Ductus system developer Renée Kauppi channels her creativity and problem-solving skills into programming, music, and gaming.
Growing up in Kiruna with four siblings, it was her parents that inspired her to take the tech route. Renée’s mother, a GIS engineer – and still an important role model – introduced her to computers, while her father, a systems consultant, showed her how to code in HTML.
Always technically minded, Renée loved taking things apart and exploring their inner workings. She learned a lot about how things worked and learned to ask insightful questions to get the right answers. Her favorite toy as a kid was the experiment’s box, which was filled with electronics and magnetic devices. But that didn’t stop her from playing outdoors; she still loved climbing trees like so many kids.
By 12, Renée had learned to edit plain text in games’ folders and manipulate scripts so she could cheat in games. She applies this problem-solving and creating (without the cheating) in her work and play today, whether it’s developing code or figuring out a piece of music on the piano. Renée also runs two YouTube channels, one on solving gaming problems and the other for showcasing and playing her music. Her other pet project is rewriting the standard C++ library, where she has implemented advanced aspects such as Fast Fourier Transform.
Renée realized she identified as a woman shortly before graduating as a Civil Engineer in Technical Physics and Electrical Engineering at Luleå Technical University. Today, she proudly identifies as a trans woman, and believes in the importance of representation and female role models in tech, crediting her mother as her inspiration.
Unfortunately, when applying for jobs after graduation, she often found that her skills came second to her life decisions. It was only when she came to BnearIT (now Data Ductus) that she got to show her abilities during a coding test and felt accepted for her skills and qualifications. Today, Renée gets to apply all her abilities, to solve problems and deliver solutions to customers across northern Sweden.