Accenture Belgium & Luxembourg

After studying Digital Marketing, Christophe Giets switched gears to Data Science & AI at BeCode (*) and completed his training with a Data Analytics internship at Accenture.

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and have my own company. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that I can also learn and accomplish a lot at a big company, but that doesn’t mean the entrepreneurship door is closed forever!

As a truly challenge-driven person, I thought Accenture would be a great fit for me. My internship experience proved me right. Accenture really supports you in your development as an intern; I was challenged and given plenty of opportunities to learn. This was really important to me.

I set myself two goals for 2021. The first was to succeed in my internship and join Accenture as a Functional Analyst (which is done!) and the second was to complete a triathlon (at least half an ironman) without any previous experience, which I have completed with much better results than I have anticipated.

I never expected to fit in so well and so fast. Somehow Accenture quickly felt like the right place for me, and I did everything I could to transform my internship into a full-time position. Many people were willing to share their time and experience, to guide and help me when I had questions.

Getting meaning out of data gives me pleasure. Everybody is aware of the potential of data to provide business insights. But to access these insights and use them to your advantage, you need Data Analytics, and more specifically Data Visualization with Tableau or PowerBI.

Before my internship I saw myself as a very stubborn person, which can be quite negative. But I learned that used properly, persistence can have an impact. For example, during my internship I had to be proactive and come up with solutions for the client based on what I thought would be best for them. This takes a good dose of determination!

I want to be part of the “Change” vision of Accenture. If I had the chance, I would drive bigger changes to protect our planet and make people more aware of the environment as a whole. At the moment, we are being conditioned to believe that tiny changes we make (like taking shorter showers) really help, whereas to produce a single hamburger, an incredible amount of water is required (way more than a shower).

This virus could be a real game changer for the society. Aside from the bad aspects, I hope it will make people more conscious about what they do. Is it necessary to fly to the other side of the world for a one-hour meeting that you could do online? The pandemic proved we can adapt and do things better.

(*) About BeCode:

The Belgian coding school, BeCode, wants to bridge the gap between motivated job seekers and the job market by using the shortage of digital skills as a lever for a more inclusive workforce. In 2019, Accenture was the first company to sign an agreement with BeCode, providing 25 BeCodians an internship with a commitment to hire the graduates. In 2021, this strategic partnership has resulted in 24 internships, 11 hires and still 9 ongoing internships.