My name is Shariful and I work in the Analytics Platform Engineering & Management business unit at the Bundesbank. We provide services and technology for analytical projects. Our group ensures the operation and further development of the technologies in use. In doing so, we support projects such as machine learning, NLP and automation throughout the Bank, and deal with large data packages. I provide users with assistance – from setting up the working environment, for example in IDA and Python, all the way to ongoing administration and troubleshooting. I also enjoy developing Python scripts or modules that allow repetitive routine tasks to be carried out efficiently and on time. I feel so proud when the cluster runs smoothly and the technical basis for a large number of applications is always available. I like dealing with complex data, solving machine-learning problems and creating models.

It’s also fun because I work in a great team. I like the friendly atmosphere and enjoy spending time there. Of course, in the hybrid world of work, I don’t always see my colleagues in person, but we do stay in touch remotely. This is important because even as a hybrid team, we follow the kanban workflow method and hold daily meetings. I find these discussions very important for finding out why things are the way they are. For me, they form the basis for the changes that we are facing – not only as part of the Bank’s IT, but also as an organisation.

The Bundesbank is aiming to make these changes by harnessing innovation. I provide the foundation for this through my work. Sometimes it’s “just” a case of radically rethinking internal processes. For me, this is also an excellent opportunity to work on innovative projects and to get the training I need. This allows me to use my skills to support the Bundesbank’s digital transformation using various tools from the data platforms Cloudera and MS Azure.

I am originally from Bangladesh and now live in Germany. It wasn’t easy for me because my family is far away. That’s why I feel so comfortable in my team. The friendly atmosphere helps me to feel at home in the country where I work. The Bundesbank has made me feel very welcome and has given me a great deal of support. Our multi-disciplinary work experience enriches our skills and our working environment. This leads to very good results in various aspects of our work; it’s like expanding a machine-learning model by adding extra features that contain useful additional information and therefore improve the performance of the model.