How PhD graduates found a home in semantic data consulting

Semmtech has welcomed two new consultants: Apollos Yohanna and Amos van Baalen, both of whom recently completed their doctoral dissertations before moving into consulting. Their appointments reflect a broader trend at the company, where academic researchers often transition into applied semantic technology roles.

Semmtech is a Dutch data and IT consultancy that works with organizations to solve problems related to data, information management and legacy systems. Using semantic modeling and Linked Data, the firm restructures and standardizes data so it can be read by machines and pulled together from many different sources, regardless of which platform it originally came from.

From academia to consultancy

Apollos holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in architecture and previously worked as a construction project manager and lecturer in his home country Nigeria. In 2020, he moved to Germany to begin a PhD at the Institute of Design Computation at RWTH Aachen.

His work there focused on information management, semantic modeling, and Linked Data, with a particular emphasis on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). His doctoral research examined how these two systems, which rely on separate data structures and use different terms for similar concepts, could be connected more effectively.

“My PhD focused on the question of how semantic interoperability between BIM and LCA for efficient material and product data exchange could be achieved and validated,” Apollos explains. He built a framework grounded in semantic web technologies and Linked Data principles to address the issue.

What drew him to Semmtech was the clarity of its mission. “The first thing that caught my attention was the content on Semmtech’s website, specifically the sections on fields, capabilities, and the company itself. These resonated with my passion for information management and interoperability,” he says.

After interviewing with the consulting firm, he found that its stated values matched what he observed in practice. “With Semmtech, everything we do aims to develop our people, our clients, and as a result, our business.”

He is looking forward to applying his expertise to real world projects with a tangible impact, rather than research limited to academic funding cycles.

Amos, meanwhile, brings a different academic background to the firm. Beginning with a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture, he later completed a research master’s in Linguistics at Leiden University, followed by a PhD on the historical development of medieval English.

Although his subject matter looked to the distant past, his methods were thoroughly modern. He transcribed manuscript copies from digital scans and used a Python-based tool called CollateX to compare differences between versions of the same medieval text.

Amos was introduced to Semmtech through a friend with whom he had previously collaborated on an article drawing on his master’s thesis. “He explained to me that there is a crucial linguistic aspect to the work done at Semmtech, for instance in semantic modeling,” Amos recalls.

The idea of using his language expertise outside of academia appealed to him, as did the company’s focus on standardizing and sharing data, which matched his own views on how data should be handled. After several interviews and a case study, Amos decided that Semmtech was the right fit, enthused by both the nature of the work and the reputation of its working culture.

“I chose Semmtech not only because the work seemed exciting and challenging, but also because of the great things I heard about the company’s culture and collegiality, which all turned out to be true.” he says.

Since joining, he has been deepening his knowledge of Linked Data, including vocabularies such as OWL and SHACL, a process he describes as both demanding and rewarding.

An uncommon common move for Semmtech

Moving from doctoral research into consulting is by no means a conventional career path. For Apollos and Amos, however, the transition has been a natural one.

According to Semmtech, its investment in professionals with academic research backgrounds reflects the firm’s commitment to bringing some of the brightest minds into its team to help clients tackle the sector’s most complex challenges. “PhD graduates are like gold in an industry that needs to deliver effective solutions when organizations face complex problems,” the firm said.