What’s your background and how did you end up in Anders? 

I have previously worked at a GIS company for almost 5 years, and after that, I joined Anders and now it’s already my sixth year at Anders. I think the main reason that I applied here in Anders is that I was really impressed by Anders’ marketing video and thought it must be a cool company.

And indeed, it is a cool company in many ways and I’m glad I made the move.

What has been your favorite project? 

There are several projects that I like, but if I must choose one, I’d say it’s renewed Excursion Map for Metsähallitus.

Metsähallitus (Parks & Wildlife Finland) wanted to renew the Retkikartta.fi web map service, which is intended for applying for nature and wilderness services. The original version of the excursion map was from 2007 and Anders was chosen to renew the entire service. The plan was to develop a responsive excursion map application and infrastructure to maintain the service. The new service was released in June 2020. Read more about the system.

You are our senior GIS specialist – what is the most interesting thing in geographic technologies?

A widely used example is Cholera Map by John Snow in 1854. John Snow was able to back his arguments of the source of the disease to the contaminated water pump by mapping out the locations of cholera deaths and local water wells.

There are many resources online to learn about GIS technologies, especially open-source technologies. I think that’s a good place to start. But I think what’s more important is to find out how GIS can be applied to solve problems in different domains. This would require knowledge both in GIS and specific domains.

As a non-Finnish speaking employee, have you been settled well into Anders culture? 

Anders has a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and I always feel I’m surrounded by supportive colleagues. English is the working language of the company, which makes it easier for international employees. I find myself well settled to Anders way of doing, and would recommend Anders to other international employees.

What’s the best thing about Anders? 

I think the best thing about Anders is the great environment and supportive culture. People are willing to help each other, and if there’re problems, teams are solving them together.

Tuomas and Mingfeng were HC foosball players when offices were more actively used. 

What are the pros of working in Finland overall? 

In my opinion, one of the best things is the work-life balance. People are able to enjoy more good time with the family (parental leaves, paid leaves for taking care of sick children, etc.) and all the facilities are well set up for families with kids.

WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE MINGFENG HERE AT ANDERS, WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE HIM! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OPEN POSITIONS, DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME.