His eyes are frequently drawn to the training ground in the shadow of the Volkswagen Arena. To where the Bundesliga professionals of VfL Wolfsburg are busy preparing for their next match. Sure, becoming a professional player would have been quite something. Maybe he would have had what it takes. However, Julius Merkel has managed to make a profession from his hobby – or at least to combine the two closely – in a manner that is no less impressive.
“The Perfect Combination.”
As project leader on the development of the “We Score” app for the new Golf, Julius Merkel was right in his element: after all, cars and football are his great passions. The 24-year-old also possesses important characteristics, thanks to his hobby, in which he is regularly made the scapegoat.
He is still young. The man from the Stendal district has just turned 24. However, in Volkswagen’s “VX-4” department, which looks after the marketing for digital services, Julius has already been entrusted with a hugely challenging role: project leader on the development of the “We Score” in-car app, which, since very recently, can be downloaded via the infotainment system’s shop. “We Score” allows you to experience football in real time in the new Golf. You can follow the scores, news and tables live, or have the app read the latest news or a live ticker out loud – a great result for real football fans. “There is no longer any need for anyone to reach for their smartphone to check results while driving. Instead, they are shown directly on the infotainment system’s display,” the Volkswagen employee explains.
With great trust comes great responsibility
Julius is, by his own admission, mad about football. “And I would definitely describe myself as a digital native, so developing the app was the perfect combination for me.” However, the fact that he was promptly handed leadership of the project in January 2020 was rather special. After all, aged 22 at the time, he had not yet completed his dual degree in Business Administration, which he started in 2016.
“That definitely came as a bit of a surprise to me, but I was obviously absolutely delighted with the faith they put in me. It was a great honour – but also typical of our department: the spirit in our team is just superb and the bosses exemplify this in the way they entrust junior employees with important tasks,” he recalls. The assignment was certainly a challenging one: “I was, and remain, the interface between all the protagonists involved – it’s an extremely exciting challenge. When developing the app, I deal with a lot of internal and external departments: with electronic development, software developers in Portugal, data providers, quality assurance, the legal department, obviously IT, and many more. The cooperation with all of these has been hugely enjoyable and worked superbly.”
Top fit and always on the ball
What really helped Julius Merkel in his first major professional challenge was the wealth of experience he had gained in previous years on the football pitch – not as a player, but as a referee. “Most people ask: ‘How can you volunteer to do something like that? You are just sworn at and are made the scapegoat in every game.’ However, I see it first and foremost as a challenge,” explains Julius. “You have to stay top fit and always be on the ball, master extreme situations, act quickly and resolve conflicts. Over time, you also develop a good knowledge of human nature. All these things also help you progress in other life situations.”
He was 18 when he decided to follow this unusual hobby, rather than pursue a career as a footballer. “When I was younger, I was a very ambitious goalkeeper with my home club Blau-Gelb Goldbeck, and was thrown in at the deep end in the men’s team as a 17-year-old,” recalls Julius, who now lives in Braunschweig and officiates for local club TVE Veltenhof.
“Even back then, I was also doing some refereeing and then had to make a decision, as it was not possible to pursue both at a high level.” Julius now refs at national league level and is an assistant referee in the U19 Bundesliga. “I really enjoy it and would certainly be open to continuing my development, in order to be able to referee in higher leagues in the adult game – provided I can combine this with my job.”
“App-lying” himself to a Masters
Julius Merkel can easily imagine a career at Volkswagen: “Volkswagen has always been a very interesting employer for me: modern cars, extensive sports sponsorship – that ticks a lot of boxes, so my goal from an early stage was to work here.” His favourite model at the moment is definitely the new Golf – whether as a GTI or a GTE. “Furthermore, you have a huge number of opportunities and can, for example, gain experience abroad – with this in mind, working at Volkswagen is very attractive in many regards.”
Julius graduated from the Ostfalia Hochschule in Wolfsburg with a first-class dual degree in Business Administration. Alongside his job, he is now also doing a two-year Masters in “Marketing and E-Business” in Göttingen. “I definitely want to stay in Volkswagen Marketing and would like to continue to develop the ‘We Score’ app. That is obviously what my heart is set on,” says Julius on his career plans. “I would also like to be involved in developing more apps for future digital, in-car offerings.”