Pinja’s staff events are organized throughout the year in a variety of configurations around different themes, both locally, within teams and among the whole staff. At the end of April, the data warehouse and BI experts of Pinja’s 80-strong Business Intelligence team gathered for their annual spring party in the beautiful lakeside scenery of Murikanranta in Tampere.
This year, the theme of the BI team’s two-day event was Artificial Intelligence Hackdays. Artificial intelligence and machine learning were selected as training topics because of their topicality: many companies want to use these tools, but the ways to use them to meet the individual needs of the companies are not clear yet. Developing the skills of BI experts is a response to this need.
Many of Pinja’s data warehouse and BI experts are already working on AI and machine learning on an ongoing basis, and demand for their use continues to grow.
After an introduction and AI training, the participants formed teams to tackle the AI and machine learning challenges assigned to them. During and after the agenda, good food, optional activities, and, above all, face-to-face encounters between BI experts working in different teams were enjoyed. The event was also the Pinja BI team’s spring party – it has become a tradition.
One of the Pinjans involved in the event was Samuel Rahikainen, a resident of Jyväskylä, working on knowledge management in the field of well-being and health technology.
- Hackdays served several simultaneous purposes. First of all, we wanted to provide an opportunity to get together, get to know each other, and meet face to face – we BI experts live all over Finland, and many of us work remotely. Another important part of the event was machine learning and AI training. In some of our client projects, these topics are already part of everyday life, and in the rest, the trend is strongly upwards, says Samuel.Two challenges, nine teams, 24 hours
Many of Pinja’s data warehouse and BI experts are already working on AI and machine learning on an ongoing basis, and demand for their use continues to grow. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to improve the business efficiency of Finnish and international customers in different industries, while saving material and human resources. They were also a good topic for internal training, because it is easy to combine amusement and usefulness around the themes.
At the event, the theme was introduced by Pinja’s BI and data architect Teemu, after which the participants were divided into nine teams to solve practical machine learning challenges. In the challenges, the teams worked together to develop machine learning solutions to tasks from real customers that also meet real needs.
- Teemu gave us a good start and the tools to tackle the challenges. Together we learned more about prediction, machine learning, and the use of artificial intelligence. We learned more about tools that can be used, and how to clean up data for forecasting, among other things. It also gave me more confidence in how the process works in practice, Samuel says.
Pinja’s customers provided interesting assignments for the challenges, and companies also have access to the results of the work of Pinja’s BI experts and data warehouse specialists.
- Each team was given the choice of which of the two challenges to tackle, and the way of implementation was mostly up to the discretion of the teams. Our team took on the challenge of predicting visitor numbers, and we used weather data in our solution, among others. In the end, we all reviewed the work of all teams together. It was instructive to hear how others had approached the same challenge in different ways, says Samuel.
In addition to his role as a participant, Samuel had the pleasing task of planning the leisure activities for the event. There were many options from badminton to pool, gym to board games, sauna to karaoke, and walking in the woods to relaxing in peace. A fun surprise show was Gang Land, a story set in the 1930s, which featured a playful race to conquer America with teams familiar from the machine learning challenge.
- The main aim was to find a way for each participant to relax and spend their free time in a way that suits them. We received a lot of positive feedback on the spot, and it felt like the goal was achieved, and the event was a success. The people were happy and content, and the activities were well attended. For me, the best part was seeing my colleagues and having fun together. It’s always warming to see people in person, Samuel says.There is always time for other team members
The Pinja BI team’s Hackdays event was also their traditional joint spring party. The annual spring party highlights the successes of the year, and rewards spirit creators and achievers appreciated by colleagues. The winners are chosen by democratic vote.
At this year’s event, the Pinja Smile trophy for a helpful and happy person was presented to Data Warehouse Specialist Markus Taskila.
- The trophy went exactly to the right place. Markus is very helpful, and always ready to give others his time. On top of that, he’s a sunny and nice guy, says Samuel.
Samuel, who started at Pinja in May 2022, was recognized in the event as well: he won the Most Splendid Newcomer of the Year award.
- I have been happy to work at Pinja. Starting there was one of the best decisions of my life. We have a good team spirit and good things to do in this group. It sounds a bit cheesy, but I’m genuinely happy to come to work every day. The projects are challenging and interesting, and there are so many different types of customers that there is something for everyone, Samuel says.
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