01.02.2016

Workshop #2: STIKK Export Promotion Service & Business Opportunities

On the 27th of January, 2016, STIKK held its second workshop on STIKK Export Promotion Service & Business Opportunities. This workshop was facilitated by the external consultant Lucas von Zallinger, and ICT companies, donors and STIKK participated.

The outcomes of the workshop were threefold:

Follow-up on the ease of procedure on business leads;
Choice of the best format for sustainability through the EPS service;
Suggestions on a Business-to-Business (B2B) trip in April.

The workshop and its continuity will support STIKK and its partners with tackling these barriers that hinder operations for the normal functioning of the service of the organization.

The workshop included a market snapshot in latest IT market and technology trends on the DACH market, as well as a discussion on recent business leads and export business opportunities from Germany, UK and Italy.

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26.01.2016

STIKK is looking for a Junior Project Manager

STIKK is looking to hire a Junior Project Manager with at least 1 year of experience in project management or at least project assistant.

Required Qualifications

– Experience in project management, or at least project assistant;
– Excellent English language skills;
– Solid editing and writing skills;
– Experience with Social Media;
– Computer Literate;
– Good communications and social skills;
– Proven organisational skills and the ability to work independently;
– Familiarity with Content Management Systems and Mail Chimp (optional).

Check out the Terms of Reference attached in order to find out more about the position and how to apply: https://stikk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ToR_-_02STIKK2016_-_Junior_Project_Manager.pdf

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22.01.2016

Two important Government Cabinet decisions

In December, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo made two very important decisions related to the ICT sector.

THE INSTITUTE OF BUILDING BECOMES AN INCUBATOR FOR IT BUSINESSES

As a result of STIKK’s continuous lobbying and advocacy for two years, the Government decided on 23 December 2015 (Decision No. 10/65) that the building where the Institute of Building in the Cadastral Zone of Lower Bernice, with an area of 8000m2 announced that from henceforth will be a Business Incubator for enterprises that work in the ICT sector. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will administrate the building, nevertheless STIKK and its member companies will directly benefit from this initiative.

Vendim për Inkubator për IT Biznese (Bërnicë): https://stikk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Vendim_Inkubator_per_IT_Biznese_-_Bernice.pdf

THE NATIONAL IT STRATEGY HAS BEEN APPROVED

During the meeting on the 30 December 2015, the Government of Kosovo decided (No. 14/67) upon the approval of Kosovo’s National IT Strategy. This strategy was prepared during 2014 by STIKK, Ministry of Economic Development, and other stakeholders, with the support of GIZ and the Norwegian Embassy. The strategy itself contains 9 pillars of intervention, implementation of which will significantly contribute to the further development of this sector.

Vendim për Strategjinë Nacionale të IT-së: https://stikk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Vendim_per_Strategjine_Nacionale_te_TI-se.pdf

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15.01.2016

The STIKK Education Advisory Board held its second meeting

The STIKK Education Advisory Board met for the second time on the 14th of January, 2016, at the STIKK Office. This Advisory Board, which includes members of STIKK, aims to support in the training programme development, and to ensure that the preparation of the STIKK Education beneficiaries will suit the needs of ICT companies in Kosovo.

The three IT profiles which STIKK Education will be based on are:

– IT Management
– Software Engineering
– Mobile Development

STIKK, an external curricula expert, and the Advisory Board are working on the curricula which will be used in order to address the issue young people are facing during training and professional development. The vision of this initiative is to raise the local capacities in the ICT sector through professional trainings, designed specifically to meet the needs of the local sector, nevertheless by being in line with international technology trends.

STIKK Education will implement 2 training cycles and other supplementary project activities as foreseen in the activity plan below in a 12-month period 2015–2016. Through the trainings, the young IT enthusiasts will gain specific skill-sets that are currently key on the local and European Union market by successfully mastering over curricula that are in full compliance with the European e-Competence Framework 3.0, which is an initiation of multi-stakeholders from the European ICT sector in order to identify and standardize skills that are currently needed in the market, and which has also been prioritized by the local ICT companies to implement.

Additionally, these 90 young IT enthusiasts will complete guaranteed internship programs within 1 year at STIKK member companies through the internship pool/student placement service of STIKK, which will help them put to practice the newly acquired skills and showcase their skills to potential employers.

This activity is co-financed by GIZ, Norwegian Embassy, and USAID.

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23.12.2015

Cross-Border Cooperation – The first meeting between the two parties

The CBC project aims for socio-economic development of the municipality of Istog and Berane, where the main goals are to develop a sustainable economy pushing innovation and entrepreneurship in the tourism industry.

The first meeting was organized on 03.12.2015 between the two sides in Berane, which mainly discussed ways of cooperation between the two parties addressing common solutions.

STIKK together with NGO Syri i Vizionit will implement the project activities in Kosovo and the Tourism Organisation of Montenegro together with Crnogorski IT Klaster are committed to the implementation of activities designed for Montenegro.

More about the project will follow in 2016.

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16.12.2015

Training opportunities in Information Technology for unemployed youngsters

Prishtina, December 15th, 2015 – The Kosovo Association of Information and Communication Technology (STIKK) officially launched its ICT trainings based project for young people, which will be implemented by STIKK.

The project launch has been welcomed and highly appreciated by the national institutions: : Minister for Labour and Social Welfare Mr. Arban Abrashi, Deputy Minister for Economic Development Mrs. Besa Zogaj-Gashi, furthermore and donors who have made it possible to design this programme: Norwegian Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo Mr. Jan Braathu, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo Mr. Greg Delawie, and GIZ representative Mrs. Elena Lau.

“This programme will offer 6 month long cycles of trainings in Software Engineering, Mobile Development, and IT Management” said Mrs. Vjollca Çavolli, Executive Director of STIKK. Besides the trainings, the young IT enthusiasts will get the opportunity to become interns at local companies.

This training programme is a result of the huge request of the local labour market and the outsourcing market for qualified software engineers, mobile developers, and IT managers. These requests have been found during the latest ICT skills gap analysis by STIKK.

This activity is co-financed by GIZ, the Norwegian Embassy, and USAID’s Empower Private Sector.

Increasing the Employment of youngsters in ICT
STIKK Education has been designed to specifically address the obstacles concerning skill-development and training. STIKK Education brings together all of the IT training opportunities already provided by STIKK, with a host of new IT programmes and initiatives. Its vision is to increase the local capabilities in the sector of ICT through professional and competent trainings, specifically designed to meet the needs of the local industry, while keeping on with international technology trends.

STIKK Education will implement 2 training cycles and other supplementary project activities as foreseen in the activity plan below in a 12-month period 2015–2016. Through the trainings, the young IT enthusiasts will gain specific skill-sets that are currently key on the local and European Union market by successfully mastering over curricula that are in full compliance with the European e-Competence Framework 3.0, which is an initiation of multi-stakeholders from the European ICT sector in order to identify and standardize skills that are currently needed in the market, and which has also been prioritized by the local ICT companies to implement.

Additionally, these 90 young IT enthusiasts will complete guaranteed internship programs within 1 year at STIKK member companies through the internship pool/student placement service of STIKK, which will help them put to practice the newly acquired skills and showcase their skills to potential employers.

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11.12.2015

Workshops for STIKK Export Promotion Service (EPS) & STIKK Innovation Hub

During the first week of December 2015, STIKK organized 2 workshops for its services, respectively STIKK Export Promotion Service (EPS) and STIKK Innovation Hub.

STIKK Export Promotion Service (EPS)

Export Promotion Service (EPS) workshop was organized at STIKK in co-operation with GIZ. Mr. Lucas Von Zallinger was the facilitator of this workshop, honing Export Promotion Services for STIKK and its partners in the context of ICT.

Different partners participated in the workshop including Cacttus, LINK PLUS IT, ADAPTIV IT, ASSECO.

The outcomes of the workshop were threefold:

– STIKK’s EPS and its operations have shown that there is a problem with market research/business intelligence for the ICT sector in Kosovo.
– Another problem that occupies companies amidst this industry is internal communication and its implications in the workplace.
– Lack of feedback from provided business leads is an ongoing operational disturbance for STIKK.

The workshop and its continuity will support STIKK and its partners with tackling these barriers that hinder operations for the normal functioning of the service of the organization.

STIKK Innovation Hub

The main goal of the Workshop was the promotion of Innovation Hub which would increase the growth of different sectors in the Kosovo market.

The first industry appointed for digital solutions is the Agriculture industry where finding common grounds between IT companies and Agriculture companies and how Information Technology can help the agro industry is the idea behind the STIKK Innovation Hub for this particular industry.

Capgemini with Lucas Von Zallinger who was the facilitator of this Workshop which was held at STIKK.

ICT companies and Agro companies together with various representatives of the Agriculture industry were part of this Workshop session where various points were discussed:

– Starting the cooperation and getting to know each other (Kick-off)
– Understanding customer needs in agriculture and tourism industry
– Learning about the capabilities and portfolio of the Kosovo IT industry
– Promoting digital innovation in agriculture and tourism
– Defining joint methodology and next steps

The main topic and barriers encountered were: The digital transformation of the Agriculture industry and the difficulties of following operations for transformation purposes. The core problem is the insufficient financial returns for the applied operations and services for digitalizing the agro industry.

This Innovation HUB Workshop and upcoming future ones will be an attempt to come up with solutions to the problems pertaining the convergence between the IT and Agro industry and how can this be financial viable and profitable.

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25.11.2015

Microsoft Innovative Educator

Microsoft will organize two national competitions for all teachers of primary and secondary schools in Kosovo.

The first competition is for innovative teachers from Kosovo (Microsoft Innovative Educator – MIE). Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) is an exclusive program designed to recognize the visionary teachers from around the world who use technology to show the experience to their colleagues how to effectively use technology in their work with students.

Rewards: The teacher who will be selected as a Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) expert will represent Kosovo at Microsoft Global Educator Exchange event which will be held in the spring of 2016. For more details about the program, how to apply, benefits, deadlines, read this link: https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=E8C7045944002E51!427&ithint=file%2cdocx&app=Word&authkey=!AAi5wmyyA0tpdjA

The second competition for innovative teachers from Kosovo within the regional competition MIXathon for 2015 – 2016. The Regional Competition Microsoft MIXathon Challenge is a perfect opportunity to recognize and reward our innovative teachers.

Rewards: The winner of the competition together with participants of 32 other states will represent Kosovo in regional competition of Central and Eastern Europe. Regional competitions will be held in the spring of 2016. For more details about this competition, how to apply, benefits, deadlines, read this link: https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=E8C7045944002E51!426&ithint=file%2cdocx&app=Word&authkey=!AIGNCW6Kburq0Bo

Deadline: The application deadline for these competitions is set at 4 December 2015. Teachers with the best application will be invited to the conference which will be organized on 08 December 2015, located at Emerald Hotel, at this event the winners of the competitions will be announced.

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23.11.2015

Balkan Venture Forum (Zagreb, Croatia // 3-4 December, 2015)

ZAG Apps & APPDEC one step closer to landing an investment at the finals on December 3-4.

ZAG Apps is a start-up company which began with the support of the Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK) incubation service, whereas APPDEC is a member of STIKK association. These two companies will represent Kosovo at the finals of the “Pioneers of the Balkans”.

The Kosovan companies successfully passed the semi-finals, which were held in Belgrade, with a competition of around 250 teams.

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19.11.2015

National IT Summit 2015

In 2015, representatives from politics, industry and science met at the National IT Summit in Berlin. The forum allows the participants to exchange views and experiences on central IT issues.

Berlin’s IT industry is synonymous with the growth of the IT sector in Europe, given that STIKK through the representation of its board member Mr. Mentor Sahiti and long-lasting consultant in Germany, Mr. Lucas Von Zallinger were part of this forum, where opportunities arise to foster networking, business development between Kosovo and Germany, and expand international scene visibility of Kosovo IT sector. STIKK is looking forward to expand its network through this highly anticipated event.

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