Apenkooien: keep on learning
At the development department, we’re continually working on our service management solution TOPdesk. We create new features, improve old functionality, and do maintenance. If we want to build the best possible product, developers need to be on top of their game. Learning and educating yourself is part of the job, and we provide ample opportunities for this. One example? We encourage developers to spend 10% of their time on something that they can choose themselves, as long as it makes them or the company grow.
At TOPdesk, we’ve got Apenkooien, which roughly translates to monkeying around. If you grew up in The Netherlands, you’ll know that Apenkooien is an elementary and high school game, that’s sort of combines the floor is lava and tag.
For a lot of children it is the best gym class of the year because it gives you the freedom to play however you like, you aren’t bound by rules and still learn while having fun. Apenkooien at TOPdesk is exactly this: developers can choose their topics themselves, they will develop in a direction that suits them and that they like. And because of that, it’s just plain fun!
How we spend our time Apenkooien?
Apenkooien is part of your 10 to Grow time. 10 to Grow budget and time can be spent in different ways. Some developers use it to study for certifications such as OCP. Others follow online courses on Coursera or Stanford, on topics as diverse as functional programming, machine learning, algorithms or business strategies. Others again use the time to investigate new libraries, new programming languages such as Dart, or build tools that make their daily working lives easier.
Want to think outside-the-box? You can even use your 10 to Grow on a yoga course – or something else – that helps you perform. In short, “monkeying around” is just another way to spend your 10% time.
Do you want to be part of our development team?
Our recruiters are on the lookout for great developers. Check all our development vacancies.
