Young NNIT talent receives royal praise for his efforts

On an average day, we're proud of all NNIT colleagues and their dedication to digital transformation. On this not so average day, we were extremely proud to be able to call Frederik Foss Nielsen our colleague as he received a grant for his efforts and was congratulated by HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Last week, Frederik received the Massmann Grant (Det Massmanske Legat) that is given to "particularly skilled newly trained craftsmen."

You may not think of IT as craftmanship, but in Frederik's case, it really is. Earlier this year, he graduated as a Data Technician, and today, he works fulltime among proud colleagues in NNIT. 

"I am humble and happy to receive this grant. I highly appreciate that IT can be recognized as craftmanship, and I think it's important to show that the IT industry offers a wide range of possibilities. I never thought it would give me the possibility to shake the hand of a queen, but IT truly can take you anywhere," Frederik Foss Nielsen says. 

Started as an intern, now he’s here
Frederik Foss Nielsen studied to become a Data Technician specializing in Programming at Technical Education Copenhagen (TEC). When he applied for an internship in NNIT, it proved to be an opportunity for a win-win experience, that we had not been aware existed – until Frederik reached out. Today, Frederik works as an Associate Software Developer, has met the Queen of Denmark, and received a grant for his efforts and for being a great colleague.

Frederik Foss Nielsen was offered an internship with the team working on services and solutions for Danmarks Apotekerforening, The Association of Danish Pharmacies.

“It has been a great experience being a trainee in NNIT. I especially liked how my job with the DA team as a developer included visits to different pharmacies in order to understand, not just how to code their application as I would in school, but to see how people actually interact with that application out in the real world. It is one thing to code. But it is an entirely different thing to ensure people use it as intended and are able to see the bigger picture of your application. That was really interesting to witness,” says Frederik Foss Nielsen. 

Lisette Godsk was Frederik Foss Nielsen’s manager during his internship. She says:

“It is so difficult finding qualified developers. The job market is still smoking hot, and the developers are in high demand. That is why this internship structure at TEC has a great potential for us in NNIT. We help students get the best possible education and entry to the job market, and in turn we get young developers whom we can help develop to become the best possible candidate for an NNIT position at the end of their studies.”

A role model for others
NNIT is one of the founding partners of Coding Class, an initiative which introduces children to the world of IT and dresses them to navigate in the digital world. 

When this year’s program ended in May, 20 sixth graders from a local school were invited on a tour around NNIT’s headquarter and met some of the cool colleagues working with IT. Frederik Foss Nielsen was one of them.

Not only did he impress the children by showing his silver medal from HM The Queen, he also inspired them to choose IT as a career path and highlighted the many possibilities in the industry. 

“Meeting a young IT professional like Frederik gives the children an opportunity to experience how their choices and efforts can take them to exciting places. We try to focus on the fact that educations like the one Frederik has from TEC can open doors to many possibilities for young talents, also in the IT industry. We were very happy that Frederik took the time to talk to the children about his way to IT,” says Lars Heldtberg Kari one of the teachers and consultants in Coding Class.