By Joe Pranevich, Director of Cloud Infrastructure Engineering
Pioneering the future of mobility requires a team of technical all-stars, hailing from around the globe. At Cerence, we have just that: our technology team includes some of the best and brightest minds, with decades of experience in voice technology and artificial intelligence. Last month, for the first time, we brought that inspiring and impressive group of individuals together in-person at our first-ever (and without a doubt, first annual) Cerence Technology Conference (CTC) held in Ulm, Germany. I had the honor and privilege of serving as the event’s chairperson.
At Cerence, our best innovations come from the collaboration and camaraderie of our people. Innovation is the engine that drives us and is the foundation for our future success. But the people are the fuel, each critically important to our mission. It’s their creativity, ingenuity and dedication that propels us forward.
While technology has enabled our global team to connect virtually through video conferencing and messaging online, true face-to-face time is invaluable in building a culture of innovation. Our time together at CTC not only allowed us to learn from one another but also to learn about one another, furthering our bond as a team and fostering the winning spirit that is so core to Cerence. But don’t just take it from me – hear what some of our team on-site had to say:
Many participants noted the in-person event was especially powerful in bringing together colleagues who spent the last two years engaging virtually. One participant noted it was “great to have live, unstructured discussion with colleagues that you've been interacting with in remote, more formal meetings for months or years,” while another noted it was “really great to see faces which only appeared on Teams and talk to people from different departments. Now it feels like we are indeed one team at Cerence, full of talents!”
“[CTC was] extremely valuable in determining key technological issues and a common approach on how to deal with them.”
Sometimes the best training is experience. Participants felt they learned from one another’s experiences throughout the event through formal presentations as well as informal conversations throughout their time together. One participant said “[this] was incredibly productive for a first event” while another pointed out the valuable opportunity to “learn about the amazing things people are working on.”
“It was great to physically meet people from other locations for the first time!”
“CTC is part of the Cerence culture!”
Our first Cerence Technology Conference was an important milestone for our company as we embark upon the next phase in our journey. As one participant put it, “it was exciting to see how actively we are working on our future and what great people are involved doing so.” I know I speak for the entire Cerence team when I say I’m looking forward to a year full of innovation and feel fortunate that we had an opportunity to come together as we propel Cerence forward.
Want to join Cerence and be part of great events like CTC? Visit https://www.cerence.com/careers.