SAP d-kom 2020 - Personal Recap and why sustainability and ethics stood out to me
Fr 10 Januar 2020
The SAP „Development Kick-Off Meeting“ (aka d-kom) is always a very exciting event. It’s a great start into the new year. I find it always inspiring, to get out of the day-to-day business. I like the opportunity to step back and look at the bigger picture of what we’re doing and where we’re heading as a company. Despite the usual display of the latest and greatest from the technology and product teams, one thing stood out to me this year. That was the discussions about ethics, sustainability and social responsibility.
It was the first time, these „non-technical“ topics where prominently represented at the event. I already noticed, they increasingly slip into my work as a developer and I like that a lot.
Another interesting topic in a different area was “ethics for developers and corporations”. There was a very interesting panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Bertolt Meyer (Professor for Work and Org Psychology at the Chemnitz University of Technology). It was held in the context of artificial intelligence and the responsibility of technology. The discussion quickly touched the whole area of values and responsibility - on a personal level, a corporate level and a society level. Bertold Mayer closed with the plea/wish, that we (as developers) from time to time should think about the possible consequences of building all the great tech. We should discuss if certain things should be done or not. This for me also circles back to sustainability and how we act and behave as a company.
I left with the feeling, that I’m working at a company
- that opens the room for the ethical questions of our time despite being a big corporation
- with a senior leadership team, that is open for these questions and sees the value and importance of it
- that changed a lot since I started nearly 15 years back - and still is willing and able to do so
- that has an impact
- that offers me the opportunity to contribute
So for me, d-kom was not so much about all the great tech and innovations we have. It was shaping my vision about the role I can play on a deeper level. It gave me a better idea about what I can bring to the table to „make the world run better“. And I think that’s awesome.