I’ve spent a few days in Ghent, Belgium in April 2025.

I didn’t go with many expectations and was pleasantly surprised by what the city has to offer. In Ghent, there are cute cafés around every other corner, everything is easily reachable by bike, and I loved the middle-age-like vibes that make the old town feel like a quiet movie set.

Ghent is a vibrant student city—and you can feel that energy everywhere. With around 80,000 students in a city of about 260,000 people, the student presence is huge. That mix brings a special kind of dynamic: international, youthful, open-minded. It gives Ghent the perks of a buzzing city while still keeping a relaxed, small-town feel. The city has the perfect size—not too big, not too small. Ideal for exploring by bike, sitting by the canals, or finding your favorite corner café to work from.

Accommodation

I booked a room on Airbnb in a lovely traditional Belgian townhouse, just a bit outside the city center. It is great value for money, and the design and decorations of the building and room made the whole experience even more special.

Eating Out

Cafés for Remote Work

My #1 recommendation is the Take Five Espresso Bar. You can start your morning by sitting at the window and work with good views onto the city street, while sipping an out cappuccino and eating some homemade overnight oats with fresh fruit.

Take Five Espresso · Voldersstraat 10, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Espressobar

Take Five Espresso · Voldersstraat 10, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Another great option is O'yo. They have two locations in town, and offer healthy, fresh and ultra tasty vegan breakfast and lunch. I had the pancakes and avocado toast.

O’yo Sint-Baafs · Sint-Baafsplein 12, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★☆ · Restaurant

O'yo Sint-Baafs · Sint-Baafsplein 12, 9000 Gent, Belgien

The used book Café also looked very promising, although I didn't make it during my three days stay. You can try and let me know!

Le Bal Infernal - used book café · Kammerstraat 6, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Café

Le Bal Infernal - used book café · Kammerstraat 6, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Also, do not skip Kultur Bakery! They are right next to the Take Five Espresso Bar, and have a huge selection of vegan pastries. Some of the best I've ever had!

Kultur Bakery · 094300700, Voldersstraat 8, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Bäckerei

Kultur Bakery · 094300700, Voldersstraat 8, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Restaurants

If you only have on day, go eat the BEST vegan Pizza you have ever had at Plant a Pizza. This is a no-brainer. They also have Tiramisu!

Plant A Pizza · Geldmunt 49, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Pizzeria

Plant A Pizza · Geldmunt 49, 9000 Gent, Belgien

When you're looking for healthy food, Le Botaniste is your go-to place. They have a goood selection of bowls, soups, curries and more.

Le Botaniste · Hoornstraat 13, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Restaurant

Le Botaniste · Hoornstraat 13, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Another place I saw recommended often is knol&kool. Unfortunatley it was closed while I was there, but I'm sure they have great food too.

knol&kool · Heilige-Geeststraat 30, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Veganes Restaurant

knol&kool · Heilige-Geeststraat 30, 9000 Gent, Belgien

The same goes for Madam Bakster.

Madam Bakster · Brabantdam 142, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Coffeeshop

Madam Bakster · Brabantdam 142, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Belgian Chocolate

This is a special one: HOLY COW. An Italian guy and his Belgian wife built up a fair-trade cacao farm in India, where they source the highest quality beans from, and they now make their own chocolate right in their store in Ghent. Really creative offerings, and incredibly good.

HOLY COW chocolate - Bean to Bar - Farmer-Fair - Specialty cacao - atelier & workshops · Lange Kruisstraat 7, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Schokoladengeschäft

HOLY COW chocolate - Bean to Bar - Farmer-Fair - Specialty cacao - atelier & workshops · Lange Kruisstraat 7, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Groceries

For groceries, I found Albert Hejn to have a great and high quality selection. They have multiple locations in the city.

AH Korenmarkt · Korenmarkt 16, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★☆ · Supermarkt

AH Korenmarkt · Korenmarkt 16, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Activities and Sightseeing

I'm not gonna list all the touristy attractions here, but instead point out what I did and my personal recommendations.

I did two free walking tours by Local Legends: "Free Historical Tour: History and Legends of Ghent" and "Free Evening Tour: The Dark Side of Ghent". While the guide on the former tour was not that good (it's just a luck thing, I'm sure), I loved the latter tour, as it showed many new places that I had not seen even though I had already spent three days in the city. The stories told were somewhat repetitive though, so I think you should just go for one of them.

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Climbing the Belfry tower is fun, and gives you some good views over the city.

St.-Bavo-Kathedrale · Sint-Baafsplein 1, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Katholische Kathedrale

St.-Bavo-Kathedrale · Sint-Baafsplein 1, 9000 Gent, Belgien

I also found the Industriemusem to be insightful. The exhibition tells you about the rich textile industry history of Ghent.

Industriemuseum · Minnemeers 10, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★☆ · Museum

Industriemuseum · Minnemeers 10, 9000 Gent, Belgien

For going out at night, I recommend the bars west of the Vrijdagmarkt. It's where all the locals and students go. Bar Lume had a great live concert on Monday evening when I was there.

Bar Lume · Vrijdagmarkt 33, 9000 Gent, Belgien

★★★★★ · Bar

Bar Lume · Vrijdagmarkt 33, 9000 Gent, Belgien

Getting Around Town

This city is built for cycling, and its lots of fun! I regularly used the E-Bikes provided by Bolt and Dott to get around, as well as the normal bikes by Donkey Republic. These you can even keep longer, quite cost-efficient.

Final Words

I loved my short stay, and am looking forward to the day I'll be back. When you visit too, be sure to let me know about your experiences!

Imagine a disease that slowly erodes everything that makes you who you are. A disease that creeps in unnoticed, until one day, the world no longer makes sense. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is precisely that—an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions worldwide. In Switzerland alone, over 150,000 people suffer from dementia, with 60% of those cases attributed to AD. And yet, despite decades of research, no cure exists.

The problem? Alzheimer’s is typically diagnosed only when it's already too late—when cognitive decline has reached an irreversible stage.

What if we could see it coming earlier? What if we could predict it, long before symptoms become evident? That’s where this story begins. Over a semester at FHNW, with guidance by researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, together with my team I worked on applying Machine Learning (ML) to Alzheimer’s diagnostics using biomarkers. The mission: to develop predictive models that can flag early warning signs of Alzheimer’s based on a multi-modal approach—combining gut bacteria, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, sleep behavior, and MRI scans.

This made our project not just another ML exercise. It was a challenge that sat at the intersection of medicine and AI, a great blend of science, technology, and real-world impact.

The Challenge: Diagnosing the Undiagnosable

The fundamental challenge with Alzheimer’s is that it progresses silently. By the time it’s diagnosed, much of the brain’s neural infrastructure has already deteriorated. Current diagnostic methods rely on cognitive tests and brain imaging, but these are expensive, invasive, and often subjective.

We set out to explore whether changes in gut bacteria, sleep patterns, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers could serve as early indicators of cognitive decline leading to AD. And if that wasn’t ambitious enough, we also wanted to see whether combining all of these factors—alongside brain imaging—could improve diagnostic accuracy.

Key questions we asked:

• Can gut bacteria changes predict Alzheimer’s onset?
• Are cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (β-Amyloid, Tau, P-Tau) effective early predictors?
• Can sleep behavior changes indicate cognitive decline?
• What happens when we merge these datasets and integrate MRI scans into the model?

The Data: Extracting Signals from Chaos

We worked with data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)—one of the most extensive datasets available for Alzheimer’s research. This dataset contained:

• Gut Bacteria Profiles – Over 100 metabolites measured over time
• CSF Biomarkers – β-Amyloid, Tau, and P-Tau levels
• Sleep Behavior – Derived from caregiver questionnaires (NPI scores)
• MRI Scans – 3D brain imaging with 1.5 Tesla scanners
• Longitudinal Diagnosis Data – Tracking patients as they transitioned from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD

Each data source brought its own challenges, with missing values, irregular collection frequencies, and high dimensionality. We integrated them all into a meaningful, unified dataset.

The Approach: Merging Medicine with Machine Learning

Our strategy involved a multi-step data pipeline that systematically cleaned, merged, and prepared these datasets for training machine learning models.

Step 1: Data Preprocessing & Feature Engineering

• Handling Missing Values – We used forward and backward imputation for missing diagnoses and feature values.
• Feature Selection – Applied logistic regression, decision trees, and backward elimination to identify the most predictive biomarkers.
• Calculating Longitudinal Changes – Rather than using raw values, we focused on changes over time, calculating differences between visits.
• MRI Preprocessing – Applied skull-stripping to remove non-brain structures using SynthStrip.

Step 2: Training Predictive Models

We trained four types of classifiers:

1. Logistic Regression – Simple but interpretable
2. Decision Trees – Captured non-linear relationships
3. K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) – Effective for structured data
4. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) – Captured complex feature interactions

Each model was trained on individual datasets (gut bacteria, CSF, sleep) as well as on combined datasets to explore whether integration improved predictive power.

Step 3: Multi-Modal Deep Learning (Combining Biomarkers with MRI)

We designed a multi-modal neural network that took tabular features from biomarkers and integrated them with MRI scans using a 3D Convolutional Neural Network (3D-CNN).

Our multi-modal model integrates tabular biomarker data with 3D-CNN-based MRI feature extraction, allowing the network to learn both structured and spatial dependencies in the patient data. By concatenating extracted image features with processed biomarker inputs, the model effectively combines quantitative biological markers with deep spatial representations of brain morphology, improving predictive performance over single-modal approaches.

The Results: What We Learned (and What We Didn’t)

Key Takeaways:

Sleep Data was the Strongest Predictor

• Sleep behavior changes achieved the highest individual prediction accuracy (82% precision).
• Suggests a strong link between sleep disturbances and Alzheimer’s progression.

Gut Bacteria & CSF Data Alone Weren’t Enough

• Predictions based on gut bacteria and CSF biomarkers were only moderately effective (~65% precision).
• These biomarkers are likely useful in combination with other factors, but not in isolation.

Multi-Modal Model Improved Accuracy

• Combining MRI with biomarker data increased precision to 72%.
• Suggests that integrating multiple data types leads to more reliable diagnoses

Single-Visit Predictions Remain a Challenge

• Our models performed best when analyzing changes across multiple visits, but struggled with single-visit predictions.
• Alzheimer’s progression is a slow process—biomarkers may need longer observation periods to be truly predictive.

The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Alzheimer’s Research

One thing is clear. Machine learning can assist in early Alzheimer’s detection, but it’s not a silver bullet. The challenge isn’t just in training better models—it’s in collecting better data. Reliable early diagnosis requires:

• Better Sleep Monitoring – More precise sleep tracking tools could improve prediction accuracy.
• More MRI Data – Larger datasets with higher resolution imaging would enhance deep learning models.
• Longitudinal Studies – More comprehensive, multi-year tracking of biomarkers is essential.

Our multi-modal approach showed promise, but it also revealed the limitations of current datasets. As AI in healthcare advances, combining multiple sources of patient data will be key to improving early Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Final Thoughts

This was more than just a student project. It was a dive into one of the most pressing medical challenges of our time. It was a lesson in working across disciplines, in tackling real-world complexity, and in understanding the power (and limitations) of AI in medicine.

We didn’t find the magic solution. But we did uncover insights that could help push Alzheimer’s research forward. And in a field where every breakthrough counts, that’s a step worth taking.

Want to dive into the details? Check out the full IEEE paper draft and the GitHub repository where we documented our process and code.

I worked on this project in collaboration with Florin Barbisch and Patrick Schürmann, as part of our Bachelor studies in Data Science at FHNW.

This project challenge was supported by Prof. Dr. Arzu Çöltekin and Dr. Leticia Fernández Moguel from the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, in collaboration with Dr. Azizi Seixas and Dr. Alberto Ramos from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Their combined expertise in data science, neuroimaging, and medical research laid the foundation for our work on predictive Alzheimer’s diagnostics, bridging the gap between AI and healthcare.

Foreword

Like many developers, I was tired of paying $20/month for hosting platforms like Vercel. After some research, I decided to switch to a more cost-effective solution: a $6 VPS from Netcup. Not only did I set up an open-source alternative, Coolify, to handle auto-deployments, but I also learned a lot about server security along the way.

This guide outlines how to set up a VPS for application deployment, secure it using Tailscale and UFW, and further protect it behind Cloudflare. By the end, you’ll have a solid, affordable alternative to platforms like Vercel—fully secured and optimized for self-hosting.

Disclaimer: I've written this as a rough guide based on my own process, but I’m not entirely sure everything is included or if the order of steps is 100% correct. Be sure to adapt it to your specific needs and double-check along the way!

Netcup VPS & Coolify Setup Guide

This guide walks you through ordering a new VPS from Netcup, securing it with Tailscale, installing Coolify for application deployments, and protecting it behind Cloudflare.

1. Order New VPS on Netcup

1. Head over to Netcup and order a new VPS instance that fits your needs.
2. After receiving your VPS, retrieve your SSH access credentials (IP address, username, and password).

2. Access VPS via SSH and Install Tailscale

For secure SSH access, we’ll install Tailscale—a tool that creates a secure, private network between your devices and your VPS.

Steps for Tailscale Setup:

Install Tailscale:
SSH into your VPS and run this command:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Enable SSH Access via Tailscale:
Secure SSH by running:

sudo tailscale up --ssh

Get Your Tailscale IP:
Obtain the Tailscale IP for your server:

tailscale ip

Connect via Tailscale:
Now, SSH into your server using the Tailscale IP:

ssh ubuntu@your_tailscale_ip

3. Secure Your VPS with UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)

Next, lock down access to your VPS, allowing only Tailscale traffic.

Enable UFW:

sudo ufw enable

Set Default Policies:
Block all incoming traffic except for Tailscale connections:

sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow in on tailscale0

Check UFW Status:
Verify UFW is working:

sudo ufw status

At this point, only devices in your Tailscale network can access your server.

4. Install Coolify

Coolify simplifies app deployments similar to Vercel. Here’s how to install it.

Run Coolify Install Script:
Use your Tailscale connection to install Coolify:

curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash

Allow Docker Network Traffic:
Coolify uses Docker for app management. Let’s ensure Docker networks can communicate:

• List Docker networks:
• Inspect the subnets under "IPAM -> Config" and allow traffic between them:

sudo docker network ls

sudo docker network inspect bridge
sudo ufw allow from 172.18.0.0/16 to 172.17.0.1
sudo ufw allow from 172.17.0.0/16 to 172.18.0.1

5. Put Everything Behind Cloudflare

Cloudflare provides SSL certificates, protects your server against DDoS attacks, and ensures efficient traffic management through its global CDN. It encrypts traffic between users and your server, and its robust security features like DDoS mitigation and a Web Application Firewall (WAF) help safeguard against malicious threats. Plus, it boosts performance by caching assets closer to your users.

Move Domain DNS to Cloudflare:

• Log in to Cloudflare, add your domain, and update your domain settings at the registrar to use Cloudflare’s nameservers.

Activate SSL:

• In the SSL/TLS section, set the mode to Full (Strict) to ensure full encryption from the client to Cloudflare and to your server.

Enforce HTTPS:

• Enable Always Use HTTPS under SSL/TLS settings.

6. Secure Your Netcup Server for Cloudflare Traffic Only

Only Cloudflare traffic should reach your server. Here’s how:

Allow Cloudflare IP Ranges via UFW:
Add UFW rules to permit only Cloudflare traffic on port 443 (HTTPS).

IP Ranges

This page is intended to be the definitive source of Cloudflare’s current IP ranges.

Cloudflare

for ip in 173.245.48.0/20 103.21.244.0/22 103.22.200.0/22 103.31.4.0/22 141.101.64.0/18 \
108.162.192.0/18 190.93.240.0/20 188.114.96.0/20 197.234.240.0/22 198.41.128.0/17 \
162.158.0.0/15 104.16.0.0/13 104.24.0.0/14 172.64.0.0/13 131.0.72.0/22; do
   sudo ufw allow from $ip to any port 443 proto tcp
done

for ip in 2400:cb00::/32 2606:4700::/32 2803:f800::/32 2405:b500::/32 2405:8100::/32 \
2a06:98c0::/29 2c0f:f248::/32; do
   sudo ufw allow from $ip to any port 443 proto tcp
done

Prevent Docker from Bypassing UFW:
By default, Docker will bypass UFW. Disable this by editing Docker's configuration:

sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

Add the following:

{
  "iptables": false
}

Restart Docker:

sudo systemctl restart docker

7. Complete Coolify Setup

Access Coolify:
Open Coolify in your browser using the Tailscale IP and port 8000:

https://your_tailscale_ip:8000

Onboarding:
Follow the onboarding wizard to create your Coolify account and set up your server.

8. Post-Installation Steps

Configure FCN and Wildcard Domains:
Set up wildcard domains (e.g., *.yourdomain.com) in Coolify’s proxy settings.

Enable Notifications:
Use a Telegram bot for monitoring and alerts.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):
Secure your Coolify account with 2FA.

9. Deploy Your Apps

Deploy Next.js Apps:

• Add your Next.js applications (or whatever else you wanna host) and configure environment variables. Refer to the Coolify docs for this.

By following these steps, you can have a secure, scalable, and cost-efficient VPS setup with Coolify handling your app deployments—just like Vercel, but at a fraction of the cost.

In der schnelllebigen Welt der Softwareentwicklung ist es oft erforderlich, innerhalb von Projekten verschiedene Hüte zu tragen. In diesem Beitrag möchte ich die Herausforderungen und den Mehrwert beleuchten, die sich aus der Dreifachrolle als Projektmanager, Requirements Engineer und Entwickler in komplexen Projekten ergeben. Dabei stütze ich mich auf meine eigenen Erfahrungen in einem IT-Projekt eines international tätigen Schweizer Industrieunternehmens, in dem ich diese Dreifachrolle innehatte, und teile einige hilfreiche Erkenntnisse, Tipps und gewonnene Einsichten.

Herausforderungen in einer Dreifachrolle

Die gleichzeitige Übernahme mehrerer Rollen in einem Projekt birgt einige inhärente Risiken:

Zeitmanagement zwischen den verschiedenen Rollen: Jede Rolle erfordert spezialisierte Fähigkeiten und fokussierte Aufmerksamkeit. Das Jonglieren zwischen diesen durch eine möglichst optimale Verteilung der Zeit und Energie, kann schnell zur Herausforderung werden.

Balance zwischen technischer Tiefe und Managementaufgaben: Während der Projektmanager über den Gesamtfortschritt und die Einhaltung des Zeitplans besorgt ist, muss der Entwickler aktiv technische Probleme lösen. Die Überschneidung dieser Rollen kann zu einer Vernachlässigung der einen oder anderen führen.

Beispiel aus der Praxis

Fokus des Projekts war die Implementierung einer Schnittstelle zwischen und einiger neuen Funktionalitäten in der Vertriebs-Software (CRM) und der Produktdatenmanagement-Software (PDM). Dies mit dem Ziel, unternehmensweit eine nahtlose und effiziente Bearbeitung von Kundenanfragen zur Individualisierung von Produkten von der Sales- bis zur R&D-Abteilung zu ermöglichen. Anfangs lag der Fokus darauf, ein Team aus Mitgliedern der drei verschiedenen Business Units zusammenzustellen. Im Laufe des Projekts schwenkte der Fokus auf die Organisation von Meetings und Workshops, wo ich als Moderator zwischen den verschiedenen Stakeholdern agierte. Schliesslich galt es, die Endphase des Projekts erfolgreich zu koordinieren und einen reibungslosen Rollout sowie die Schulung der Mitarbeiter vorzubereiten. All diese Aufgaben im Blick zu behalten, die angemessene Zeit zu investieren, und währenddessen in Zusammenarbeit mit zwei externen Beratungsunternehmen das Produkt zu entwickeln und voranzutreiben, war eine der grossen Herausforderungen.

Vorteile

Trotz der Herausforderungen ergeben sich durch eine solche Dreifachrolle bemerkenswerte Vorteile:

Reduziertes Risiko des Informationsverlusts: Da alle Entscheidungen und Diskussionen innerhalb einer Person zentralisiert sind, wird das Risiko minimiert, dass entscheidungsrelevante Informationen verloren gehen.

Effizienzgewinne: Die Eliminierung der Notwendigkeit zur Abstimmung zwischen den verschiedenen Rollen kann zu erheblichen Kosten- und Zeiteinsparungen führen.

Potentielle Nachteile

Es gibt jedoch auch mögliche Fallstricke, die zu beachten sind:

Vier-Augen-Prinzip: Wenn eine Person alle drei Rollen besitzt, fehlt die Kontrolle durch eine zweite Person, wodurch das Risiko besteht, dass Überlegungsfehler erst später auffallen.

Voreingenommenheit: Die Tendenz, basierend auf eigenen Erfahrungen eine Lösung in eine bestimmte Richtung zu lenken, kann sowohl vorteilhaft als auch nachteilig sein, abhängig vom Kontext und den spezifischen Anforderungen.

Skalierbarkeitsprobleme: Je nach Umfang und Komplexität des Projekts kann der Arbeitsaufwand untragbar werden.

Lösungsansätze und persönliche Erfahrungen

Die Übernahme einer solchen Dreifachrolle in Projekten kann insgesamt vorteilhaft sein. Dazu ist es zentral, die eigene Arbeit im Bezug auf die potenziellen Nachteile laufend zu reflektieren und Gegenmassnahmen zu ergreifen, wenn man solche erkennt. Beispielsweise kann es sein, dass man als erfahrener Softwareentwickler bereits vorgefertigte Ansichten darüber hat, welche Technologien und Methoden verwendet werden sollten. Durch die alleinige Entscheidungsgewalt in der Dreifachrolle kann es leicht passieren, dass man eine bestimmte Technologie auswählt, ohne die Vor- und Nachteile ausreichend zu prüfen oder Alternativen in Betracht zu ziehen. In einem solchen Fall wäre es sinnvoll, jemanden beizuziehen, der die entsprechende Erfahrung hat und eine unabhängige Bewertung der vorgeschlagenen Lösungen vornehmen kann. Dadurch wird auch das Vier-Augen-Prinzip eingehalten und die Risiken einer einseitigen oder voreingenommenen Entscheidung können minimiert werden.

Die Komponente des technischen Hintergrundwissens

Ergänzen wir die Überlegungen zur Dreifachrolle um eine zentrale Komponente. Als gelernter Softwareentwickler, der gleichzeitig auch das Requirements Engineering und die Projektleitung übernimmt, differenziert man sich in einem wichtigen Punkt vom reinen Projektleiter: Man bringt eine fülle an technischem Hintergrundwissen und Verständnis mit.

Technisches Hintergrundwissen ist ein oft unterschätztes Attribut für einen Projektleiter, insbesondere in komplexen Softwareprojekten. Es ermöglicht nicht nur ein tieferes Verständnis der technischen Herausforderungen, sondern kann auch die Kommunikation zwischen den Entwicklern und den Requirements Engineers effizienter gestalten. Aber wie wirkt sich dies konkret auf ein Projekt aus?

Vorteile

Erleichterte Aufwandsabschätzung: Der erste und offensichtlichste Vorteil ist die erleichterte Aufwandsabschätzung. Ein Projektleiter mit technischem Hintergrundwissen kann besser beurteilen, wie viel Zeit und Ressourcen für bestimmte Entwicklungsaufgaben benötigt werden. Dies erleichtert die Planung und Priorisierung innerhalb des Projekts.

Früherkennung von Herausforderungen und Hindernissen: Ein weiterer Vorteil ist die Fähigkeit zur Früherkennung von Herausforderungen und Hindernissen, da detaillierte Systemkenntnisse vorhanden sind. Ein technisch versierter Projektleiter kann potenzielle Problemstellen frühzeitig identifizieren und geeignete Massnahmen ergreifen.

Beispiel aus der Praxis

Ein prägnantes Beispiel dafür aus meinem Projekt ist die Daten-Synchronisation zwischen dem CRM und dem PDM System. Eine ursprünglich von den Vertretern der Business Units vorgesehene bidirektionale Schnittstelle hätte die Systemkomplexität signifikant erhöht. Es hätte sichergestellt werden müssen, dass beide Systeme ständig und ohne Verzögerung alle Änderungen austauschen. Dazu müsste bei der Bearbeitung eines Felds durch einen Benutzer geprüft werden, ob das verknüpfte Feld im zweiten System ebenfalls gerade bearbeitet wird. Ohne technische Expertise wäre es für einen Projektmanager schwierig gewesen, die Herausforderungen und Risiken dieser Komplexität frühzeitig zu erkennen. In einer pragmatischen Lösung konnte daher festgelegt werden, welches System jeweils der "Master" für bestimmte Datenfelder ist. Das minimierte das Risiko von Datenkonflikten und erleichterte die Implementierung.

Potenzielle Nachteile

Voreiliges Lösungsdenken: Die Tendenz, zu schnell in Lösungen zu denken und dabei die ursprüngliche Problemstellung oder Anforderung zu vernachlässigen.

Beispiel aus der Praxis

Als Entwickler tendiert man dazu, schnell eine technisch machbare Lösung zu suchen. Dabei kann das ursprüngliche Problem oder die Anforderung in den Hintergrund rücken. In solchen Fällen kann technisches Hintergrundwissen sogar kontraproduktiv sein. Daher ist es wichtig, sich stets der unterschiedlichen Perspektiven der Rollen bewusst zu sein und diese aktiv in die Projektarbeit einzubeziehen.

Die Balance finden

Es ist entscheidend, für sich eine ausgewogene Balance zwischen technischem Wissen und Managementfähigkeiten zu finden. Ein Projektleiter sollte in der Lage sein, technische Herausforderungen zu verstehen, ohne sich dabei in den Details zu verlieren. Gleichzeitig müssen Managementaufgaben wie die Koordination des Teams und die Kommunikation mit Stakeholdern effektiv bewältigt werden. In der Rolle des Entwicklers wiederum muss über längere Zeiträume eine hochwertige Implementierung des Produkts im Fokus stehen können. Erst das ermöglicht es, das volle Potenzial eines technisch versierten Projektleiters auszuschöpfen.

Fazit

Durch die bewusste Integration von technischem Hintergrundwissen in die Projektarbeit und die Annahme mehrerer Rollen in einem Projekt kann man sich zahlreiche Vorteile zu nutze machen. Dennoch ist es wichtig, sich der damit verbundenen Risiken bewusst zu sein und diese aktiv zu managen. Die Schlüsselkompetenz liegt hier aus meiner Sicht in der Fähigkeit, sowohl technische als auch Managementaufgaben effizient zu bewältigen. Nur so kann man zeitgleich als Projektleiter als Bindeglied zwischen den verschiedenen Stakeholdern fungieren und den Überblick behalten, als Requirements Engineer die Bedürfnisse des Kunden korrekt erkennen und vertieft verstehen, sowie als Entwickler ein solides Endprodukt bauen, und somit den Projekterfolg sicherstellen.

As I am writing this, I am on the flight back from an amazing 5 weeks that I have been living on Madeira in the coastal village of Ponta do Sol. Translating to “spike of the sun” in english, Ponta do Sol definitely did it’s name justice during my November stay. Temperatures were mild, always around 20°C, and my rain jacket stayed in the closet the whole time. Madeira as an island for exploring is a paradise - I repeatedly found myself in awe and disbelieve about the surrounding landscape sceneries, nature spectacles and experiences like paragliding, canyoning and ripping along the Madeiran coast on a boat during sunset.

The Digital Nomad Experience

Staying

I stayed at the Outsite co-living, directly at the beach promenade, and had incredible sunrise and sunset views from my room. The village itself is a magical place with a charm of its own and makes it very easy to feel at home. It is a bit away from everything - no road leads past it, so everybody in the village center is either visiting on a day trip or lives there. The Outsite building was once a hotel, so there’s a big kitchen to cook. Grocery options are limited, especially vegan ones, but most things can be found at the store next to the local petrol station.

Connecting

I loved the community aspect of Outsite and the Digital Nomad Slack combined - there were always opportunities to meet new people from various backgrounds and go on adventures together on the weekends.

Working

During the week, I switched between three different places to get work done from:

• My Room at Outsite (best for calls where calm background is needed)
• Outsite Co-Working area (mostly calm, not the most comfortable chair & table setups, but it’s close to coffee and the kitchen xD)
• Ponta do Sol Co-Working (focused working atmosphere, laptop stand and 24” monitors provided)

Learnings

One takeaway from my first extended digital nomad experience is that about 1 month seems to be the perfect length. It allows you to settle in and gives you plenty of opportunities to explore without becoming too repetitive.

Personally, I noticed the challenges that a lot of context switching can bring. I was studying (enrolled in about 10 courses). I was also doing freelance work for three clients in different industries. The lesson here is that it can be useful to have roughly fixed times and days for certain work, even if it means sacrificing some flexibility.

Exploring

Activity-wise, exploring is easiest if you either get your own car, or join groups of people on trips like a hike. Rental cars on Madeira are quite expensive, what I did and would recommend is getting a car for a few days every now and then. When you have a car, don't hesitate to just drive around the coast and on the windy roads over the mountain passes, and make lot's of viewpoint and exploration stops on the way!

Vegan Food

The options are a bit sparse, but they exist when you look for them, and are good! Here some of my personal suggestions, based on places I visited:

• Old Pharmacy and Steak & Sun in Ponta do Sol: Several vegan options, some of the side dishes like the Tomato Risotto can also be made vegan.
• Beach Promenade Restaurant in Ponta do Sol: A tasty Avocado Toast!
• Vegetarian Café in Porto da Cruz: Several vegan options to choose from

Recommendations

To wrap this up, I want to provide you a list of recommendations and helpful links.

Staying in Ponta do Sol

• Outsite Ponta do Sol
• Banana House (another co-living option, a bit cheaper):
• Rent a room (ask in Digital Nomads Madeira Slack)

Events

• Outsite Community Events
• Watch out for announcements in the Digital Nomads Madeira Slack channel
• Purple Fridays (Digital Nomad Party with DJ Set in Ponta do Sol)

Activities

When exploring by car, drive from town to town over mountains and make sure to stop at Miraduros. For most activities, a car or taxi is required.

Hiking

• The iconic Pico to Pico hike (PR1 and PR1.2)
• Hiking in the Fanal forest (PR 13 - Vereda do Fanal)
• Take the Gondola at Achadas da Cruz and explore the village & coast
• Hike the Dragon's tail (PR 8 Ponta de São Lourenço)

Other recommendations

• Porto Moniz Natural Swimming Pools
• Paragliding at Madeira's coast
• Canyoning
• Boat trips
• Scuba diving

Conclusion

I can't wait to go back!

I spent the past week exploring the beautiful city of Paris and made my first experiences with working remotely. Today I want to share are a few recommendations for activities, and some things you should keep in mind when staying in a Hostel while working remotely.

Stay

I stayed at the JO&JOE Hostel in Paris Nation.

• Friendly and helpful staff
• Clean & comfortable rooms and beds with a proper locker
• Located directly at the Line 9 Metro Station Buzenval
• The Hostel Lobby and Rooftop Bar are perfect for remote work and have great WLAN
• Tasty food & good coffe available in the Hostel Restaurant
• Live Music and other organized events in the evenings

Unusual and design hostel - JO&JOE Paris Nation

Experience a new style of hostel with cheap accommodations, authentic restaurants and designer bars with JO&JOE Paris Nation .

JO&JOE Paris Nation

Getting around Paris

I used the Paris Metro for further distances most of the times, buying a Ticket+ directly at the station before the ride. Lime offers Scooters and E-Bikes. Walking is the best option when you really want to experience the city.

Activity Recommendations

• Free Walking Tour by SANDEMANs and their paid tour in Montmartre
• Watch sunset from Tour Montparnasse or the Sacré-Cœur Basilica's tower
• Walk through the Père Lachaise Cemetery

Coworking

I ended up doing most work directly in the lobby of my Hostel. Another good option I tried, located pretty much in the city center, is MyCowork in Beaubourg.

BEAUBOURG - myCowork

espaces de coworking, bureaux privés et salles de réunion au coeur de Paris. Partageons nos bureaux et nos talents !

myCowork

Vegan Food

Finding nice vegan restaurants & cafés is always a priority for me when visiting a new city. Let me share a list of the places I can recommend & would definitely return to.

VG Pâtisserie - Pâtisserie Artisanale Végétale Bio Paris

Pâtisserie Artisanale Végétale Bio Options sans gluten à Paris.

VG Pâtisserie

GROUNDED • COFFEE & FOOD • (@grounded_paris) • Instagram photos and videos

12K Followers, 18 Following, 488 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from GROUNDED • COFFEE & FOOD • (@grounded_paris)

Instagram

Maoz Vegetarian (@maozvegetarian) • Instagram photos and videos

4,132 Followers, 483 Following, 912 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Maoz Vegetarian (@maozvegetarian)

Instagram

My thoughts about Remote Work from Hostels

• Most Coworking spaces close at 19:00 while events at the Hostel Lobby start around that time. This makes for a pretty noisy work environment in the evening.
• Staying in a Hostel combined with an external Co-working space is a good option for a week or so, but does not provide the optimal work environment for a long-term stay.
• It can get quite expensive when you don't have a kitchen and are eating in restaurants & cafés 3 times a day.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed my week in Paris. The city provides a good basis for remote work, and offers a lot of activities and places to explore during off-time.

So, I've got this new blog here, and thought I would kick this thing off by giving you some background information about myself. I plan to cover a diverse set of topics, and it can't hurt if you know a bit more about the person behind the  collections of words you will be reading on here in the future!

work

I'm an enthusiastic Full Stack Software Developer with broad knowledge and extensive experience in Requirements Engineering and Vocational Training.

yvokeller - Overview

Software Engineer and Data Science Student at FHNW. - yvokeller

GitHub

Currently based in Zurich, Switzerland, I will be working remotely & traveling the world in the coming months to experience what I have been aiming to make possible for quite some time - the lifestyle of a Digital Nomad. Although I have travelled Europe with Interrail for two months back in 2019 (which is definitely worth a separate post in the future), this is a quite different and new thing for me. I am already looking forward to telling you about my experience and all my learnings in future posts. S0, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter!

study

I'm always eager to learn new things and thrive most when I am challenged. My current focus here lies on my Bachelor's Degree in Data Science at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, with a personal focus on the topic of AI and machine learning.

Data Science

Den Daten Geheimnisse entlocken.

FHNW

personal

Striving to utilize my knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in the world, I am optimistic this blog can become start of something big in the future!

When I am not working or studying for once, I am out in nature, hiking with my camera, mountain biking, or reading an interesting book. So, to close this off, here is a collection of photos I took on a hike to the Jöriseen last weekend:

On a final note: I you ever have anything you want to talk with me about, you can contact me at hi@yvo.ai

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Yvo