Meet Cristiano, born in Perugia (Italy) and living in Split. He studied Applied Electronics Engineering at the University of Perugia and now works for Include as an Embedded Electronic Design Engineer, developing and building advanced IOT electronic systems from prototype to final product.

He fell in love with Dalmatia – its nature, people, and the local Mediterranean way of life – a long time ago during a visit to one of our islands with some of his Italian friends. After the initial enchantment, he also discovered other great aspects of life here: job opportunities, education, artistic and recreational activities, healthcare and social services, etc. That’s what brought him here from 2008 to 2010. And when the local tech sector started growing in recent years, he decided once again to look for employment opportunities here. Needless to say, he found them at Include.

Cristiano came here onboard one of the last ships from Italy a few days before the first lockdown in 2020. You might think that was a crazy thing to do considering the situation the whole world found itself in at the time, but we absolutely disagree.

He saw an opportunity in Split, a place where he can have a good life and do the work he loves and he went for it. That is not crazy – it’s inspirational!

When we asked him what he struggled with the most upon starting his work here and how did he deal with and resolve those struggles, he mentioned the new way of life we’ve all been facing since the beginning of the past year and the impact this had on human relationships and subsequently on the way of working, resources, supplies, timing, and results of the projects.

We all saw throughout 2020 how, in times that were confusing and difficult for all, creativity and ingenuity emerged in all shapes and sizes: from ordinary people who suddenly became innovative about some aspects of their everyday lives, to scientists and engineers who came up with extraordinary discoveries, and everyone else in between.

Cristiano was no exception in showing this adaptability of the human mind and spirit. He says: “In this unusual way of starting a new job, I had to react with determination and rationality.”

Due to the lockdown, he had to work from home, so he set up a home lab to develop and test electronics boards. Include supported him in a special way throughout this process.

And though it might have been challenging, Cristiano concludes at the end: “We did it!”

That “we” in the celebratory phrase is no accidental typo. When we asked him about Include as a company and his work there, this is what he had to say: “In Include I found a fresh, young, brilliant, and healthy work environment that involved me on a stimulating design, methodical development, and construction of high quality, smart, and useful products for public space and human community. And I’ve met extremely skilled, professional, warm, kind, loyal, and friendly people.”

It’s great to have a healthy work environment and to love what you do, but what about life outside of work? Cristiano had some things to say about that as well: “I find Split to be a city that offers an excellent combination of work and professional activities, free time, raising a family, and living in harmony close to beautiful nature.

Life in Split is very social, so it is very easy to connect and share experiences with other people. People here are genuinely open and easy to talk to.”

Asked about any advice he has for individuals who are considering moving to Split and following in his footsteps, Cristiano says to “Just go and ask locals.” as you’ll always get a useful answer. And he admits that, in any aspect, every day he learns that he doesn’t know anything and “…it might be time to learn?!”

A phrase we can all agree on. Being a local who was born here or an international who just moved to Split, the fact we all learn new things every day is something which will always bring us together as humans.

There’s one message Cristiano had at the end:

“Let’s do it all together! L’amore, la luce e la bellezza salveranno il mondo.”

To translate for the ones who don’t speak Italian: “Love, light, and beauty will save the world.” We absolutely agree and have nothing else to add.