Anton Stasche
Namahn’s first MSc in Psychology originally intended to study biology, and then Chinese. But one year traveling around Oceania, the Far East and Europe opened Anton’s eyes to new possibilities: "It confirmed my interest in people and intercultural mediation, plus I came back speaking better English than my native German, so decided to do my studies in English. Cognitive Science offered me the combination of subjects I was looking for, including Computational Linguistics and Psychology." Anton describes himself as an outdoor type and he’s brought a passion for kayaking, surfing and basketball with him to Namahn.
How did Cognitive Science lead you to HCI?
After the first two years of my Bachelor degree, I could specialise. I took a semester at the University of Port Elizabeth in South Africa where I was confronted with HCI for the first time. I'd never thought about it until then and had only scratched its surface once during an A.I. seminar on affective computing. They offered a course in usability engineering and I seized the chance. When I got back, I did my thesis on HCI and as a result, I was sure I wanted to specialise in that area. I started looking for a Masters program in HCI, quasi non-existent in Germany back then. London was an option, but too expensive so I opted for a Psychology MA at the University of Konstanz, close to the Swiss border in Germany. It was the first year they offered this degree and I was one of the pioneers! I majored in Work and Organisational Psychology, Social Psychology and HCI, working closely with the Computer and Information Science Department where I also wrote my Master’s thesis on gesture-based interaction with large displays.
When did you discover Namahn?
I had a foretaste of interface design during an internship at Siemens in the User Interface Design Center and I was curious to know what other companies in Europe had to offer. I found Namahn whilst browsing the directory of the Usability Professionals Association on the web. I then came to Brussels several times to meet Joannes and present myself to the team. During our discussions, I found I was already familiar with Namahn’s business approach as I was studying for my last Masters exam on Work Psychology at the time. I soon realised that my first choice of company to work and learn more on interaction design was Namahn.
So was Namahn originally a case study for you?
You could say Namahn is a living example of all the principles I have studied. Here I see these principles put into practice: open management, a business run on the principle of not just what employees can give, but what the organisation can give, in other words reciprocal working, leading to happy and motivated people. Accountability is important to me and Namahn is a great example of running a business in an open and honest way.
Was moving country easy?
Because I've been living and studying in small towns, I was eager to move to a larger city and live in a multicultural environment. Also, when I was 8 years old, my family fled the former East Germany. This experience marked me and having been on the receiving end of some prejudice as a result, it made me stronger and reinforced my desire to connect with other people and cultures. So I'm comfortable here: Brussels to me is a real expression of Europe because of the mixture of nationalities and languages.
Did you bring your kayak with you?
Well, there aren’t many opportunities to kayak in Brussels! I come from a family of outdoor types, and I take up the local sport in every country I visit: in Australia it was surfing, in New Zealand, hiking and kayaking (most memorably through a fjord: three days of blissful solitude in breathtaking nature). I'm not sure what it will be in Belgium … cycling? No, I hope to play more basketball, another passion of mine. I really learnt my teambuilding skills in sport at an early age. I discovered what it takes to build and coach a good team of disparate characters and temperaments. It was not until I studied Psychology that I realised I have a real talent for this. Of course, this will also help me to be a good team player at Namahn!
