ITkarijera.ba Meet Up held in Sarajevo: BiH society is not even aware of the IT sector's capacities

Sarajevo, February 24, 2023.

You don't have to go to Silicon Valley to do business that makes you part of the global market. You can stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina and build a successful career in the IT sector that keeps pace with current technologies and creates solutions for world-renowned clients. This is the conclusion of the ITkarijera.ba Meet Up, which was held last night in Sarajevo.

The event organized by the Bit Alliance Association, with the support of the Swiss Government and its MarketMakers project, brought together more than 150 high school students, students, representatives of IT companies, professors, parents and associations in one place with the aim of connecting and talking about the IT industry and career.

Bit Alliance Executive Director Damir Maglajlić said that this is another opportunity for the largest association of IT companies in our country to connect young people with IT companies and contribute to their guidance, and enable them to get answers to their questions. He invited all those present to take advantage of this opportunity and be proactive in their career path.

ITkarijera.ba - a guide to the IT world

In recent years, the portal www.itkarijera.ba has become the right place for all content from the IT sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has attracted the attention of both young people and their parents. Semina Pljakić from Bit Alliance presented the segments of this portal, as well as 10 episodes of the ITkarijera.ba Podcast in which representatives of IT companies talked about various topics important for their work and empowerment.

"When we asked young people what they want in the field of education and where they see themselves, they told us that they want to be part of the IT world, but that they are not sure how they should enter that sector. And that is the story behind IT career. It was created as a product to become a guide for you and your parents when entering the IT sector. Today, it is a nice channel of communication with IT companies where you can develop, build your career and stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Dinka Majanović, head of IT sector development at the MarketMakers project.

ITkarijera.ba is a portal that was created as an idea and a product of the collaboration between Bit Alliance and the MarketMakers project. Since 2018, their joint investments in innovation and development have the same goal - to enable young people to stay in BiH through the discovery of opportunities in the IT sector, and to provide teachers and professors with a platform from which they can draw work materials for more interesting and productive work with students.

At the "IT career in your eyes" panel, those present had the opportunity to hear useful information and advice from a representative of an IT company, a computer science professor, the thoughts of a student, but also how parents see the future in this industry.

"Today, IT companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina are keeping up with current technologies and perform very complex tasks. The market is not even aware of the capacity of the IT sector, where the number of employees is growing not only in development, but also in non-development sectors. We are very competitive on the market and we perform complex and challenging tasks for big brands and clients who have given us their trust", emphasized Ema Turković from the RUBICON company, sharing advice for young people on how to position themselves in the market and what skills to develop through education, but also by investing in themselves every day.

Student Amina Hamzić from the Burch International University confirmed that IT is an interesting job that attracts young people with freedom of choice and creativity, but also with good earnings, while Amra Karić said that it seems to her that today parents are too involved in determining the path of their children, and that they should actually create an environment in which they will develop.

“We should not adapt the path to the children, but the children to the path because we cannot determine what will happen to the children in their careers and lives,” said the proud mother whose son Kamran, as part of the Second Gymnasium Sarajevo team, won the “Sarajevo Snowflake” award for exceptional success at the STEM Olympiad.

Challenges of the teaching profession in BiH

Professor of computer science Adin Begić, as a person who prepares students for the 21st century in the educational process, emphasized that his profession faces a number of challenges in everyday practice.

"Regardless of the desire to be innovative, we encounter various obstacles, from legal, curriculum and programs, the Internet, equipment necessary for work, and the like. Unfortunately, in some parts of our country, schools still use dial-up connections or there is no Internet at all. Curriculums and programs are outdated and outdated. In creating the curriculum, we tried to change that, so that teachers have the breadth and opportunities to teach students current and applicable skills. The implementation of the curriculum is not far advanced, but individual teachers try to independently research and find the best ways to interest students", said Professor Begić.

He participated in the creation of free additional materials from informatics that are available to teaching staff at edu.itkarijera.ba and aim to facilitate their work and improve their knowledge and skills.