“Everything I learnt at MDU I’ve been able to apply in my work”

Nikola Radisavljevic came to MDU as an exchange student to deepen his knowledge of software engineering. Today he is working as a team leader and product owner at ABB Crane Systems, where he began his career just a few days after completing his studies on the Master’s programme in Software Engineering.

– The programme gave me experience of working with real projects and clients while still studying. The contacts I made in connection with these projects helped me later to get jobs. Everything I learnt at MDU I’ve been able to apply in my work, says Nikola Radisavljevic.

In 2014 Nikola Radisavljevic took his degree and after only a few days he started work as a systems engineer at ABB Crane Systems in Västerås. The company develops computer systems for automating the process of container cranes in harbours all over the world. Today Nikola Radisavljevic is the product owner and leader of a team of seven system developers who are focusing on improving these systems.

– I travel a lot in my work to meet clients and to see what we need to improve in our systems to meet their requirements. I then bring this back home to our team where we can develop system solutions together, says Nikola Radisavljevic.

Practical applications attracted him

In 2012 Nikola Radisavljevic came to MDU as an exchange student. In his home country of Serbia he had taken a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Computer Science. After graduating he moved to Sweden to learn more about how computer science could be used in practice.

– Software development is about so much more than just programming. I wanted to learn more about how it worked when managing projects in industry, getting a requirements specification from clients, working with design solutions, getting back to the principal and delivering a final product, says Nikola Radisavljevic.

Delivered beyond expectations

With all the facts in hand Nikola Radisavljevic thinks that the programme delivered beyond his expectations. Apart from technical knowledge he also gained knowledge about what it is like to drive projects in practice. What he has appreciated most about his education is the close contact with the teachers, as well as the group projects.

– All the projects we did during our studies were done in groups. This meant that we learnt to interact and cooperate with different types of people of different backgrounds. In industry people seldom work alone, so it was very useful testing this while still studying, says Nikola Radisavljevic.