Katerina Kocendova

My journey at SAP started in 2019 when I signed myself up for the Czechitas Thesis Award organized by a Czech nonprofit organization that educates women and children in IT. I made it all the way to the final round which included mentoring in partner companies who picked their mentees themselves. I was chosen by my future colleagues, having no idea back then, and this is how I met SAP Labs Czech Republic. My SAP mentors helped me to prepare a presentation for the award closing ceremony, enabled me to practice soft skills, gave me advice on delivering the presentation, and introduced me to what SAP does and what it is like to work there.

This experience was a turning point for me. Not only did I become one of the Czechitas Thesis Award winners but also, I was offered a student position at SAP which I accepted! Soon after that I became a full-time employee. Never would I ever imagine having a job in IT before.

At high school, biology and the human body was the field I was interested in the most, leading me to apply for optics, genetics, and finally biomedical engineering at the Brno University of Technology. Eventually, I decided to go with biomedical engineering in which I got my master’s degree in June 2020.

I joined SAP in May 2019 during the exam period. This was a super challenging time for me, however, I managed to do both at the same time: finish my exams and start a new job. My beginnings at SAP were very arduous. There was a lot to learn as a newbie, but I made it with the kind help of my colleagues. This is something I really appreciate here at SAP: the culture is very strong, and everyone is always willing to help with anything.

Being part of SAP isn’t only about working. We participate in many social activities such as running races, all kinds of volunteering, and fun activities like Bike to Work, sports tournaments and (before the pandemic) we joined the cross fit gym across the street together.

My favorite part of being a new young employee is the Early Talent community. It is a community within SAP that connects young people and students. We do a variety of activities together, including role model sessions with senior colleagues, fun get-togethers, learning opportunities etc. SAP gives its employees space and time to grow even beyond the work environment.