In April 2023, AWL adds fresh new force to its ranks. Mr. Hideto Iwai, who a manager in the Corporate Department, and AI engineers Mr. Kittinun Aukkapinyo (as “Mee”) and Mr. Dusan Radisavljevic. We interviewed the three, who are diverse in age and nationality, on the deciding factors for joining the company, its attractiveness, and the atmosphere within AWL.
*The interviews, article writing, and photography were conducted by the external team.
Respectful members with a Team that aims high
ーFirst of all, Mee and Dusan, what made you decide to come to Japan?
Mee l came from Thailand where I was born and raised. In my home country, I worked as a data scientist after graduation from university. Being located in the same Asian region, I felt that Japan had no significant hurdles in terms of culture. Above all, the deciding factor was the field I wanted to pursue in research at the graduate school in Japan. And I really like Japanese subculture.
Kittinun Aukkapinyo. Nickname: Mee. Born in Thailand. Participated in AWL’s summer internship program from March to July 2022 while pursuing a master’s degree at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Joined AWL in April 2023.
Dusan I have completed my master’s degree in Serbia. While studying, I worked as a freelance software developer and teaching assistant. Unlike Mee, in my case the culture of the country was far from similar and my mother was hoping that I could live somewhere as close to Serbia as possible. However, my interest in Japanese technology and desire to learn more prevailed wins.
ーWhat led you all to join AWL?
Dusan While I was a PhD student at Hokkaido University, I was introduced to AWL by a friend for a casual visit to the company, which led me to a long-term internship. One of the main reasons I wanted to work at AWL was my supervisor. As we worked together on projects, I became smitten with their respectful personalities. Also, not to mention the wonderful atmosphere of the team, for which I greatly shared their enthusiasm to achieve high goals. And I decided to continue working at this company even after the intership ends. For me, it matters what kind of work I do for my career here, but my biggest focus is on my self-growth as a professional. My top priority is a respected supervisor and the ability to create a better society together with team members.
Dusan Radisavljevic. Born in Serbia. Joined AWL through a casual visit to the company in April 2022 while pursuing PhD at Hokkaido University. Started a long-term internship in August of the same year, and joined the company in April 2023.
Mee I was doing research on automatic image generation in the master’s program at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. I did consider the path to continue along with lab to advance in my research, my thoughts changed drastically as I participated in an internship at AWL in 2022. I found it very fulfilling to be able to contribute with my abilities in a company that provides valuable technology to society. I found it very fulfilling to be able to contribute with my abilities in a company that provides valuable technology to society. Similar to Dusan, AWL has a positive working environment, and amazing members, both inside and outside the team, treated me kindly. I felt that here I could contribute to the business while sharing my thoughts and ideas.
Hideto I have been dedicated to Human Resource at a major electronics manufacturer since graduation. For nearly 30 years, working on recruitment, human resource development, and organizational capacity building. A growing trend among companies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in my previous job, I have been working to create an environment where diverse workforce can play an active role, but I know that “diversity in the true sense” has not yet been reached. In the age of VUCA, where the future is unpredictable and unpredictable, I was keenly interested in what could be accomplished if people of different genders, ages, nationalities, characters, and other backgrounds could unite. It was at this time that I was approached by AWL, a company with employees from about 20 different countries, and as a human resource manager, I am thrilled. It would be most delightful to be involved to create a diverse and inclusive work environment within the organization.
Hideto Iwai. Worked for more than 30 years as a Human Resources (HR) Generalist (HR Business Partner) for a major electronics manufacturer. Joined AWL in April 2023 with the aim of creating a “Great Place to Work” where diverse talents can maximize their individual strengths.
Building an environment where engineers can have fun, be outstanding, and showcase their strengths.
ーStill new to the company, how do you feel about working at AWL?
Hideto In the entire career as an HR, I’ve never seen a company like this. It is interesting to have two young and talented engineers from Thailand and Serbia as my peers. AWL, highly regarded by its stakeholders, has an environment in which employees can work with pride, and has great potential to make the most of increasingly diverse workforces and thus become a global excellent company.
Mee I have already spoken with multinational members from more than 10 different countries, including on and offline. It is fun just to realize through conversation that there are so many different customs and practices. As Hideto says, I believe that by having engineers from various backgrounds working together on development, we will be able to come up with even more rich and varied ideas. Of course, this is true not only from a business perspective, but also in our private lives.
Hideto As a side note, last weekend, Mee, another AI engineer member from Thailand, and I went to Otaru for a visit. It was my first time in Otaru, and I was given a tour of the area by a native of Thailand. “They have the best seafood here!” “Yeah, it does!” It was a wonderful experience, as if our hometowns had been reversed.
Dusan It was a big surprise to me that the project, which was in the conception and planning phase at the time of my internship, had become a product after I joined the company. Witnessing the high level of skill and motivation that our members uphold as they continue to work here convinced me that I could keep improving and lead to the further development of my career. The fact that the members are amazing, which I found attractive about this company during my internship, has not changed either.
ーMee and Dusan, as engineers, how would you describe AWL’s business and potential?
Mee I believe from the bottom of my heart that AWL has great potential, partly for the fact that it covers the most cutting-edge technological field that I have been studied so far. And I can assure you that this company will grow even bigger! we could increase our awareness even more with our excellent knowhow and high degree of technology.
Dusan My university studies were focused on the field of information media studies, which differed from AWL’s business. However, I could say that AI is permeating our daily lives. However, I could say that AI is permeating our daily lives. Especially from now on, technologies related to edge AI video analysis conducted at AWL will attract particular attention and become even more indispensable in the future.
I would like to devote my time to continue improving myself and enhancing skills relating to computer vision. Like what Mee-san has mentioned, I can see great business potential in AWL as well.
ーWhat are your future goals?
Dusan My goal for the future is to acquire in-depth industry knowhow to be considered a leading expert in the field of application development. I have clear goals and of course I can see areas for improvement which I will work toward them here at AWL. I hope to one day be able to delight many people with my skills.
Mee There are several such rapidly evolving technologies where fundamental parts are well established through research and development and can be applied in the real world to deliver their effects. I want to be an engineer who can make AWL’s products and services more valuable by quickly adopting those cutting-edge, superior technologies. It would be awesome to have the experience to discover the core technologies for AWL’s Edge AI on my own and lead the application of them.
Hideto I would like to establish a corporate management infrastructure, starting with human resources, for AWL to continue its sustainable growth. Of course, being a company that is full of diversity, I’ve made up my mind for the hard work that awaits, especially in terms of communication. However, the future is sure to be more exciting and fuller of possibilities beyond that. To make the company a place where engineers can perform to their highest ability and demonstrate their outstanding strengths, we now set the starting point of creating an environment where members of diverse backgrounds can speak frankly. I can hardly wait to see how closely we can communicate with each other in this workplace.
On the lower right of the screen is Sunny from Tokyo office of AWL, who served as simultaneous interpreter for the interview.
