Dear friends of the Kombinat01,
Have you already met our new coworker Muhammad Usman? Usman jointed our Coworking Space last week and is working as a software developer for a berlin-based company. We met him on the terrace for a Pakistani milk tea and had a nice conversation in the hot Jena sun. Enjoy the interview with him:
Hey Usman, nice to meet you here in the Kombinat01!
You are part of our Coworking Space since a few days, how do you like it so far?
Well, I joined the Kombinat01 just a week ago. So far, I like it very well, it´s even more than what I expected from the coworking space. What I really enjoy is the good environment. Not only I can focus on my work, concentrate and be productive, but I can interact with people over here. The people are really friendly, so we use to have lunch together or we have some coffee, and we go outside. So, all in all it´s a quite good working environment! The indoor and outdoor spaces around are very comfortable. Especially in the peak hours I usually get quite frustrated to sit inside, but outside I get a bit relaxed, and the weather helps me to boost my energy and performance.
Happy to hear that! What are you doing here day by day, what is your job?
I´m a software developer and I’m working for a company which is in berlin. I´m supposed to do home office and I joined the Kombinat01 to change my work environment and to spend some time with other people. So, I usually come up every day and start my work at 9 in the morning with a cup of tea. Usually, I have a couple of meetings in the daytime, so I think it’s a quite good place for that: peaceful and not noisy. Afterwards we have lunch together, which is quite nice! We have a kitchen here, so I can always prepare whatever I want.
Nice! Why did you decided to live or to stay in Jena and why have you moved from Pakistan to Germany?
I think this question has two parts: First is what my motivation was to come to Germany. Actually, I was really career oriented and I had to set up my own goals for my career to focus on. Germany has a quite good IT market and an emerging engineering market, that’s why I was trying to find a job here. I succeeded in 2022 and got a job here in Germany. I also like Germany because of some historical reasons, and I really love the German football team. It´s my favourite team! So that all in all was my motivation to come to Germany! I choose Jena because I found my first job here. I directly came up here from Pakistan. Now I found my new job, which is in berlin, but as they are providing home office and remote opportunities I stayed here. I´m feeling really easy and comfortable in Jena and my wife is also here with me. Jena is quite easy going, peaceful and also international. The language is therefor also not really a barrier. On the other hand, berlin is quite complicated and there are always more issues in big cities. Maybe in the future, when we get settled and have some energy to make some new experiences, we will move on but at least for the next years I want to stay here.
What do like most about the city and the district west?
To be honest: I´m living in Jena for one year but I still find something new every week. That is quite interesting! I really like the atmosphere, the beauty, the mountains and the comfort. I live near the city centre, and I can reach everything within 10 to 15 minutes, that´s the easiness I feel here! My most liked area is probably the sports area of the university. I love to go there, playing badminton or watching soccer games.
How have you discovered the Kombinat01?
When I started my new job in berlin, I was missing the office. I always loved working in the office, and I was missing that period of time very badly during the corona pandemic. At that time, I was in Pakistan where I used to go to the office regularly and I made some good friends there. So, I was missing that period of my life after I worked from home office for 3 years. I got sick of it! I was in search for some coworking space in Jena and I found two or three of them. Out of all of them, I picked Kombinat01 because I found it quite reasonable and nice. I enjoy this place, not only for working but also for spending a memorable time.
Have you worked in a Coworking Space before?
No, it´s my first time.
What is your personal highlight in the Kombinat01?
So far, my favourite thing is the kitchen, where I put all the things for making my Pakistani milk tea! I used to make it whenever I have some time.
Ohh yeah, I love that kind of tea! How would your perfect workplace look like besides a kitchen to make tea?
I would say very open, very easy going and it should be a place where you can easily connect with different people. For me it´s important to share different ideas with different people! The one purpose of joining a coworking space is to share these ideas. I´m very enthusiastic about technology and about what´s going on in the tech field, so I want to share my thoughts and ideas on that with other people. I also really like to get some knowledge from others, that´s why I like the environment here in Kombinat01. So, for me the social interaction is quite important.
I feel that too! What are you doing after you finished your work and what is your favourite hobby?
My favourite hobbies are badminton and hiking! I usually go hiking on vacations or on weekends, but I really like it here. I also like to go for a walk with my wife after work and enjoy the free time.
Thank you very much for the nice conversation, Usman! I´m already looking forward to the next Pakistani milk tea! You want to experience the Kombinat01 as well? Visit our Coworking Space on top of the Westbahnhof and grab your favourite drink!
