Meet Wayne, Veridian Software Engineer

Wayne joined Veridian in 2020 and is an experienced software developer. As a history lover, his progression into digital library software is a welcome one.

Wayne has a Masters Degree of Computer Science and Engineering from the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. He has led large software projects, managing teams to deliver an exceptional user experience for customers. We are very lucky to have him.

What led you to a career in software development?

To be honest, I didn’t know much about software development or computer engineering before I dived into the subjects at college. I felt it could be a channel to the world other than our physical world, beyond time and space restrictions - a way of communicating with someone human or non-human. Perhaps this image came from a movie or TV series that I can’t recall now. I’m very grateful for what my career in software development has given me so far.

What excites you about the world of digital newspaper collections?

The world of digital newspaper collections offers me a peek at what happened in the past. It’s not from a textbook, which means it’s more vivid and lively. You can learn not only from the literal reports, but also from photographs, illustrations and advertisements. It makes me feel that I’m actually living in history, and that excites me.

You recently moved to New Zealand from Taiwan. What’s your favourite thing about living here?

The atmosphere here. Even though I haven't lived here for long, I can feel the atmosphere allows people to live in the way they really want and widen their life mentally. The sky's the only limit you will ever encounter, especially for children. I am thankful for that.

Who inspires you?

Many people inspire me, but most of all, it is definitely my wife Flora. She is the bravest human I have ever met in my life. She is always energetic and curious about everything and willing to try. I’m very lucky to have her, and I wouldn’t have got so far without her.

What part of building a digital collection do you most enjoy?

I enjoy getting feedback from our clients after a digital collection is built. I rarely communicated directly with customers in my previous job experiences, and it’s great to know how they really feel after we’ve applied a new feature or fixed some bugs that had bothered them for a while. I also enjoy having the opportunity to find out what the world looks like at a particular moment during a historical event, after we’ve ingested some data for our clients.

What song will guarantee to get you on the dancefloor?

Although I am a terrible dancer, I think any song of Tahiti 80 or Annie Lennox can definitely make me swing.