Working Lives Berlin: 'Ideator'

Julia Leihener works as an "ideation manager" for Deutsche Telekom.

She and her team develop new technology ideas, from smart-home technology to the future of mobile phones.

She arrived in Berlin 15 years ago and still thinks it's a great city to work in, but she has concerns about the commercialisation of Berlin.

"It's good and bad if money's coming in," she says.

"Where I live, I really see how it's been polished up and brought me to the point where I moved because it gets too polished.

"There's a great tension building up, and I can feel that in my area."

Berlin still has some way to go before it reaches the gentrified unaffordable capital many people predict it'll become.

The big challenge is how it continues to combine its creativity with capitalism, without losing what makes it so special.

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