The Kyrgyz computer scientist Asel Chinalieva has found her new home in Plauen 

Asel Chinalieva can speak at least seven languages, so to speak: Kyrgyz, the language of her family, Russian, the cultural language of her childhood and youth, English, without which you can hardly survive nowadays, the Vogtland dialect, her first real foreign language, later followed by German too – and Java and PHP, two programming languages – just what a young mother needs, you might say.

The IT experts at the Plauen-based company “pitcom” are an international group and work takes place in a family atmosphere. As a result, the computer scientist from Kyrgyzstan fits in perfectly – all the more because that was simply the way things turned out. It is the story of one of those inquisitive young people, for whom the world seems to be wide open – and who often find their place in it in a very surprising manner. 

It would have been impossible to envisage any of this back in 1985. Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan located on the Silk Road, was still known as Frunze back then – named after its famous son, a Soviet military leader during the Russian Civil War. The little girl Asel was born there, but she spent most of her childhood in her grandparents’ village. “It was beautiful,” she says, summarising her memories of that time with a twinkle in her eyes. Thanks to her grandmother, a former primary school teacher, Asel learned to write and do sums even before she could put on her school satchel. It very quickly became obvious that the little girl was good at figures. “Maths was always my thing,” she says – and you can well imagine the anticipation and excitement that she must have felt when she started a completely new subject in the 8th grade: computer science. The first computers, Russian Korvet models, could only display one colour and only provided a very limited number of pixels, but that was “very interesting” for young Asel even at this stage. Two years later, they already had Windows computers with Office software in their classrooms.

However, it was a family friend, the dean at the Kyrgyz State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, who fully pointed her in the right direction. “My plan was to study English. I always wanted to go abroad, study there and see a bit of the world.” But the dean took Asel to one side and advised her, “You can teach yourself languages. Computer science is a rapidly developing sector with good opportunities for the future!” The aptitude test did not pose any problems for the talented young lady. And in the third year of her course, the world came to her in the form of the Zwickau Professor Georg Beier, who was giving programming courses in Bishkek to students who were able to speak English. The examination project at the end involved programming a game in Java – and the prize was four scholarships for a semester at Zwickau University of Applied Sciences. Asel had achieved her goal – and threw herself into a three-month crash course to learn German.  

One of the project members opened the doors for the gifted Kyrgyz lady to join “pitcom” in Plauen: she still had some work experience to complete during the summer months before the semester started. “I spent a lot of my time involved in translation work there. And the team was not allowed to speak English to me!” As a result, Asel learned the Vogtland dialect – and improved her German at the same time. A suggestion was made during the semester that she should stay in Germany. “I did, however, return to Kyrgyzstan to complete my degree because I only had one semester to complete. She obtained a degree in computer science with the highest grade. She received some post from Germany: a grant for a master’s degree lasting three semesters at Zwickau University of Applied Sciences. It was already clear to Asel Chinalieva that her new home would be in south-west Saxony. “pitcom” was already waiting for her – both professionally – the “event database” project was the subject of her master’s dissertation – and privately: Asel now lives with one of the developers formerly employed by the company in the Plauen district of Preisselpöhl and enjoys her young family – her daughter Dana was born almost two years ago.   

“The decision wasn’t hard for me. I was already thinking at that time that there was a reliable job with good development opportunities and they particularly apply to children too. And I’ve landed in a company with a very friendly atmosphere, which makes the work very pleasant and has helped me make new social contacts quickly. My parents now live in deepest Siberia – we only see each other every two years or so – but fortunately we’re able to skype. But I do miss my two brothers sometimes. My home is definitely here now. I love the natural surroundings here in the Vogtland region, particularly walking along the river Elster towards Pöhl – I wasn’t familiar with anything like that before. I was just amazed at the beginning how much these elderly people often clothed in white had to do with each other. People in Kyrgyzstan don’t go walking as a leisure pursuit. But they cook good food there, just like people here.”