Specialist

Time at SimScale: 6 years

Daniel, you have worked for SimScale for quite a long time. You currently work 4 days a week — does this help you keep a good work-life balance?

Absolutely! I have now more time to focus on my personal growth, my hobbies, and my passions. I am grateful for the flexibility that SimScale offers. I feel more fulfilled in my private life — and at my job. The 4 day work week is the perfect middle ground.

What are some healthy actions that you take to keep a better work/life routine?

I try to meditate daily, it helps me to calm my mind. Light exercise (stretching, morning gymnastics) in the morning helps me to wake up. I am a big fan of “focus time” in the morning, that’s when I reach my peak productivity and get most things done. Getting enough sleep every day is super important and should never be compromised, as sleep regulates almost everything: one’s mood, feelings, focus, concentration, creativity, cognitive processes, etc. I dedicate a lot of my spare time to my passions and hobbies, which help me be motivated at work as well.

Name: Sharan Bindra

From: United Kingdom

Position: Sales Development Representative

Time at SimScale: Less than 1 year

Sharan, you have been here for less than a year. How often do you take breaks during the workday to recharge or relax?

I think work breaks are important to keep you performing at a consistent level and keep your motivation high throughout the day. Every hour, I take a few minutes to get up and stretch so that my body doesn’t begin to tire and drink water. During lunch, I like to take a short walk outside to get some fresh air and ideas. Movement and stretching are a necessity and really help me to recharge and feel good throughout the day!

Thank you all for your great contributions! We are so excited to have you on the team!

Here at SimScale we truly believe that a healthy work-life balance is very important because it increases productivity and improves mental health and wellbeing. We help and support our employees with flexible working hours and remote work from across the globe. As a result, our employees have less stress commuting or being stuck in traffic and enjoy more time at home with their families.

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Work-Life Balance at SimScale appeared first on SimScale.

So… we decided to get down to work!

What is Appreciation Week at SimScale?

In the context of World Gratitude Day, we decided to dedicate a week to thank our colleagues for their invaluable contribution to making SimScale an amazing place to work. As such, everyone was invited to send their appreciation and kudos through our internal Slack channels, either publicly or privately. This activity was a wonderful reminder of the great team we have and the achievements we have been making in recent times.

Why does this matter?

At SimScale, we know that recognition and appreciation are vitally important topics for motivation and engagement. It allows us to see the impact of our individual contributions on corporate objectives, as well as to enhance the development of our colleagues. We are convinced that actions such as these contribute to the development of a culture of recognition that must be worked on and strengthened on a daily basis. For this reason, the ESG team is working on other initiatives that will soon be implemented. Stay tuned!

Are you appreciating your colleagues enough?

If the answer is no, we recommend that you take 10 minutes and write a nice message to a colleague thanking them for their effort and dedication! Not only does it feel great, but you can also make your colleague’s day! Would you like to thank a colleague but don’t know how to write it? Here are some tips.

To enhance the clarity and effectiveness of the message, we suggest that appreciations should be structured as follows:

Who? Include the person or group of people you want to appreciate.

What? Specify what the person did or is doing that merits appreciation.

How? Describe how their actions make you feel.

When? (optional) If you want to refer to a specific situation, you can include it separately or within the “what.”

Example: I would like to [appreciate/say thank you to] [Colleague name]. Every time I have an issue with [something], he/she/they is/are there to assist me. This makes me feel extremely safe and not unsure or scared at all if any problem arises. 

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Appreciation Week at SimScale! appeared first on SimScale.

Name: Steven Lainé

From: United Kingdom

Position: Application Engineering Manager

Time at SimScale: 3 years

Steven, what has been your biggest contribution at SimScale?

I feel that empowering my team of amazing Application Engineers and helping them to achieve their full potential is the most impactful thing that I can do for SimScale and for my team. Since joining SimScale, my biggest contribution, in my opinion, has been the transfer of knowledge to the Application Engineers.

What keeps you going every day? 

I am driven and encouraged every day to make SimScale the best that it can be for its customers and for its employees. One of the most satisfying parts of my job is when a potential new customer of SimScale is excited by what we offer and realizes the value that they can gain from using SimScale. As an Engineer with a Ph.D. in Materials Science, I find it really interesting to learn about how our customers would like to optimize their designs with simulation.

What makes you proud to be a SimScaler?

I am proud to be a SimScaler because I truly believe that we are providing an incredibly valuable software and service package to our customers. Furthermore, the working environment and culture at SimScale are amazing and I am truly proud to be part of it. Because SimScale is the first place that I have worked where you really feel like everyone is working together to make SimScale the best that it can be for our clients and for our employees.

What made you join the team?

The vision of SimScale to empower every engineer to innovate faster by making engineering simulation truly accessible at any scale was what really drew me to SimScale. Before joining SimScale, I was leading an Application Engineering team at one of the more traditional simulation providers and the vision of SimScale appealed to me. Once I met the team and founders at SimScale, I was sure that the work environment and culture was a perfect fit for my personality and values. With so many nationalities and cultures in SimScale, there is never a dull moment.

What has been your highlight working at SimScale so far?

I have recently started leading our partnership program and this is really rewarding for me because I love learning about all of the exciting new technologies that our partners are working on. Through this work, my personal highlight of working at SimScale so far was successfully developing a partnership relationship with our sales partner in Japan: Kozo Keikaku Engineering, Inc. to expand into the Japanese market. I traveled to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto to launch SimScale in Japan — this was an amazing experience personally and professionally. I find different cultures and travel really interesting, so this was a great highlight for me.

What are you looking forward to?

I am really looking forward to being part of the continued growth and development of SimScale. Since I joined 3 years ago, SimScale has implemented multiple new physics and capabilities which has given me the opportunity to learn and grow my knowledge in many different disciplines. Some of the upcoming developments on the SimScale platform are really exciting and I am looking forward to seeing how we can disrupt the traditional approach to engineering design and simulation.

Thank you for all of your great contributions, Steven! We are so excited to have you on the team!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Employee Spotlight – Steven Lainé appeared first on SimScale.

But first…what is the ESG task force?

It’s a group of volunteers from different teams and departments within SimScale that work together on Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G) related projects. In the time it has been functioning, the task force has developed a dozen policies, guidelines, and procedures to strengthen the company’s governance, measured our carbon footprint and achieved Carbon Neutral status during 2023, raised awareness through internal training on topics like Workplace Harassment and Unconscious Bias, and laid the groundwork to collaborate more and directly with our society with initiatives such as the Volunteer Program, among others.

World Environment Day

As we were preparing the Q2 2023 program, we knew we wanted to organize an inclusive activity for everyone, regardless of their location, something fun that would directly impact the environment. The timing was perfect: we knew that World Environment Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers the environment faces and what we can do to protect it, was celebrated in June.

During the meeting, Steffen, one of the members of the ESG task force, suggested: “How about an activity where whoever comes to the office chooses to take the stairs (note: we’re on the fourth floor) instead of the elevator? Based on how many times they do it, we could plant trees in a place that has recently suffered deforestation or similar damage. We can do it throughout the month.”

Done! We had the perfect idea for the occasion and we named it #WorldEnvironmentalMonth! Now, we needed to address a few issues:

1. How do we count the number of times the stairs are used?

No problem! With a couple of components, Steve, another member of the ESG task force, took on designing this amazing counter that each person would press upon entering or leaving the office, before using the stairs.

2. How do we involve our remote colleagues who can’t come to the office?

Well, that’s simple! Stairs are not exclusive to the office. They are everywhere: public transportation, buildings, stores, etc. Each time they choose to use stairs instead of an elevator or escalator, it counts too!

3. How do we record it?

We committed to making a weekly post in a special Slack channel for the #WorldEnvironmentalMonth where we discussed highly relevant topics on the path to sustainability (e.g., plastic pollution, deforestation, water conservation, and renewable energy), along with statistical data and interesting articles. Whenever a colleague used the stairs, they could react with an emoji to the weekly posts!

Thanks to the contribution of everyone who participated in this initiative, SimScale participated in the planting of 100 trees in the Bavaria region of Germany, alongside onetreeplanted. This contribution helped improve an area that had been affected by drought, storms, and bark beetle infestation. Furthermore, using stairs instead of the elevator resulted in saving 10.491 kg of carbon.

We’re thrilled about this activity and look forward to sharing many more with you in the future!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Environmental Month 2023 appeared first on SimScale.

What is your role at SimScale? What do you do?

I’m covering two roles at SimScale — Technical Program Manager for two major initiatives: rotating machinery (RM) and Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC), and as passionate as I am about simulation, I continued working in my previous role as the Senior CFD Developer.

What is your background? 

I’m a civil engineer by training and have always been extremely interested in anything related to water — what behavior it exhibits in nature and how we can use this tremendous power to our benefit without harming the environment itself.

I was born in Montenegro, a small coastal country in South-East Europe. This is where my enormous appreciation for nature comes from, as in my childhood we were able to reach the seaside (Adriatic Sea) and one of the highest mountains in the region (Durmitor, a part of the Dinaric Alps) within an hour of driving. As much as I love my country, I spent almost ⅔ of my life traveling and visiting some amazing places around the globe, until I finally decided to settle down in Munich, Germany after I finished my PhD (guess what, again related to water) and married.

What brought you to SimScale? 

Before doing my PhD, which was a major endeavor in the world of academia, where I understood some different (theoretical) principles, and what could play a significant role in many particular flow patterns, I was working in the industry for the entire four years, solving the day-to-day problems in the engineering field. When I was looking for a new job, I had a strong urge to combine those two fields, i.e., to stay close to research and also have an impact on the lives of regular people and help them improve their living standards. This is exactly what I found within SimScale — constant innovation of what we are doing, life-long learning and development, and extremely supportive teams where everyone is motivated to give 110%.

What has been your biggest accomplishment at SimScale?

Besides the numerous career paths that we can choose from here, I’m delighted that I can follow my personal goals and develop certain skills that allow me to now communicate with a wider range of personalities, starting from the nerdy developers (as I once was and still am ) to the extremely outwards-oriented product managers. This allows me to understand different points of view and combine exactly those elements that each party benefits from. In my opinion, working with people is the hardest work but also a huge privilege.

What are you proud of?

I would not use the word ‘proud’ as it implies only personal achievements, but rather extremely satisfied to have a chance to work with such intelligent people. While not everyone’s cause is to have an impact and move forward bit by bit, I have been lucky to be able to experience that and continuously contribute to it, as a part of my personal efforts or as a part of a larger SimScaler group.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is to understand different cultures and how they shape us as individuals. As this is also my huge love, I gladly go in and explore the limits on purpose, although the results are not always pleasing or at least not expected. In the end, we can only come out smarter afterward.

What excites you?

It never stops exciting me to learn something new about the people and world around me — this is why I love traveling and exploring new horizons, from volcanic islands and black beaches, over Indonesian komodo varanas and Icelandic puffin birds, to extreme diving experiences and delicious food all over the world (it took me some tries to figure it out ). When calm, I love reading a good book, learning new languages, or having deep, meaningful conversations with chosen people.

What makes you you?

This is always a difficult question to answer, but I guess my positive attitude towards life, never-ending motivation to do something meaningful, and strong moral principles that shape my sense of fairness and make people believe me and rely on what we shook hands about.

What do people value about you? 

One more question that has no simple answer. I would rather hear other people talking about it. Yet, if I have to pick something then I guess it would be honesty, integrity, and endless curiosity. The last one might not always be welcoming at the beginning, but as I am one of the “why” persons and ask all kinds of different questions from the deepest place of honesty and curiosity, they also open up with time, which I appreciate a lot.

Thank you for sharing, Nevena!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post It’s Women’s Wednesday at SimScale: Get to Know Nevena appeared first on SimScale.

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Albert Einstein

Name: Sila Altuntas
From: Izmir, Turkey
Working student position: Junior Designer
Current position: UX/UI Designer
Time at SimScale: 2 years

Why did you decide to become a working student with us back then?

I wanted to kickstart my career by gaining practical experience in the field while I was still a master’s student. I was incredibly enthusiastic about applying the knowledge I had acquired during my studies to real-world scenarios. Additionally, like any other student, I wanted financial independence.

What is your background? 

I studied Industrial Design/Design Management in Turkey for my bachelor’s degree and actively participated in diverse design projects. I was eager to advance in my career and pursued a master’s education in Germany, where I discovered SimScale which allowed me to merge the knowledge gained from both degrees and shape my career path.

Name: Sebastian Block
From: Lübeck, Germany
Working student position: Customer Support Agent
Current position: Customer Support Engineer
Time at SimScale: 2.5 years

Could you tell us a bit more about your day-to-day work as a working student at SimScale? What tasks did you perform?

As a working student, I was supporting our community and academic users with the usage of the platform, whether via chat or on the forum. This included helping with their simulation setup or helping to get the academic license for a thesis project. In addition, I was keeping in contact with our sponsorships for student competition teams, as well as supporting the documentation team with content on the platform. 

What excites you?

I really love a good challenge and helping users. Therefore, it always excites me to have a tricky support case, where a user is facing a difficult problem. In these cases, I can challenge myself, expand my knowledge, and help the customer to gain further insight into their project.

Name: Kaan Yenipazar
From: Marmaris, Turkey
Working student position: Customer Support Agent Intern
Current position: Customer Support Engineer
Time at SimScale: 11 months

How many hours a week did you work as a working student? How did you handle working as a student trainee while studying at university?

Although I was a working student, I’ve been working full-time since I joined SimScale. This was possible because I had already completed my coursework, and I was in my thesis period. It was challenging at first to adjust my schedule, but in time it got better. Especially after I decided to include this product in my own academic research as well. 

What are you proud of? 

I’m proud to have taken the courageous step of transitioning my career role from design engineer to SimScale as a Customer Support Engineer. This decision has not only allowed me to step out of my comfort zone but has also brought me happiness and fulfillment.

Name: Nur Ozturk
From: Canakkale, Turkey
Working student position: Application Engineer & Product Manager
Current position: Product Manager
Time at SimScale: 2 years

Why did you decide to take on a full-time position at SimScale after graduating?

I had been working at SimScale as a working student for some time already but my learning curve was still going up every day, and I knew there was still a lot to accomplish. I love being part of a team of motivated people striving for big achievements. And, I knew it was the right decision for me to embrace new challenges and move forward with the team.

What has been your biggest accomplishment at SimScale? 

I’d say my biggest accomplishment has been changing my approach while framing the problems. During the studies, it’s easy to get caught up in the theory and jump into the solution definition right away. Whereas, during my time at SimScale, I shifted my perspective and prioritized the problem definition instead. I now place greater emphasis on gaining a profound understanding of our users’ perspectives before delving into potential solutions.

Name: Fran García Villanueva
From: Valencia, Spain
Working student position: Working Student CFD Developer
Current position: CFD Developer
Time at SimScale: 2 years 3 months

How did your transition to a permanent position go?

I had the opportunity to write my thesis at SimScale, already working on our new Immersed Boundary solver, which meant that during my last six months at SimScale, I worked full-time. Therefore, transitioning to the permanent position was rather uneventful. I simply took a week off with my remaining days off as a working student.

What do people value about you? 

Working in a team with very experienced people, I try to bring ideas about how to do things differently. Although most of them end up discarded, the team appreciates this creativity.

Thank you all!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Career Path Stories: From Working Students to Full-Time Employees appeared first on SimScale.

As one of our values says, “We walk the talk”. For this reason, we knew we had to engage as an organization in concrete sustainability actions that would leverage the efforts that many organizations and individuals around the world are making to achieve the global goals defined in the Paris Agreement.

In 2022, we began this journey by establishing an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) task force composed of different SimScale professionals who dedicate time over and above their daily tasks to discuss and find solutions to the problems inherent to this area.

The work of the task force was focused on defining a clear and precise ESG strategy based on sustainability principles and governance. These were the foundations that allowed much more ambitious plans to be put in place, such as our Carbon Neutrality Project.

It was during the same year that SimScale conducted its first-ever Corporate Carbon Footprint measurement for the year 2021. Together with our partner ClimatePartner, we collected and processed all the information required by the GHG Protocol in order to ensure that our processed data was complete.

The process of data collection, measurement, reporting, and analysis took approximately one month and yielded the following results:

After obtaining accurate information on our corporate carbon footprint, we decided to offset 100% of our emissions by financing a project. Three projects were considered and after a vote from all SimScale employees, we decided on a solar energy project in Morocco. This project is significant for the region as it increases the availability of clean, renewable energy while minimizing the exploitation of greenhouse gas fossil fuels, a clear accelerator of global warming.

As a result, we officially became a corporate carbon neutral company for the year 2023. We’re so proud of this!

We know that this is only the beginning of a path with which we hope to lead by example in the preservation and care of our environment. For this reason, during the year 2023, we have been working on, and have on our roadmap, the following projects:

• Measurement of our 2022 corporate carbon footprint and comparative analysis of the results
• Definition of sustainable travel and procurement policies
• Continue to offset our carbon emissions that could not be reduced with the sustainable measures introduced
• Encourage a culture of sustainable consumption of our resources in the office
• Lay the groundwork for the design of a long-term net zero emissions plan

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post Our Carbon Neutral Journey appeared first on SimScale.

Name: Steffen Berbalk

From: Germany

Position: Account Executive

Time at SimScale: 2 years

What are your responsibilities here at SimScale?

As an account executive, I assist potential clients with their evaluation journey of SimScale. My main job is to extend demos and business cases so that the value of SimScale is well-known and communicated. On top of that, I support internal processes with the goal of making our sales team more efficient.

What does your typical day look like?

Generally, there is no typical day in our sales department; every day is something new. However, we start with our sales scrum and discuss important topics of the day. I often prepare some material for clients and attend demos, or search for accounts to support our technology.

What are some of the challenges you have faced so far?

As I am not an engineer by trade, I had to start from zero and learn everything about SimScale and the world of simulation. However, as I see the great value that SimScale has to change the industry, this was not hard and now I feel more than confident to support our new customers with their adoption of SimScale.

When are you the most productive?

I am more productive when I have engaging conversations with clients because this is when I learn the most. Also, I can find new ways to support and build a trusting relationship.

What would you say are three things you can’t live without?

My family and girlfriend. I love spending time with them.  A general purpose to get up in the morning is also very important to me. I couldn’t live without podcasts as I enjoy listening to them daily.

What makes SimScale unique to you? 

For me, SimScale is a company that is driven by a defined purpose, and everyone in the team is driven to fulfill exactly this — we want to empower every engineer to innovate faster. Having this kind of purpose is essential for me to keep motivated and I love this about SimScale. 

Thank you, Steffen!

Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

The post My Life at SimScale: Steffen Berbalk, Account Executive appeared first on SimScale.