Hammad Raza started volunteering at ReDI School as a cloud computing instructor. Four years later, he teaches three courses and coordinates other volunteers – and has discovered sides of himself he never expected to find. He is one of almost 250 volunteers who make ReDI School possible.
When Hammad Raza first volunteered at ReDI School in 2022, teaching was completely new to him – although he had once dreamed of becoming a teacher.
Instead, he became a technology expert. Originally from Pakistan, Hammad came to Denmark 16 years ago and today works as a Domain Solutions Architect in AI & Data at Microsoft. When his manager suggested volunteering at ReDI, he began developing and teaching a course in cloud computing.
“I was nervous in the beginning. The students had expectations, and I was also representing Microsoft.”
He quickly discovered that knowing your subject and teaching it are two very different things. At ReDI, students can have vastly different academic and technical backgrounds.
“That was very different from my everyday work. I had to find ways of explaining the same technology to people with completely different levels of knowledge.”
From one course to three
One course per semester gradually became three. And over the past two semesters, Hammad has taken on yet another role: coordinating the collaboration between ReDI and the volunteer teachers from Microsoft.
The job begins long before the students arrive. For the fall semester, Hammad started planning in mid-August – and working with volunteers, he has discovered, is a discipline of its own.
“You have to respect people's time. You can't just tell them where to be and when to be there.”
When a teacher cannot make it, he has to find somebody willing and able to step in. The coordinator role is demanding, he says with a smile. But the challenge is also part of what keeps him working with ReDI.
“For me, volunteering has been a completely new way of discovering myself – how much you actually have in you, how far you can push and challenge yourself.”
More than teaching tech
Hammad's own arrival in Denmark was different from that of most ReDI students: he already had a job. But through friends, colleagues and now his students, he has seen how difficult entering the Danish labour market can be – even for people with substantial education and professional experience.
“I can understand the pain of trying to find your place in the job market. Many of the students are already highly skilled, but when you arrive in Denmark, you meet a different paradigm.”
So his role often goes beyond teaching cloud computing. Students are curious about Danish workplaces: How do you approach an employer? What is expected of you? How does the work culture function?
“I enjoy that part too. It is not just about teaching a subject. The students have a lot of questions about the Danish job market, and I try to make myself available and answer them.”
What you get back
Almost 250 volunteers in Copenhagen and Aarhus contribute their time as instructors, mentors and career coaches. But Hammad's four years at ReDI reveal another side of volunteering: what you give can also come back to you in unexpected ways.
“It has given me new confidence in my day-to-day interactions with customers. When I meet stakeholders who don't have the same technical knowledge, I can really use what I have learned from meeting the students at ReDI.”
You may come as a volunteer to give your time and share what you know. But in the process, you also gain something yourself – new skills, new confidence and sometimes a new understanding of what you are capable of.
“You can discover and develop yourself as a technology expert through these human connections,” Hammad says.
At the beginning of a new semester, when months of planning are finally over, Hammad can look around Microsoft's meeting rooms and see students and volunteer teachers sitting together, the classes underway.
“That is always special. You know that when the students finish the course, they will leave with something they can use – something they can show as new technical knowledge.”
For Hammad, four years of volunteering have produced something less tangible, but equally valuable: the discovery of how much more he had to offer.
Find out how to volunteer with ReDI in Aarhus here: https://www.redi-school.org/volunteer-in-aarhus
Find out how to volunteer with ReDI in Copenhagen here: https://www.redi-school.org/volunteer-in-copenhagen
More than 12,600 hours of dedication
243 Volunteers
48 Nationalities
8,900 teaching hours
3,700 coaching hours
In 2025, our volunteers contributed more than 12,600 hours of their time, equivalent to DKK 3–4 million in high-quality professional services.
