Jess Hilstrøm celebrates 25 years at ITU

When Jess Hilstrøm started at ITU, the institution had only just been founded. It was still known as IT Højskolen (the IT College) and was located in less grandiose surroundings on Glentevej in the Nordvest-quarter of Copenhagen.

“In the time, I have been at ITU, we have gone from being a shoe box to a skyscraper,” says Jess who was brought onboard as a member of IT support at ITU 25 years ago this year. “Back then we had two floors and a basement. There weren’t a lot of employees or students either. We were pretty much all on a first name basis.”

It was Jess' father who told him about the new IT College in Copenhagen, and working with computers and technology was already a passion of his.

“I was a technician before I came to ITU. I drove around fixing fax machines, printers, and copiers for customers. But I was always on the road, and it was a lonely job to work. I am a very sociable person, I like to be around people, so I wasn’t happy being in my car all day driving from one customer to the next.”

He submitted a job application, and was hired by Mads Tofte, former rector, personally as the college did not even have a head of IT yet.

“It’s been a very interesting journey for me professionally as well as personally. At ITU, there was a real pioneer spirit in those early years. We moved quickly without thinking about project planning or details like that – it was a special time like that. Of course, today changes in the organisation require much more planning, and we’ve gotten good at that, too.”

As Jess says, he has spent most of his adult life working at ITU and in a sense seen the university come of age. There are many memorable moments in the history of ITU, but he highlights one in particular:

“I remember the day when Mads Tofte came by every office pushing a trolley with champagne for everyone to celebrate that ITU had officially become a university. That was a big day for all of us. But there have been many great moments. I have always liked working at ITU. I have great colleagues – we’re a close-knit group in the IT department – and I get to meet and discuss things with very interesting people and tinker with high-end technology that I could never afford myself.”

Jess is familiar face on campus – not only because we all know him as a friendly face behind the desk in IT Support. He is often seen around campus sporting colourful heavy metal band shirts.

“I love music. I listen to music as often as possible, and I go to a lot of concerts. I’ve been to Copenhell every year, and I’ve probably been to Roskilde Festival 30 times. Music is meant to be experienced live – you have to really feel it in your body.”

And this summer Jess is looking forward to a major event in his live music calendar. He is traveling to London to see thrash metal legends Slayer perform at Finsbury Park: “We’ve bought a hotel package, we’re a five-minute walk from the venue, and we have VIP tickets for the concert. Don’t ask me how much it cost. It’s going to be worth every penny!”

We wish Jess a happy anniversary and a great trip this summer!