Meet our youngest ambassador

Get to know Marinka Vervaart, a student in Business Administration and RightBrains’ youngest ambassador. She has a keen interest in how business and IT can work even closer together. Marinka recently completed RightBrains and Axveco’s e-learning journey on Big Data to broaden her knowledge and future-proof her skill set.

Have you always wanted to work in digital technology?

The IT department is no longer separate from the rest of the company. A holistic approach is needed for a business to be successful. And there are endless solutions in the IT department!

What has been your biggest challenge?

With a background in business and some recent experience from my internship, I started looking for a way to gain more experience in IT and orientate myself and see which department suits me best.

I applied to companies I thought would be a suitable match with my interest in business and IT. But I was very disappointed when none of these companies would consider me for an internship because I have not mastered the hard skills like coding. These companies say that they want to help their employees to broaden their skill set, and they promote women in IT, but they are not willing to do that for interns. It is as though they are more interested in the short-term results regarding internships.

So for me, the challenge is to build up the valuable internship experience in this field.

Any advice for others?

You don't have to master programming before entering the world of IT, perseverance and mindset will bring you just as far. Stay curious and don't be afraid of failure. When you are younger, you are more open to taking chances, so why change when you get older. We should stay true to our younger selves!

Why did you join RightBrains?

While researching for my internship, I contacted Geke for advice. RightBrains gives younger women role models, and it is vital to support initiatives which support diversity. The career and mentorship platform makes it easy to connect with women with different levels of experience. It's a great initiative!

You recently completed our e-learning journey on Data Driven Business I - Foundation. What was your experience?

I found the course easy to follow and very educational. As a business student, it was an excellent introduction to the impact of big data. The course, with the use of interactive quizzes, slides and videos, showed me real-world implications of data.

You can easily complete each module at your own pace and when it fits your schedule. I recommend this course, and I am excited to start with my next journey!

Find out more about RightBrains' e-learning journeys here.