FIRST SHOWCASE

All too often when discussing complex phenomena, a single statistic rises as the sole measure of fitness or success. Regarding the wealth of nations, GDP gets the monopoly. And when looking at High Speed Train (HST) networks, the size in Km is the protagonist. This, of course, leaves out crucial details and can lead to ill-fated conclusions.

We add three metrics to the discussion: how much is the network used, how expensive was it to build and how much help came from the EU. We focus on the four major HST etworks in Europe.

The picture suddenly becomes much more complex. And interesting. Spain's network is 10x the size of Italy's! Yes, but each Km is twice as expensive to build in Italy, and it received 20 times less EU funding to build it. Germany and France are on a part regarding HST. They do have a similar sized network, but France's is used twice as much.

By broadening our scope we not only get a better picture of the problem, we also pose new shaper questions. Why did Italy receive 20 times less EU funding than Spain to build its network? Why does France's network have such an intensive use? They too will need a holistic approach if they are to be reasonably answered.

I believe my skills match TEC's needs.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, I have always been capable of thinking creatively and finding stories behind data. Throughout my education and career as a data scientist, this was one of my biggest assets. It is also a big passion of mine. In this regard, I invite you to check some stories from my personal blog

I have extensive experience with data visualization tools.

Plotly, matplotlib or ggplot for scientific content, and D3 for more demanding tasks. I also have some milage in web development, writing front and back-ends as well as deploying apps. With this knowledge I could help TEC bring certain publications to the next level, adding interactive pages and developing new product lines. My biggest strength, though, is data analysis. Which I believe can be my main contribution to the team.

Thirdly, although not formally trained, I think I posses some eye for design. This, though, you may judge for yourself based on this site and the charts in them. I will only add that I have worked with Figma, although I am no expert.

Finally, I am fluent in English, my adoptive tongue, and Spanish, my native tongue. I can also speak Catalan and I have around a B2-level of French. I feel deeply connected to Europe, with at least one good friend, family member or acquaintance in each country. I have some understanding of the institutions, and a couple family members working in them.

Home ownership is a symbol of wealth and financial stability. It means a higher net worth.Leads to reduced living costs. And generally implies a favorable economic situation,necessary to acquire it in the first place. It stands to reason, thus, that wealthier countries will see a higher percentage of home ownership.

And reason would fail us in this case. In Europe, the richer the country, the smaller the proportion of people living in a house they own. Very counterintuitive and, therefore, also very interesting.

Different explanations may be put forward. We discuss two. Firstly, the USSR is a crucial factor in this story. The poorer European countries are located in the East, and they were once soviet. Under communism most citizens lived in state-owned houses and, when the system collapsed in the 90s, this was no longer viable. So the state sold the houses to their occupants at a discount. And like that, eastern Europeans, residing in poorer countries, largely became home owners. A second important observation is that a rental market is not a granted thing. It requires some infrastructure, a reassuring legal framework and social normalization. Economists point out that this factors are more developed in the richer West.