Building a strong network is crucial in the Netherlands – AI Engineer

When Ankita Sumod first arrived in Groningen in 2021 to start her master’s in computational cognitive science at the University of Groningen (RUG), she couldn’t have predicted how much her path would change. After a year and a half as a researcher at the UMCG, she realised she wanted something more people-oriented — a role that balanced her technical background with communication and problem-solving.

Now, eight months into her job as an AI engineer at AI-InfraSolutions, Ankita has found exactly that. She sat down with us at Make it in the North and shared how she navigated the Dutch job market as an international, what helped her build a network in Groningen, and why joining local associations made all the difference.

I’m 26 years old and I’m originally from India. I grew up in Dubai and did my bachelor’s in India. My initial plan was to pursue a master’s in the US but I started exploring other options. The Netherlands was the top choice because I found it to be one of the most international countries in Europe with several job opportunities. The quality of education was also high. 

So I moved to Groningen in 2021 and started a master’s in computational cognitive science at the University of Groningen (RUG). After that, I worked as a researcher at the UMCG for a year and a half but it wasn’t for me. 

Now I’m in my 8th month at the company AI-InfraSolutions in Eelde where I work as an AI engineer.

I think for people at the start of their career, it’s important for them to find a job that gives them an opportunity to learn and grow. I believe I like to be efficient in coming up with solutions, and my work is very solution-oriented. I have to come up with fixes immediately.

When you’re starting out, you don’t always know the best way to get to a solution. You may know a way, but it’s probably not the best way. I’ve also been in tech all my life, basically behind a desk, just coding all day long. There's also the stereotype that people in tech are very introverted or socially awkward. I didn't fit into those tags. I missed having contact with people and meeting clients.

So then I decided it was time to make a move, but as an international, that’s very hard. You can't just decide to quit and then wait for something to fall into your lap. You face many visa issues, so you have to time everything well. I’m also planning to naturalise, so you really have to plan it out.

So that made it very hard to leave the position I had at the time. But then I started looking and fortunately, in a couple of months I actually found something that fit what I was looking for.

Now I handle more product management and external party coordination of the AI product we sell.

You have to sort of go through these waves right? But I think right now I’m doing pretty well!

I have a great team and a great manager. There is a lot of room to learn and grow, and I think I'm getting plenty of that. It's been only eight months since I've been with this company, and I'm getting plenty of opportunities to learn. There's always encouragement to pursue what you want.

Your ambitions must be clear as you work towards those goals. There's like a collective effort to make everyone achieve their goals. I think that's very motivating to put your best foot forward, right? 

I think for me that's the most rewarding part, because every day, I'm motivated to bring the best version of myself to work. And I actually have a lot of fun with this, because it was exactly what I was looking for in terms of having a people-facing and operational role, while also being very involved in the AI side of it.

I always used to say that I'm good with problem-solving, but that's just something you say, right? But lately I've come to notice that I actually am. I can handle pressure very well. This is a very high-intensity company, because we're a scale-up. So there's always chaos happening, and there are always fires to put out.

That's what I really like about the company: that we actually do more than what's requested, and we are able to deliver over and above.

Being able to navigate different dynamics and sort of set and manage expectations is something that I've learned along the way. And I think for me, being really heavily involved with the tech part of it, this is something new. And I think I'm really excited about that part.

I chose Groningen because it is a student city. It's very easy to network over here. Of course, you have a lot of people your age, a lot of people with the same mindset, and the same sort of expectations. So I think that definitely made it slightly easier for me.

When I came here I was lucky enough the get accommodation in student housing. Back then there were lots of socialisation events and parties. We’d go around meeting our neighbours. There were also many self-organised initiatives where the older students would meet the new ones coming in every year.

I was also part of some associations, and that’s something I always tell anyone who moves to a new country: join associations or groups. It might seem daunting at first, but I’ve found it’s one of the best ways to meet people. You’ll meet a lot of people along the way, but it’s not always easy to find your people. Joining something that aligns with your interests makes that process much easier - it gives you common ground from the start and helps you build real connections rather than just acquaintances.

For me, that really worked out. And I also actually found two or three of my best friends from my Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Groningen group. That's arranged for during the first week of studies. And you're sort of new, you don't know anybody yet. You may say ‘hi, bye’ to some people, but you don't really know them. So to spend an entire week with the same group of people was actually kind of a nice thing.

I was lucky with my group because I also know a lot of people who didn’t really connect with anybody.

In my course, I had like 10 people so I could not make many friends. So for me it was even more important to go out and find friends. For me I can say it was easy since I’m a social person. It might be more daunting for others. But just put yourself out there, I’m sure it will work out eventually. 

Another good piece of advice if you want to integrate is to find yourself a Dutch boyfriend. So, yeah, my boyfriend's Dutch. And I can definitely say that`s had a very big impact, also in terms of just easily fitting in, you know, because he really helps me with the language. Your circle widens a lot, too. 

The way you see life also changes because you see the Dutch perspective on things. Dutch people are very attached to nature, their history, and their culture. So I think also seeing all of that from like, not a tourist point of view or not an expat point of view, but from a Dutch point of view, it was kind of nice. And on top of that, he's actually Frisian, so I'm like fully integrated into Friesland now.

But I think in general, even before you find a partner, it's really important that you have your own network, especially if you're someone coming from outside of the Netherlands.

The University of Groningen (RUG) organises many events, including technical or academic events. I think it's also very important to build your academic network, or also a career-based network, because I think that really helped me in terms of work as well.

I think it's very important to build a very strong network if you're especially looking to continue living here, not just in Groningen, but also in the Netherlands.

So what I also tell people is it's important that you're very active on LinkedIn as well. As soon as you meet a professor, someone at a conference, someone that you're studying with who you think is interesting, connect with them and grow your network. All of these connections can really help, whether that’s with your thesis or looking for a job.

It definitely helped me. My job at the UMCG I got because I had a good connection with my thesis supervisor. A couple of months later, she was like: We have this opening in our department. Would you be interested in it?

It also helps that you've already established yourself professionally with someone so they can vouch for you. So you don't have to prove yourself.

I feel like a lot of people forget that building your career is also a priority, and not just having fun. 

The interview has been edited for clarity & brevity.

Photo and Video: Julia Dumchenko
Interview & editing: Christoph Schwaiger