Bloom: Iona Varga
What. A. Cool. Human being. Iona Varga looks impressive and so is her brain. She easily translates complex mathematical matters into clear concepts. Knowledge without airs and graces and a no-nonsense approach with clear insights. 🧠
Why is the sky blue?
Iona Varga had a somewhat erratic career path before she joined RoboRana in early May. Whimsical, but an immensely fascinating puzzle.
"As a child, I was very interested in nature. I wanted to understand how things come about and how they work. For example, I wondered: 'Why is the sky blue? That seems like a simple question, but the average adult would answer: 'Because it is'. Well, that didn't help me and so I studied physics. That study did give me answers to 'what about it' and 'how it works'. It was then that I first came into contact with very fancy techniques and difficult concepts, which I did not even know existed. A particle consists of molecules, elements, quarks and so much more. At first, it all seemed very complicated, but by the time I had to choose a specialisation, I absolutely wanted to study the polarisation of X-rays. Very specific, but that was the direction I wanted to go in at the time. The combination of technology and consultancy really appealed to me and I found it fascinating to know how things worked behind the scenes."
"As a child, I wanted to understand how things are created and how they work."
Not directly a basis for choosing IT afterwards?
"That's right. That came much later. Before I could specialise, I had to do a minor. That was medical physics, which actually didn't mean anything to me. But I thought, I'll just work in the hospital for a few months and then I'll be done with it. Then I can do what I really like. My first research project was in the neonatology department, a project on multi-infusion. That's about administering several medicines through one catheter and there can be some complications, especially in babies. For that research I had to delve very deeply into electrical engineering and apply mathematical concepts to it in order to arrive at a mathematical model from which we could draw conclusions."
That sounds extremely specialised!
"That was it, and suddenly I liked medical physics so much that I completely abandoned my focus on X-rays. In three months' time I made a total switch in my life view, so to speak. I then spent four or five years doing medical research. Around MRI scanners, for example, to find out how you can send electrical signals without electricity but with light. After that, I also worked with ultrasound and did research on microbubble cavitation and shear wave elastography. Very technical stuff and a bit too much to explain here.
"In three months, I have made a total switch in my outlook on life."
Data science and low-code
After several years of research, Iona wanted to do something different and started working as a data scientist.
A completely different direction again?
"I wanted to leave medical research, that's for sure. The emphasis there was very much on what you published and less on the research itself, and that started to irritate me a bit. At the time, I volunteered at the Red Cross as a data analyst. I really enjoyed that. I then went to work as a data scientist at a company that did something with medical devices. Data searches, analyses, predictions, you name it. Gradually, I learned to work thoroughly with programming languages, such as SQL and so on. Another whole new skillset actually."
Was that your first real step towards tech?
"At the company where I worked, there were no developers and that was a problem. I had my data models and I wanted to do things with them, but then you need applications. I started building them myself on a low-code platform. Literally anyone can do that. Just drag a few icons and you have put together your own user interface. If you then make a connection to your data model, users can work with the information they need themselves. I really became a fan of rapid development in low-code. It made me very enthusiastic, so I wanted to do more with it.
"I started building the applications I needed myself on a low-code platform."
Let me guess ... Then you started trying something new again?
"Indeed. I then started working as a low-code consultant at another company. I learned a lot there and after a while I was contacted by RoboRana."
The non-academic route
You are now working as Power Platform Lead, what does that mean?
"For the Dutch division, I draw up the vision and I make sure that it is worked on. RoboRana Belgium and the Netherlands are two separate entities, but they regularly work together on projects. At the moment I am an architect on a Belgian project. I guide the team, help with technical problems and do a lot of stakeholder management. Three quarters of what the customer wants has not actually been thought through properly, so it is often not possible. It is up to me to filter all the questions. What do we do and what do we not do. To guard the team a little, so to speak, and to keep their enthusiasm high. I also help think about how certain concepts fit together in terms of infrastructure, how different applications should talk to each other and so on. And I also make sure that all the teams involved know what they are doing."
"They want to take the robot out of the human and make the human do useful things again."
What was decisive about changing route and going on a non-academic path?
"The enthusiasm with which the recruiters tried to win me over was something I had never experienced before. The vibe was enormous and there was an immediate click with everyone. In addition, they have a certain vision at RoboRana that I can identify with. RPA (Robotic process automation), low-code, everything they do to automate data easily, they do it to take away repetitive tasks from employees so they can get back to doing useful work. Why should people do the same administrative zombie tasks every day, for which they should not be able to do anything? Does that make you happy? Let a software robot do it in the cloud, or whatever. And let an employee focus on the quality of the content, on why things might go wrong, so that he or she can start doing things like risk management. That is what is so beautiful about RoboRana's mission. They want to take the robot out of people and let people do useful, fun things again. It makes people enjoy their work again. I find that valuable."
What if?
Throughout the conversation, it gradually becomes clear that behind that mathematical-analytical brain hides a modest, self-effacing person.
What if you had made different choices in the past?
"Yes, I do think about that sometimes. I have had quite a few moments of doubt in my life. And I'm not always proud of the choices I've made. I draw my lessons from that, but I'd better just look at the here and now and what I've achieved."
What are you proud of?
"It's almost a miracle that I get to present anywhere these days, at conferences and so on. I used to be a very shy, modest person, who hardly dared to say anything. By forcing myself to stand at the front time and again, I have become very open. I have blossomed into someone who knows what she wants and is capable of. And now I dare to say it. The fact that I dared to take that step every time and went deep into it, is something I am really proud of."
Is there anyone who has had a significant impact on your life?
"It is always sensitive to give a shout-out to one person, but my high school English teacher actually deserves it. He was my mentor and that was a time when I was very depressed, more of a shell than a living being. The things that man said and did helped me turn my life around, get some focus back and start doing something anyway."
You seem to have succeeded quite well since then. Do you have any ambitions for the future?
"Not really, no. I don't have a well-defined goal in mind, no big ambitions that I want to achieve. The route I take is more important to me than where I want to go. Many people want to go from a to z, in the most focused way possible. But I just go from a to b and what lies beyond that, I don't know, that doesn't interest me at all."
"The route I take is more important to me than where I want to go."
"I rather have small personal projects that I want to try. For example, today I have an idea in my head for a virtual chat assistant to make access to company infrastructure easier. A very smart chatbot, so to speak, that you can talk to and that can browse through your documents and databases. I have no idea yet whether I can go to market with that or not. And I don't care about that at all. I like working on it. Step by step. The rest we'll see. And it either works or it doesn't. It is as simple as that. But at least I will have put to rest the 'how-does-that' principle in my brain."
Motorcycling, metal and money
What do you like to do in your free time?
"When I was six or seven, I wanted to become a chef! It turned out differently, but I still love to cook. Just as a distraction. I can be almost brain-dead with it, just focus on the food. That gives me peace. I also like to tinker with technology, in the broadest sense. Not just programming, software, codes, that sort of thing, but I also have a passion for electronics. Amplifiers, effects, guitars, you name it. I also love riding motorbikes and making music, preferably heavy metal and industrial. I played guitar and bass guitar for a long time, but I can't anymore. I suffer from fibromyalgia, which makes my fingers very stiff and I miss the necessary flexibility. I still play the drums. It's like chopping wood. Beat really hard and you get the sound out.
Finally, is there anything you would like to say to your younger self?
"I do have a message for my younger self, yes. Don't stay financially dependent on a boss for too long. If you work hard and earn money that you don't need right away, put that money to work for you. Because let's face it. If work didn't pay, most of us wouldn't be working, right? The younger you start investing, the sooner you can be independent in life. And that, in turn, helps to free up time for things you really enjoy."
