HiQ is finally launching HiQ Leap, the company’s new gateway for technology graduates, starting in January 2022. The programme provides trainees with a solid foundation to become a consultant from day one. Its accelerated development curve means that on completion of the three-year programme, the trainees will be senior consultants. Applications are open and the recruitment phase is well underway to find HiQ’s future stars. “We're always looking for great talent to join our team, so it is a real milestone for us to finally be able to start recruiting for HiQ Leap. We are proud to be able to offer newly graduates a route into worklife. And it is an honour for us to work with eager and driven individuals, who, like us, wants to simplify people's lives through technology”, says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

In April this year, HiQ announced that Erik Almén would be joining the company to build the best trainee programme in the Nordic region, HiQ Leap. Almén’s most recent role was at the startup company Einride, and he previously developed  the successful Nova trainee programme at the consulting firm Acando. HiQ Leap is aimed at tech graduates with a maximum of one year’s work experience and offers a route into the working world for junior developers. The programme lets trainees deepen their technical skills, work on amazing client assignments, learn the craft of consulting and develop as individuals. As a student, you are welcome to apply to the programme as you are graduating. The trainee programme runs for three years with coaching from managers and mentors throughout the programme.  

As a trainee at HiQ you will be a consultant from day one, learning an incredible amount from the various assignments you work on with clients. You will also continue to gain more in-depth technical skills, while acquiring tools and training on how to be a really good consultant. Everyone on the programme will gain an understanding of how to build effective teams, and practical experience of how to actually run a consultancy company. As this is the first time HiQ are running the programme it is held in a true entrepreneurial spirit; everyone on the programme will also be helping to shape and build it together with HiQ. This could mean designing or running your own courses, participating in recruitment work for later cohorts or participating in business development. It offers the opportunity to create your own future and pave the way for future colleagues. The aim of the programme is to give all trainees a solid foundation, and over time to build the star consultants of tomorrow. HiQ invests heavily in its trainees, and the programmes’ well-designed, fast-paced development plan means that you will become a senior consultant after just three years.

“With this programme, we want to create a steep development curve for all trainees. We offer trainees a faster route into the worklife with more tools in their toolbox. We achieve this by working with a methodical and goal-oriented approach across three dimensions: in-depth technical skills, consultancy skills and personal development. Our experience-based training builds experience in a much shorter time than what would otherwise be possible. But most of all, we offer three years of fun and exciting happenings and personal development, where you will be more than ready to continue your consulting career at the end of the programme”, says Erik Almén, Head of Young Talents at HiQ. 

So it is now finally time to launch HiQ Leap and the first recruitment phase is underway for the start of the programme in January 2022. HiQ is looking for tomorrow’s talents to join the company’s expansion journey. HiQ is convinced that tech  development is the best way to make the world a better place, to make it more sustainable, simpler, safer and more fun. If you want to contribute to that too, you’re right for this programme. As a trainee, you will be welcomed into a company culture which rewards the individual and offers you a huge platform for your own personal development.

Are you one of the stars we’re looking for?
https://career.hiq.fi/pages/leap

About HiQ Leap:
HiQ Leap is HiQ’s major initiative, recruiting recent tech graduates directly from colleges and universities for the programme’s very first start in January 2022. As a recent graduate, you apply to the programme directly. HiQ helps create the technology solutions of the future in most sectors in the Nordic region – contributing to the global competitiveness of the Nordic countries. Developers, engineers, creators and leaders coming directly from university are highly skilled, and most importantly, they are trained in the very latest technology. Creating a pathway for the workforce of the future is HiQ’s contribution to society and a way of delivering even better skills to customers, while at the same time providing students with an excellent learning experience and a route into worklife.

The three-year programme will start in January 2022, and after that admissions will take place twice a year, in August and January. Initially, the programme will be located in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, with around ten trainees based in each city.

HiQ Leap – Fast-track career for future developers, engineers and leaders in tech

HiQ will be hosting the NASA International Space Apps Challenge in Malmö, Sweden. The hackathon is held for the tenth year in a row and engages thousands of people from all over the world every year. The mission is to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in space and our planet for 48 hours. "It is super exciting to arrange NASA's Space Apps Challenge! We have some fantastic collaborators and competencies to bring to the table and look forward to receiving many applications for what promises to be the event of the year. I am a fan of all things space-related, so it feels great to be involved with this. At HiQ, we are passionate about creating a better world, and what could be better than solving some of the biggest challenges facing us both on Earth and in space?" says Ivar Mørch, CEO at HiQ.

For the tenth year in a row, NASA holds the global hackathon, the NASA Space Apps Challenge, a heavy-weighter within its category. The event was first held in April 2012 and serve as an innovation incubator and a civic engagement programme. Each year it brings together thousands of bright minds from all over the world to collaborate, brainstorm and find solutions to crucial problems. The hackathon involves putting NASA’s very own free and open data for use for 48 hours. Individuals with different backgrounds and skills collaborate in teams to build innovative solutions and solve some of the most pressing challenges facing us on Earth and in space.

This year, HiQ has been appointed as Location Lead and will be organizing the event in Malmö, Sweden. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event will be virtual, but HiQ will broadcast the event from its office in Malmö. So, get ready for a rocketing weekend like never before! Registration is still open, and all sharp and creative minds are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

“We are proud to be a part of the NASA Space Apps Challenge this year. It will be immense fun to organize and be a part of this global mega event. We have super sharp skills, and we know we can reach a great bunch of people out there, so hurry up and register for one of the most exciting events this fall. As usual, the challenges tackles some of the world’s most important topics, giving the participants the opportunity to make a real difference to the world,” says Erik Ridman, CMO at HiQ.

The hackathon will take place from 2–3 October 2021. Some of the challenges in focus include mapping space debris in real-time, calculating the risk of COVID-19, finding ways to use AI and machine learning to monitor, discover and quantify plastic pollution, calculating the risk of landslides in rural areas, and much more. Or why not come up with a challenge of your own? Hackathons will be held locally with own juries and some great prizes up for grabs. The winning contributions locally will be sent on for global consideration. NASA will handle the global consideration process, and the finalists for the Global Awards will be announced after 4-6 weeks. NASA will then announce the final winners in January 2022. 

Sign up today:
https://2021.spaceappschallenge.org/locations/malmö/
https://2021.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges

About NASA International Space Apps Challenge:
The NASA International Space Apps Challenge is a global hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space.

For one weekend each October, participants from around the world come together over a 48-hour period to solve challenges submitted by NASA personnel. After the hackathon, project submissions are judged by space agency experts and winners are selected for one of 10 Global Awards.

Space Apps introduces problem-solvers worldwide to NASA’s free and open data. By using NASA data to solve each year’s challenges, Space Apps teams learn about NASA’s data, and share in the creation and application of the knowledge that results.

Space Apps also inspires collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Our mission is to leverage this interest to encourage the growth and diversity of the next generation of scientists, technologists, designers, storytellers, and engineers.

With the aim of becoming the leading tech consulting company in Northern Europe, HiQ acquires IT consulting company Advicon, based in Lund, Sweden. The company and its 25 employees will be a strategically important addition on HiQ's expansion journey in the southern parts of Sweden. “I am very happy to be able to welcome all awesome employees at Advicon to us at HiQ! We have a strong development of our business in the south of Sweden and a fantastic team that works with some of the Nordic region's leading companies. The same applies to Advicon, combining our two operations means that we can strengthen our position further”, says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

Founded in 2014, Advicon is a digital consulting company with 25 employees and customers in several industries, ranging from small privately held companies to public organizations and market-leading groups on a global scale. Advicon’s idea is to run a company that is based on respect for customer needs and a culture that emphasizes teamwork and personal development as tools for success.

“This is a really big step in our development and in many ways a dream situation for all of us at Advicon. HiQ is a perfect match in regard to both our sharp competence as well as our strong corporate culture. We will be able to continue our successful development at a higher pace and to a greater extent being a part of HiQ. I am very happy to be able to share this with all our fantastic employees today”, says Bo-Rickard Jepson, CEO of Advicon.

The acquisition will strengthen HiQ’s offering through, above all, expertise in projects and commitments in digital transformation, Business Analytics and agile working methods, all important investment areas for HiQ. The team at Advicon strengthens HiQ’s position to be able to deliver digitization as a whole – from strategy to design, development, integration, launch, operation, and management. Advicon in Lund will be a part of HiQ Sweden South, joining the offices in Malmö and Karlskrona. Initially, the name Advicon is to remain with the addition “part of HiQ”, but gradually the business will merge completely under the sole name HiQ.

“The team at Advicon will be a strong and important addition to our operations in southern Sweden and I really want to say a warm welcome to all employees at Advicon. We have followed Advicon for a while and I feel that we have many similarities and the same beliefs that culture, and strong teams are the way to success. Together, we will be able to take on even larger assignments and customers and offer our skilled consultants an even greater variety of challenges and projects to work with. Really exciting”, says Åsa Melvanius, Head of Region South & VP at HiQ.

For over 15 years, HiQ has successfully built up a business in the Öresund region, with its main location in Malmö. The business has gone from being focused on the telecom industry in Lund to spanning the entire HiQ service offering within tech, IT, integration, and digital services with large international companies as customers. With the acquisition of Advicon, HiQ is back in Lund with full force and thus continues to broaden its establishment in the important and expansive Öresund region.

“Lund has Scandinavia’s largest university with 47,000 students and a strong research-based business community with global companies such as Tetra Pak, Sony Mobile Communications, Alfa Laval and Axis. This, together with the research facilities MAX IV and ESS which are under build-up in Lund, is super exciting for us! We are a strong partner for all companies that need digitization and an employer for everyone who wants to work with leading-edge technology, IT, integration, design, and communication. With Advicon, we further strengthen that position”, concludes Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

HiQ with its design team from Great Apes wins two Red Dot and one Best of the Best for two projects in this years Red Dot Design Awards. With Lux Nemus, an interactive projection experience and a part of Metsä Group’s visitor center, Pro Nemus, HiQ’s Great Apes wins Best of the Best: Interface & User Experience Design and Spatial Communication: Light Installations. The Levi Resort app wins Interface & User Experience Design: Mobile User Interfaces. "Fantastic work from Great Apes. That many of their projects keep winning so many awards is proof of the high level of execution from the team," says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

HiQ with its design team from Great Apes wins two Red Dot and one Best of the Best in this years Red Dot Design Awards with the projects Lux Nemus and Levi Resort. Lux Nemus wins Best of the Best: Interface & User Experience Design and Spatial Communication: Light Installations and Levi Resort wins Interface & User Experience Design: Mobile User Interfaces.

The project Lux Nemus, which consists of a collection of custom-built walls featuring Metsä’s wood, fibre and other innovative products, is an interactive projection experience that is part of the visitor center Pro Nemus by Metsä Group. The product collages have got projections that allow visitors to interact with the walls via a touch screen. Visitors can highlight individual products, explore and learn more about them through unique light projections. The core of the installation is to showcase how Metsä Group uses each part of a tree as efficiently as possible for the purpose that creates the most value. 

The Levi Resort App provides quick and easy access to all of Levi Ski Resort’s outdoor adventures and it’s the digital companion for all visitors of the Ski Resort. On top of innovative slope and lift services it’s the key to the Levi Ski Resort loyalty program. The app provides efficient navigation, real-time and spatial data visualization, as well as open geodata and tailored map projection.  

“We are proud that these two challenging projects are recognized on an international level and acknowledged in such an important competition like the Red Dot Design Awards. We have poured our hearts into these while taming new tools and tech, and we see the awards as a proof of the high level of execution and innovation in our work,” says Lukasz Geratowski, Senior Designer at Great Apes.

HiQ’s Great Apes is one of the most internationally acclaimed digital agencies in Finland, with previous wins in the European Design Awards, Webby Awards, Red Dot Design Awards and Eurobest, as well as Nordic awards like the Grand One and Grafia’s “Best of the year”.

More information:
www.luxnemus.com
https://hiq.fi/en/work/levi-ski-resort-app/ 

About Red Dot Design Awards:
The Red Dot Design Award is one of the biggest design competitions in the world. In three disciplines, participants submit products, communication projects and brands as well as prototypes and concepts. The distinction “Red Dot” is an internationally recognised seal of excellent design.