On December 2, 2025 at 10:00, an open excursion and a series of lectures for IT students of Kyiv National Economic University took place at the headquarters of Itera.

The event was organized within the cooperation between the University’s Department of Computer Sciences and Itera, which is one of the leaders in the IT outsourcing industry.

Students of the 2nd–4th years of the educational and professional program “Computer Sciences”, as well as master’s students of the “Artificial Intelligence Systems” and “Information Control Systems and Technologies” programs took part in the lecture part of the meeting. Among those present were the Head of the Department of Computer Sciences Bohdan Oleksandrovych Tishkov and his deputies Yurii Mykolaiovych Lozovyk and Yaroslav Yuriiovych Vozniuk.

The first lecture was delivered by Nataliia Filonenko, Talent Acquisition Lead at Itera, who holds a master’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s degree in management, and has 15 years of experience in HR and recruitment (in retail, banking, telecommunications and IT), of which 5 years she has worked in the IT industry and 4 years at Itera.

Nataliia explained that Itera is an international technology company founded in 1993 and is one of the most experienced in Northern Europe. It has branches and provides innovative digital solutions to clients in 20 countries around the world. She emphasized that more than 700 employees and over 30 years of market experience allow the company to successfully implement complex projects and create value for businesses. It was noted that Itera is a public company and is listed on the stock exchange.

The lecturer spoke about the working conditions in the company: a standard 40-hour work week, an official schedule from 9:00 to 18:00 with the possibility of shifting by 2 hours, a hybrid work format, free English courses, participation in professional events and certifications. Nataliia also emphasized that the company pays significant attention to maintaining a work-life balance, and overtime hours are not a common practice. Employees have 20 paid vacation days and another 20 sick days per year.

Filonenko outlined the features of Norwegian work culture: informality, trust and equality, the possibility of making decisions during short discussions in the corridor or near the coffee machine, less formal clothing, a flat structure, low communication barriers with management. Work-Life Balance and a friendly attitude toward children and pets are especially valued in the company.

During the lecture, it was noted that IT recruitment is the process of searching for, evaluating, and hiring technical specialists, which includes managing the hiring funnel, using ATS systems (TeamTailor, Breezy, Lever), active technical sourcing, and working with candidates at all stages. That is, a successful recruiter combines technical knowledge with soft skills: communication, empathy, stress resistance, time management and negotiation.

The responsibilities of an IT Recruiter include: selecting candidates according to the job profile, maintaining communication, conducting interviews, supporting candidates at all stages of the process, cooperation with managers, technical experts and clients, meeting SLAs and forming a quality candidate pool.

The following roles are involved in the hiring process: the Resource Manager forms the job description and approves proposals; the Project Manager defines the need for resources, takes part in selection and organizes client interviews; the Technical Expert evaluates the candidates’ technical skills; the Talent Acquisition Specialist provides relevant candidates and maintains the hiring funnel. Nataliia noted that the client also participates in the final interview if necessary.

Among the main challenges in recruiting IT specialists are: high competition, rapid technological changes, and the complexity of technical requirements. A recruiter must assess both technical skills and the level of motivation and cultural fit of candidates.

Next, the speaker outlined the key recruitment trends of 2025. Among the main trends were the active use of AI, growing demand for cybersecurity and data specialists, the dominance of hybrid employment models, the shift to skills-based hiring, increased attention to high-quality candidate experience, and the implementation of flexible cooperation formats.

Students received many tips on how to start a career in IT. Issues of developing practical skills, building a portfolio, being active on LinkedIn, completing internships, and preparing for interviews were discussed. Knowledge of English at level B2 significantly expands opportunities and salary levels.

The second lecture on “Introduction to Project Management” was given by Mykhailo Puhach, Program Manager at Itera.

The Project Manager (PM) is responsible for obtaining project results with proper quality and on time. PM tasks include planning (Project Plan, WBS, Gantt Chart, Roadmap), organizing the team’s work and maintaining participants’ motivation. Constant communication with the client and stakeholders is also important.

Mykhailo described the skills required for a successful PM: technical and business competence, communication, emotional intelligence, negotiation, conflict management, leadership, critical thinking, organization, stress resistance, time management and presentation skills.

He showed that the Waterfall model consists of sequential stages: analysis, design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance, and highlighted its advantages and disadvantages.

He presented information about the international PMBOK standard by PMI, which includes a set of best practices covering five process groups, ten knowledge areas and 49 processes, ensuring universality and adaptability to various types of projects.

Great attention was devoted to Agile and flexible project management methods, in particular Scrum and XP, which ensure incremental delivery, continuous improvement and adaptation to changes.

The lecturer demonstrated how AI helps PMs in daily work, particularly by automating routine tasks, providing better forecasting of task completion timelines, assessing risks, analyzing “what-if” scenarios, and supporting communication with the team.

Mykhailo emphasized the difference between Agile and Waterfall and noted that the choice of methodology depends on the type of project and the client’s expectations.

After the lectures, students had the opportunity to tour the Itera office, see working areas, laboratories and interactive spaces for teams. They were able to observe the corporate culture, the integration of flexible methodologies and the organization of work processes first-hand.

During the visit, students received a lot of valuable information about working in the IT industry, career development opportunities, and the importance of soft skills and critical thinking.
Itera invites students to participate in internships and training programs aimed at developing young talents in the IT field.

The cooperation between the university and the company allows students to gain practical skills needed in the labor market and prepare for modern professional challenges. We hope for further joint projects, internships and educational activities that will help students successfully build careers in information technology.

We express our sincere gratitude to Itera, its management and lecturers for conducting extremely interesting and informative lectures, for their professional approach, detailed explanations and practical advice that helped students better understand the specifics of working in IT and project management.