"I'm very excited about Nürburgring and the new atmosphere" – Interview with Katrin Rabow

How did you get started in IT? Was it at first just a hobby or did you know right from the start that it was your calling?

I'm more of a late starter, although I took "IT" as a compulsory elective subject at school over 35 years ago. Back then, I learned to program in BASIC. Hardly anyone knows it today, but it helped me to understand simple scripting languages later on. After leaving school, however, I first trained as a travel agent and although I found it really exciting when the first reservation systems ran on our brand new Windows (and no longer under DOS!), I didn't see my own future in this area at all. That gradually changed and in my mid-40s I decided to rethink my professional life and studied business informatics.
 

At JavaLand, you will be giving the presentation "My Home is my Office – Schöne neue Welt?" and leading the workshop "Vom Use Case zur User Story mit BDD und Example Mapping". Why did you choose these particular topics?

DThe topic of BDD has been part of my projects for a while now. That's why I gave a talk on the subject at JavaLand last year and realized that many of the attendees wanted to dive into the topic in a more practical way – which they can now do in this year's workshop.

The homeoffice talk was more a result of my personal experience in the team. I would prefer to work exclusively remotely myself, but I realize that some of my colleagues have different needs. And I was interested in this area of tension, how we can bring our different needs together in the end, and that's what this talk will be about.
 

What are you most excited about at JavaLand?

The people! Although I prefer to work from home, I think it's wonderful to meet up with old friends and get to know new people at conferences. I therefore hope that there are a few nice places at the new location where you can meet up and simply chat.
 

What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard about the Nürburgring as the location for JavaLand 2024?

My first concern was actually that the Nürburgring might not be so attractive to the women in the community. I would like to see many more non-male participants overall and now hope that my concern was unfounded. Otherwise, I'm very excited about the Nürburgring and the new atmosphere.
 

What do you like to do most in your free time?

I like to meet up with friends for dinner or go to the movies with my husband. I also have quite a big family, so there's often something to celebrate. And I'm always particularly happy when my children come to visit.
 

Thank you for the interview and see you at JavaLand!