Lviv gathered Ukrainian IT industry for professional discussion

On 26 March the Lviv Outsourcing Forum (LIOF) brought together representatives of the Ukrainianoutsourcing community to exchange views and experience of industry development.

Within the framework of the LIOF 2016 conference a panel discussion was held devoted to local IT clusters. The discussion gathered representatives from Lviv, Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi and Kharkov. The panellists shared their achievements in clusters activities. The representative of the youngest IT cluster from Kiev, Maksim Dizhechko, expressed his gratitude to peers for sharing with him their experience, which facilitated the establishment of the Kiev IT cluster.

The speakers agreed that the common concerns of clusters are as follows:

- recognition by the tax authorities of the legality of use of individual enterpreneurs services by IT companies;

- security of conducting business taking into account searches and seizing of equipment by state authorities;

- education of IT specialists.

It is notable that the experience of the Lviv IT cluster appeared to be the basis for the development of more recent local clusters.

Olena Vardamatska, deputy head of the ICT committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association, commented: "Representatives of IT clusters are inclined to cooperation rather than competition. The only state support they require relates to the higher education of IT specialists based on an up-to-date agenda. To this end total reshaping of the educational program as well as training of university professors is required. Simultaneously, all IT clusters make efforts to improve local higher education and even propose their own alternatives (private education). Another important aspect of IT  clusters' activities is the establishment of international cooperation. It is beneficial for both the development of the local IT environment and business development of members of the IT clusters in question."