Expert Insights: Conversation with Ulrike Sloma

I normally have small tasks on my desks, but for longer topics always small steps and little successes every now and then help to move forward and stay excited about the task and its outcomes. The final result will be worth it.

The nature around us influences how I approach my work: Nature is strong and always finds a way – nature is always present and even if something seems to be impossible, nature makes it possible (bumble bees can fly, ants can lift a multiple of their own weight …)

Friendships and relationships influence my thoughts on innovation: They seem to be a constant in life, but you have to work with them and develop them together. People change, and so do the demands placed on friendship. It’s similar with technology.

Do not get stuck in the things you already know – test everything, listen to everything. Technologies are developing at a rapid pace, enabling experiences that were previously unimaginable. Move forward with your own thoughts, look at and listen to all the stunning progress other researchers make and most importantly communicate and network with them. Competitive thinking does not promote innovation.

First things first: start your day off right by wishing your colleagues a ‘sunny and good morning’ with a big smile. At least it makes my day better 😀

Then always be yourself and trust your skills. Show who you are, including your personality. Communicate what you can do or what you are willing to learn to do. Communicate what you cannot do or do not want to do. Ask your colleagues if you need help or some advice in processing your tasks or solving your problems.

Try to understand your colleagues’ working methods and their backgrounds. If problems occur in the working relationship find a joint solution and way to work together.

I love bouldering. Every week there are new climbing problems to solve. But first you warm up and start with easy boulders to get used to the climbing movements. These problems are easy to master and do not need a lot of effort. Then you tackle the new and more difficult problems – you try, fail, try again, fail again – but after many attempts, you finally manage to solve the problem and climb the wall. In the following weeks, you need fewer attempts for such climbing problems and reach a new level. You also discover new movement sequences and possibilities for solving bouldering problems in general.

This can easily be applied to challenges at work: start your day with simple tasks to get going and warm up your brain. Then start the ‘real’ working day – every time you work on a project, you have new tasks and problems to solve. You will try to find solutions, and you may fail and have to try again. But next time, you will have gained new knowledge and will be able to solve the task faster and more efficiently.

I am very happy that I can be part of that journey and that I can contribute to the development of such a big future technology. I really enjoy the people’s reactions when we showcase our demo at exhibitions or conferences.

Most importantly is to get an idea of the kind of people who are going to visit the booth and our demo, get to know where they are coming from – exactly what is their personal background, what do they do in their life or work, how much do they already know about immersive audio technologies etc. You must be interested in the visitors and explain our technology and the use cases in such a way that they can connect and relate it to their daily life or work. Have approaches on hand to explain the technology in an easy language and how to add more technical details in case the people already know more about the main idea. Be interested in their experiences and their reasons to be at the booth, be interested in their ideas and thoughts about our technology – views from “outside” are always beneficial to create a more suitable product.