Mathias Wellig: "We still have the same close relationship we had when studying together at ETH."
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Mathias Wellig gained his Bachelor’s and Master in Computer Science at ETH. During his time at university, he and two fellow students tinkered around with the recently launched iPhone. The delight and curiosity of this tinkering resulted in them founding Ubique, a company which now employs around 50 members of staff, roughly 70 percent of whom are ETH graduates. He is responsible for many all-Swiss apps such as SBB, MeteoSchweiz and SwissCovid.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be?
I had lots of different ideas of what I wanted to be. But my first specific goal was to work in Legoland designing new Lego kits. As a kid, I often played with Lego because I used to love building things. But the kits only contained a limited number of bricks, which I sometimes found frustrating. Having an unlimited number of Lego bricks would have been paradise. And that is just what I found in computer science: I get to work with an infinite number of building blocks.
Studying at ETH was one of the best decisions I ever made.Mathias Wellig
You didn't move to Denmark, but Zurich and ETH where you gained your Bachelor’s and Master’s in Computer Science. What motivated you to do this?
As well as being passionate about building, from an early age I was also interested in mathematics. I loved counting and that was still the case when I got to my school-leaving exams. But it took me a long time to come round to computer science. I had the common prejudices against computer science. It was only late on that I realised how I could combine my love of building and mathematics in computer science.
There was no university in Valais and anyway as a young adult I wanted to get a taste of city life. ETH appealed to me because I wanted to study a range of topics. One thing made a huge impression on me when I had to pick a course. I found the following quotation from Edsger W. Dijkstra on the web page for the computer science department: "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes". Studying at ETH was one of the best decisions I ever made.
You became interested in apps and iPhones early on at ETH and even co-founded the company Ubique while still at university. What motivated you to do this?
The course was very theoretical. Just like with Lego, over time I accumulated a lot of building blocks. But I didn’t want to just pack them away and forget about them. I was passionate about them and wanted to do something with them. Life is not just about theory; you need to actually do something. I was always involved in projects with a practical element to them.
I went to university in 2007, the year in which the iPhone was launched. And this was when the three co-founders of Ubique met: we were the only people in our year to have iPhones imported from the USA. We were fascinated and tinkered with them outside of lectures. Thanks to us, ETH students of that time were able to send free texts on iPhones. That may sound trivial today but it was big news at the time.
We were enjoying ourselves and kept developing new things. We noticed that a market for our experiments was gradually emerging. And we thought it would be good for us to take on a professional appearance. Founding Ubique gave our passion a home. Interest grew steadily and even resulted in me attending fewer lectures, which is why I had to tack one semester on at the end. So my building hobby became my job.
It sounds like the course at ETH helped in numerous ways?
Exactly. We still have the same close relationship we had when studying together at ETH. As I have already mentioned, two fellow students and myself were interested in apps early on during our course. The three of us stuck together through our Bachelor’s and Master’s courses and still work together today. What’s more, around 70 percent of our employees are ETH graduates.
It is still not that long since I graduated. I am no longer fluent in the most recent programming languages but that does not matter. I know that the theoretical knowledge and the principles I learnt during my course still help me today. These remain the same no matter how trends change. This technical basis will always be extremely valuable for me.
In the early days, we had to look at the potential of individual applications. Today, we have to view a digital product in the context of the entire system surrounding it and make sure it is integrated correctly.Mathias Wellig
Ubique is responsible for many all-Swiss apps like MeteoSchweiz and SBB. In 2020, you developed the SwissCovid app. What is it like to launch a new app today?
It still feels like it did when we launched apps during our time at university. Demand exists and we can build something to satisfy it. Early on, things were perhaps simpler and more clearly defined. These days, our apps are a lot more complex and have greater relevance to society. This perhaps also has something to do with our age. Take the SwissCovid app: this is used by many more people than say our app for sending free texts on campus.
The level of complexity has also changed over the years: in the early days, we had to look at the potential of individual applications. Today, we have to view a digital product in the context of the entire system surrounding it and make sure it is integrated correctly. But we certainly have not lost the pleasure we get from building things.
What challenges does Ubique currently face?
As company but also as a society we have faced the challenge of learning from what has happened during the pandemic. For Ubique as an organisation, this of course means the way in which we work. We have now reached a point where we are considering opening up again. We don’t want to go back to where we were at the start of 2019 but we also don’t want to work from home all the time.
We want to think in a new radical light to gain the most as a team. We do not yet know where that will take us. We are looking for solutions and testing them out. We are evaluating what works well, what doesn’t and which approaches we can combine. This is our challenge in the short term and I find it very exciting.
In the medium term, we do of course want to continue providing solutions to meet needs. The digital sector is changing fast. We are always considering what people want and what we should build next. We want our success story to continue.
Do you have any tips for ETH students?
One thing stands out above everything else for me: study something that appeals to you. You will be better at it. As a computer scientist, I found the opportunity to do just that. Some things really are just fads but sometimes you hit the jackpot. If you are passionate about something, pursue it. Just like us in 2007 with our iPhones: we enjoyed doing it and were able to build on it. Looking back, I can see how things developed in a logical manner. But it is not as simple as it may look today.
To me, it is also important to remain true to yourself. As a computer scientist at ETH, I have this luxury. I am investing in something, or in my case in a company, which allows me to remain true to myself.