The first ICT Cortex Football Tournament 

In Podgorica, on February 25th, the first ICT Cortex Football Tournament was held in collaboration with the IT company First Line Software. The main goal of the tournament, in which five teams participated – Coinis, Studio Bild, Data Design, Telemont, and First Line Software – was to promote healthy lifestyles and connect the IT community more informally.  The teams gathered around 40 players, and the tournament format involved playing one match against each other group to determine the winner based on performance. To respect the rules and provide professional refereeing, a pair of official Football Association of Montenegro referees were engaged on the field. After several relatively evenly matched matches, the best teams stood out. The first ICT Cortex football tournament winner was the Bild Studio team, with Telemont and Coinis taking second and third place, respectively. While member companies were engaged in a tense battle on the field, support was present from colleagues from competing and organizing companies and our youngest members at this tournament. Some segments that can characterize the recently held tournament are the more positive energy that characterized the teams themselves, a lot of laughter, and a profound competitive spirit that set new standards when organizing the next Cortex Football Tournament. For those who ran out of energy, Red Bull supported this event. This tournament is the first of its kind when it comes to ICT Cortex, and we would like to thank First Line Software and the “Čini dobro” Foundation for supporting the competition and contributing to its complete realization. This is just the first in a series of gatherings that we plan to organize, and we invite you to follow us on social media, where we will regularly inform you about our future activities.

The ICT Cortex cluster received a special award from the Union of Employers

At the solemn ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Union of Employers, the ICT Cortex cluster received a special recognition for the activities carried out in 2022: Recognition for a business policy that connects socially responsible business and information and communication technologies, and applies them in regular practice. The award was presented to Marketing Director Tanja Dukić, who thanked the Union of Employers for the award and expressed her satisfaction that the cluster’s contribution to the community was recognized through numerous projects, of which the Cortex Academy and the First Podgorica ICT Week stood out. “Established with the aim of being a leader in the digital transformation of the economy and public administration, as well as improving the framework and ecosystem that is necessary for the provision of digital innovations in industry and education, the Montenegrin cluster ICT Cortex has, in less than two years of operation, gathered 34 renowned IT companies that have recognized the importance and need for the existence of this organization for the digital development of Montenegro. We managed to connect with the academic and public sector, launch numerous projects, including the largest education program in the field of ICT education, the Cortex Academy, organize the first ICT week, realize several projects in the field of internationalization, and establish a foundation through which we will continue to give back to the community. in which we operate.” In her presentation, Tanja approached the idea of the “Čini dobro” Foundation, which gathers Montenegrin companies known for their socially responsible business for years. “Through the Foundation, united, we invest in healthy and progressive ideas, create opportunities for education, rely on green initiatives, and support the development of digital services. The“Čini dobro” foundation is open for new members of socially responsible companies, and I hereby invite you to join us, to do good together! ”

Vladan Tabaš is the new president of the Board of Directors of ICT cluster Cortex

The management board of the Montenegrin ICT cluster Cortex, at the session held on 10th of November 2022, unanimously decided that Vladan Tabaš, executive director of the Čikom company, should be the head of this administrative body of the cluster. The newly elected president of the Management Board of the cluster, which gathers renowned Montenegrin IT companies, expressed his satisfaction with the trust shown by the Management Board and reflected on the period and achievements of the cluster so far. “In the first year of work on the Montenegrin IT scene, Cortex has laid recognizable foundations and built on them in the field of association and strengthening of the IT community, education at various levels, internationalization and promotion of digital standards and digital transformation. It is a great honor and pleasure for me to be trusted to be the head of the Cortex Board of Directors, and I hope that with my work and experience, together with the other members of the Board of Directors, I will help the executive team and all members of Cortex to continue on well-prepared paths. Our ambitions have been great since the start, but our strength is also great and is a guarantee of the success of the vision that is our guiding principle – a digitally transformed Montenegro with a strong IT sector capable not only of providing services on the local market but also of being appreciated in the international framework. ” – said Vladan Tabaš. Sanja Gardašević, executive director of the company Alicorn, performed the role of president of the Management Board of the Cortex ICT cluster, from the establishment of the cluster until the appointment of a new president, who will continue to be a member of the Management Board of the cluster, together with: Nenad Novović, Ivica Tatar, Dejan Petković, Aleksandr Bošković, and Nikolom Ljumović. Founded to be a leader in the digital transformation of the economy and public administration, as well as improving the framework and ecosystem necessary for providing digital innovations in industry and education, the Montenegrin ICT Cortex cluster has gathered 34 renowned IT companies over the past two years that have recognized the importance and need for the existence of this organization for the digital development of Montenegro. He managed to connect the academic and public sectors and launched numerous programs, including the largest program in the field of ICT education, the Cortex Academy, implemented several projects in the field of internationalization, and founded the “Čini dobro” foundation.

First recognition for the cluster in 2022

ICT Cortex was awarded for outstanding contribution to the development of voluntary blood donation. The ICT Cortex cluster is the recipient of an award for outstanding contribution to the development of voluntary blood donation for the year 2021, which was presented on June 14, 2022, at a ceremony on the occasion of the World Day of Voluntary Blood Donors. In just over a year of its existence, the ICT Cortex cluster, in cooperation with its member companies, and through the support of the “Čini dobro” Foundation, has implemented five voluntary blood donation campaigns. “Caring for the community in which we operate is one of the basic principles of the synergistic action of companies within the ICT Cortex cluster, and voluntary blood donation actions provide an opportunity to ensure a safer future for all citizens through a humane gesture.” – they announced from the executive office of ICT Cortex. In the future period, the socially responsible business segment of the ICT Cortex cluster will be realized through the newly created “Čini dobro” Foundation – a non-profit association that brought together successful Montenegrin companies – Amplitudo, Bild studio, Coinis, Codeus, Hipotekarna bank and UNIQA, to unitedly realize initiatives that will have a long-term effect on the entire community. “The focus of the future activities of the “Čini dobro” Foundation will be investing in healthy and progressive ideas, to empower the community through the support of projects in the field of education, support for the development of green initiatives, and the development of digital services. With the vision of becoming recognizable as initiators of changes in society, through the “Čini dobro” Foundation, we will be focused on creating measurable results, guided exclusively by philanthropic motives” – emphasized the ICT Cortex cluster. Following the growth of the IT industry in Montenegro, but also globally, the executive office of the cluster believes that through dedicated work, the Foundation “Čini dobro” will become recognized as an institution for financing and supporting great ideas and projects. For more details, visit the official website – www.cinidobro.me

ICT Cortex is a true example of synergy

Podgorica, PR press service – ICT Cortex is a real example of synergy and shows that it is a strong sector, which is moving on an upward trajectory and which is well worth investing in, it was announced at the ceremony marking the first year of operation of that cluster. The president of the cluster assembly, Nenad Novović, said that a lot had been achieved in a very short time. “The professional association of companies in Montenegro is not that common, but in this case, I think it turned out very naturally,” said Novović. He presented the honorary accession to the cluster to the representative of the Ministry of Economic Development, Marijeta Barjaktarović Lanzardi. The President of the Management Board of the cluster, Sanja Gardašević, said that more than a year ago, the pieces of what is today ICT Cortex began to fall into place and that work is being done to achieve the six goals that 11 companies gathered a year ago. “First of all, we wanted to establish a professional inclusive organization, to implement education programs for both new and existing staff and to find a way to keep the existing staff, to work on the internationalization and strengthening of the potential of our products, to strengthen the innovation and competitiveness of the cluster members themselves, to influence the digital transformation of society and to implement programs of socially responsible business”, said Gardašević. “We signed a memorandum on cooperation with the Central Bank of Montenegro, we also achieved cooperation with the Capital of Montenegro, we connected with numerous organizations, universities, schools and business associations,” Gardašević pointed out. She also stated that an internship was conducted for high school students with the Vaso Aligrudić School of Electrical Engineering, and training was also organized for employed members of the association. “The crown of our work in the field of education is the Cortex Academy, which managed to unite all the education programs of the cluster members and provide an additional online form of education in five areas. We are extremely glad that we had 1,292 applications, which speaks of the great need for a program of this type and the great impact we can achieve through projects like this,” explained Gardašević. ICT Cortex today, as she said, has 29 members, and they have over 600 employees. “We estimate that the export of member companies participates in about 18 percent of the total export of goods of Montenegro for the year 2021. It is a strong sector, which moves on an upward trajectory. Total revenues have almost doubled over two years. We see that profits have increased, that exports have almost tripled, and that the number of employees is constantly growing, which all shows that this sector is very much worth investing in,” Garadšević pointed out. The executive director of the cluster, Tarik Zaimović, said that he is particularly proud because ICT Cortex is a true example of synergy. “We managed to connect directors and owners of companies very well. What we did not succeed in, and what was not even possible for the year, was to connect the people who carry the work. That is our plan for this year. We intend to open three committees, namely the Committee for Human Resources and Education, the Committee for Internationalization and Sales, and the Committee for the Empowerment of Women in IT,” said Zaimović. One of the capital projects, as he added, is a project to provide housing for 120 IT families, and the intention is to retain the best IT staff with this program, to provide them with savings of up to 45 percent for solving the housing issue, buying an apartment. “Also, we received a serious grant for half a million euros, which was earmarked for equipment at the Vaso Aligrudić School. We intend to do the second phase of infrastructural equipping of schools and we will decide that for Nikšić and Bijelo Polje. For this year, we intend to educate 300 high school students. We do that in six municipalities. At the same time, we train 15 professors and educate an additional 250 participants, who are young people and students, who are trained in member companies. The goal is to have 80 junior staff produced, of whom we will most likely hire,” said Zaimović. The plan, as he announced, is to visit Eastern, and Western Europe, and America in the coming period, all to find new jobs, and partners, open representative offices in Montenegro and increase exports. “This year, we intend to apply for a large tender and unite a large force of the best companies in Montenegro. Together with the Central Bank of Montenegro, we plan to organize the second Fintech conference and Hackathon. We are making plans with the Central Bank of Montenegro so that this year the Hackathon will be on an even bigger, regional level, and there will be a significantly larger fund for the best team and idea for the development of Fintech”, said Zaimović. The director of the Foundation “Čini dobro”, Aleksandra Bošković, said that “Čini dobro”, a non-profit association founded by ICT Cortex, aims to empower young people, invest in education, help with healthy innovative ideas and contribute to the digitization of society. “I am proud that throughout last year and 2020, we focused our work on the local community and on the segments of society that needed it the most. In the coming period, the Foundation will be mostly focused on education and will provide support to ICT Cortex in all the projects it will lead,” said Bošković. As she stated, the target groups are talented pupils and students, employees of the Foundation’s members, educational institutions, and organizations. “In the previous year and a half, we donated over 80 thousand euros, launched the website cinidobro.me, and increased the membership by three new members. We helped socially disadvantaged families and donated over 50 thousand euros. We reached almost 200 families, and we helped in the distribution of school equipment, textbooks, clothes,