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Sep 10. 2025
Meet Diana Lokere
The Gamechangers series presents the stories of the people who stood at the very beginning of the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies. Through their vision and determination, they transformed a bold idea into reality – creating a new place for excellent science connected with innovation and talent development in Slovakia. In the interviews, you will learn about the challenges they had to overcome, the values that unite them, and what motivates them to keep pushing the boundaries of research and innovation.
The final part of our anniversary series is dedicated to Diana Lokere, who joined KInIT at the beginning of 2021 and serves as Chief People & Culture Officer. She brought with her extensive experience from the private sector and now takes care of company culture, team development, and fostering an exceptional working atmosphere at the institute. In 2024, thanks to her tireless efforts, the Kempelen Institute earned the prestigious HRS4R award. Her work builds a bridge between professional research and a human-centred approach, helping our colleagues grow and achieve outstanding results.
You came to KInIT from the business sector. Was it challenging for you to adjust to such a completely different environment?
Very much so. Until then, I thought – since I had experience from quite a wide range of business sectors – that it would be fine. And it certainly was fine, but suddenly I felt, as I like to say, like Alice in Wonderland. I had the sense that everything I had experienced up to that point simply didn’t apply anymore. So it was a huge change.
How did you perceive the people who were already at KInIT?
That was probably the most amazing part of it all. I entered the world of academics and researchers, and at first it felt so distant – I had a natural sense of respect toward them. But then I suddenly realised that I was surrounded by very open, kind people. For the first time in my life, I experienced a community where every single person was interested, asked questions, and was genuinely curious. People often say that researchers are curious, and it’s absolutely true. I immediately felt that everyone around me had a sincere interest in getting to know the world I was bringing with me. And that felt incredibly good. I was stressed out, and some situations were challenging, but looking back, I remember it all with great affection.
What were the main priorities when building the institute’s culture?
I probably didn’t approach it in a fully structured way. When I first came in, I had huge plans. But then reality caught up with me, and I saw the actual environment. I’ll admit, it wasn’t very well structured, and a lot of things were driven by intuition. The only thing I knew for sure was that the institute was built on strong values. Those values created the community around what we can now call a brand.
But at the beginning, I didn’t yet perceive it as a brand – I connected instead with the fact that there was a community of people truly united by values I deeply shared. So naturally, we kept building on what connected us, because that was what would carry us forward. That became our foundation.
Then came the more painful part, when I had to introduce processes, which is maybe less fun, but still very important. It was a very intuitive approach, based strongly on feelings and on what we were experiencing at the time.
At what moment did you think, “wow, there are so many of us already”?
I don’t know if there was really time to say it to myself like that. It happened more when I was telling other people how many of us there were or what we were working on. And suddenly, their reaction was: “Wow, that many already!” That’s when I realised too – oh, wow, there are really over 50, over 60 of us now…
But probably the very first moment when I realised it on my own was when I reached the point of needing to find an intern, because I simply couldn’t manage everything by myself anymore. That was the moment when HR in KInIT started coming to the forefront, and we needed to take a more structured approach and begin building it – while also creating something new in the academic world. That’s when I started to realise that this was becoming serious.
How would you describe the culture at KInIT today? How have we progressed? Over this time, has your perception of the culture changed at all?
With great joy, I have to say – no. And I’m incredibly proud of that. Despite how many of us there are now, and how diverse we’ve become -especially in terms of the experiences we bring and the backgrounds we come from – culturally and in terms of values, we are still the same as at the very beginning. The fact that we’ve managed to maintain this is something I speak about with real pride, and it’s very moving for me.
Do you think of it as culture emerging because of the people who join, or rather, the culture attracting people who fit into it?
I would probably start by saying about the people who are already here that “you attract what you live.” And I think that’s exactly what’s happening here. We naturally draw in people who are very similar to us. Of course, I’m aware that culture is something very intangible. This means that the bigger we grow, the more often it will happen that things won’t always be “rainbows and unicorns,” so to speak.
However, I believe we have a very strong core, and we’ll continue to do well. But we also need to work more and more on shaping KInIT’s culture into something structured and tangible, so that new people have something solid to lean on.
Was there a key moment when you thought, “wow, we really did it”?
I think there have been a few moments like that. But I don’t reflect on them regularly during the journey, because the journey itself is ongoing. We have one goal, and before we even fully reach it, there’s already a new one. It’s like an endless river of challenges we want to overcome. So those “wow, we did it” moments are hard to recognise. For example, when I need to fill a very unglamorous position and struggle with it for a long time, then suddenly find a really great person for it, I think, “great, this person is here,” but immediately start thinking about what we’re going to do together next.
I’m afraid I don’t really have such a moment, though maybe I should. I’d be glad if we, as an organisation, became more aware of these moments and started celebrating them more, because I think it’s important for building stability and fully experiencing our culture.
Describe the energy of our team. What is something special that KInITers have?
If you had asked me this question in the first days after I arrived, I would have said I didn’t know, because I didn’t feel like I fully belonged here. But now I don’t feel that way. The energy of our team is fascinating in that it gives you the certainty that this is your safe space. You never have to wonder whether someone meant what they said or if there’s some hidden agenda behind it. There’s an incredible sense of openness and mutually respectful relationships here, regardless of whether someone comes from academia, business, or, for example, an NGO background. That’s how I experience it.
And how do you see the future of KInIT?
The more, the merrier. 😊 But no, for me, KInIT isn’t just about the mission of what we want to achieve as an institute. For me, it’s truly about the community. I want KInIT to continue being an organisation where this community of people not only fulfils our mission but also lives the values it represents. I want to create a broader ecosystem where like-minded people gather, ideally even beyond Slovakia. I actually want KInIT to be more than a brand – it’s almost like a cult, but in a good sense of the word. A space that unites people who genuinely want to do things that have a positive impact on society and move it forward.
Our domain may be artificial intelligence, but in terms of culture, I see it in a very idealistic way – we can leave a deeper mark than just within AI. And I’ve believed that from the very first day I came here, and I live by it. The team that is forming here confirms it to me every single day. It really sounds idealistic and cult-like, but I don’t care, because in KInIT, we truly live it, and I believe we can make it happen. I would be very happy if we succeed in spreading this into society, so that we fulfil our mission in that way as well.
