Anahí and Florian: Getting off to a flying start at Schwarz IT

42 students have now found work at top companies all over the world. Two of them are Florian and Anahí, who started at 42 Heilbronn in the first year in 2021 - and are now helping to develop new tools at AI giant Schwarz IT.

Looking back to 2021: “There were just 80 of us at 42 at the time. Starting at a university that nobody knew yet and that advertises that it teaches without lecturers or books - that took an enormous amount of confidence,” says Florian. What's more, the 42 students will later be competing with computer scientists who have Bachelor's and Master's degrees. At the beginning, there is no experience as to whether this will be successful.

Life like in a computer game

But everyday life at the school is impressive from day one. Anahí: “Even at Piscine, I developed a real addiction to coding. Every day you're faced with a new challenge that has to be solved. It's like being in a big computer game!” The basics of programming are taught from the ground up - from the C programming language to complex web development. Both initiative and perseverance are required. “Until you get to the solution, you go through these eternal cycles of frustration-enthusiasm-frustration-enthusiasm... But over time, you learn to deal with this rollercoaster more calmly.” And thanks to the peer-to-peer learning concept, anyone who needs advice also learns how to get support at the right moment.

AI full-time

This also applies to the world of work, as the two experience during their internship at Schwarz IT. Florian started his internship in the Costumer Analytics department and knew he was in the right place from day one. His colleagues are open and inspiring, he can develop freely and contribute his own ideas directly. This is also noticed in the team. Florian: “After just two months, one of the leads asked me if I could imagine helping to shape a completely new AI department. Fresh out of university, that was a huge compliment!” Since then, Florian has been a Machine Learning Engineer in the Department of Generative AI and develops chatbots that can summarize 1,000-page documents in a fraction of a second. The internship is also a stepping stone for Anahí: around the same time as Florian, she started a full-time position as a Junior Software Engineer in the Computer Vision Department. However, the project the two are currently working on - top secret!

European AI pioneer

With Schwarz IT as their employer, Anahí and Florian are among the pioneers when it comes to AI applications. Unique solutions for the retail sector are developed in the various departments. The goal: to position the Schwarz companies Lidl and Kaufland as AI pacesetters in this billion-dollar industry and to develop competitive advantages. Both in Europe and in the USA.

Community after the 42

A little-known fact: Schwarz IT employs around 4,000 people in total. An incredible pool of knowledge that Anahí and Florian use and enrich. Florian: “As a 42er, you know how important collegial cooperation is and how best to organize yourself together. This has helped me incredibly in difficult situations over the past few months and is simply fun.”

So was it worth jumping in at the deep end? Definitely, Anahí: “I had only moved to Germany from my hometown in Mexico two years earlier and took a big risk by moving to 42. It was one of the best decisions ever: today I not only have amazing skills, but also a job that I would get up at night for - and a great community that continues to grow!”