Elisabeth Niemeyer Laursen has studied software (engineering) at Aalborg University and graduated last summer, after which she continued to work full-time as an Associate Consultant at Delegate and was later promoted to Consultant.
Going into IT was not part of Elisabeth's original plan. She had her sights set on a completely different career path.
"I was sure that I was going to be a jewelry designer, but you couldn't do an internship in that field in high school. I was always good at math, so instead I went in a completely different direction and signed up for an IT introduction program at AAU. We spent three days programming in a lecture hall. It wasn't anything fancy, but I was sure that it was what I wanted to study," Elisabeth explained.
The transition from high school to university brought about several changes for Elisabeth. In high school, she was in a music class where the majority of students were women. However, in the software engineering program, it was the opposite. Of the 225 students in the program, only 14 were women.
"It's a bit different when there are so many more men than women in a program. But the further you get into the program, the less you notice the gender distribution."
A good friend and a coincidence led to Elisabeth joining Delegate's office in Aalborg as an Associate Consultant in the Business Applications team already during her master's program. Today, she is part of the same team, but based at Delegate's office in Virum.
Here, she primarily works with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, where she helps customers keep track of their business by writing code that handles the customer's specific business processes.
"As a consultant, I'm also involved in the less technical work, such as concept development, design, clarifying the customer's wants and needs, and upgrading the skills of the customer's own staff. In short, everything else that also adds value to the customer. One of the coolest things about being a consultant is when something I do or suggest makes a significant difference for the customer."
While Elisabeth is involved in various projects, she also has a lot of customer contact in connection with tasks in the Business Continuity team:
"In addition to my tasks in Business Applications, I'm also on a BC contract with one of our customers. Here, it's my job to solve the tasks and challenges the customer has with the delivered system. This also means that we have a fairly close dialogue while the tasks are ongoing."
Just like in her studies, women are in the minority at Delegate, but Elisabeth doesn't see it as a problem:
"Delegate is good at bringing together the women who are there, for example, in connection with our women's network. But for me, it's just as important to know that there are some women in the company – know where they sit and who they are – so you always have the opportunity to reach out. Of course, female role models are important, but for me, a role model can just as easily be a man."
What would you say to a woman considering entering the IT industry?
"Before I started my studies, I probably had the prejudice that working in IT meant that your days were a bit monotonous and spent sitting in front of a computer. However, during my studies, I realized how broad IT is and how many different tasks there can be, and that's really cool. Regarding coding, I didn't have the best prerequisites myself. I hadn't programmed before starting my studies, but you learn that as part of the teaching. So, if you have some small interest in the IT field, I think you should give it a try - you can definitely learn it."
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