Marcos Katz, a professor of telecommunications technology at the University of Oulu, believes that mobile phones are increasingly improving our everyday lives. A research group headed by Katz is focusing on developing wireless communication. The buzzword of the near future is "mobile cloud", a technology which combines features from different kinds of mobile phones wirelessly.
Katz turned fifty on January 29, and by this summer he will have lived half his life in Finland. Born in Argentina, Katz came to Finland to work as a trainee for Nokia in 1987. He reckons he was one of the first foreigners at Nokia´s Haukipudas unit. "I was like a mascot. A lot of people wanted to talk with me and asked me for a visit."
The quality cultural offerings available in Oulu, especially Oulu Symphony Orchestra concerts, tempted Katz to leave Haukipudas and resettle in the city.
Katz has learned to navigate in a hodgepodge of languages: his mother tongue is Spanish, the dominant language at his workplace is English and outside work Finnish. He speaks Spanish with his 9-year-old son Samuel. He learned Finnish through perseverance. "I started by reading Kaleva every day, although I didn´t get anything at first. I didn´t understand all the grammatical cases."
When in Oulu, Katz says he misses Argentina and its mountainous landscape. Even still, when back in his childhood environs he feels homesick for Oulu. "Mostly, multiculturalism is richness."