The “StepUp with Cortex” project of ICT Cortex and the Capital City of Podgorica improved the competitiveness of 12 small IT companies
ICT Cortex, in cooperation with the Capital city of Podgorica, realized the project “StepUp with Cortex”, which was supported by the Kingdom of Norway through the project “Norway for you – Montenegro”. The “StepUp with Cortex” project, which the ICT Cortex cluster implemented in cooperation with the Capital City of Podgorica, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway through the “Norway for you – Montenegro” project, in the period from March to November of this year, was aimed at improving and education of employees from 12 member companies, to improve competitiveness through the upgrading of institutional, administrative and organizational capacities and business skills of employees. The following companies participated in this project: Alicorn, Amplitudo, Archimede, Bild studio, Codepixel, Codeus, Data Design, DigitalBee, Fleka, Logate, Omnitech, and Oykos Development. The final event of the project was organized yesterday, which was attended by training participants, representatives of companies – project beneficiaries, trainers, and lecturers, as well as representatives of the Capital City and ICT Cortex. Chief Project Officer,, Ferida Mandić, emphasized the importance of this project. “The “StepUp with Cortex” project, in the period from March to November of this year, was aimed at the training and education of employees from 12 member companies, to improve competitiveness through upgrading the institutional, administrative, and organizational capacities and business skills of employees.” pointed out Mandić and added that the results of the training were very successful. “Five education programs were implemented, a total of 10 trainers were engaged; about 100 employees from 12 companies underwent training; employees from the ICT Cortex executive office also completed agile project management training; recommendations were made to improve the business environment for IT companies at the level of the Capital City.” Director of the Center for Information System of the Capital City, Džemal Lekić, pointed out that the administration of the Capital City is dedicated to the improvement of the sector of micro, small and medium enterprises, which is one of the key factors for accelerated economic development. “The ICT sector in the capital is recognized as one of the most important sectors for the future economic development of Podgorica because it supports all other sectors of the economy. In recent years, the administration of the Capital City has recognized digitization as one of the priorities in the development of Montenegrin society in terms of processes that can affect the improvement of the quality and standard of life of citizens. The goal is for ICT to become a strong sector of the economy that could become Montenegro’s leading export activity. Through the cooperation of the actors in the ICT community, there will be an increase in the number of employees, primarily professional staff, so the development and application of ICT are of crucial importance for economic development”, stressed Lekić. The project manager of the UNOPS office in Montenegro, Armen Čekić, pointed out that he was particularly glad that the ICT sector recognized the benefits of human resource development. “The development of human resources is the most important for the development of a company, and for the growth of the economy, which also entails the development of technology. So it should be continuously developed. I also hope that the others will follow this approach to their further development”, Čekić concluded. Trainer and NLP coach at NLP Network, Danka Ćetković, expressed her gratitude for the idea of such a project and emphasized that she is very proud of her students. “We hung out and worked together for three months, and at first it wasn’t easy, but over time we realized that the hidden goal was to connect, that we are not competing with each other, but supporting each other. The topics we covered were everyday ones that everyone needs. Especially in the IT sector, because the focus is on professional knowledge, and technological knowledge, to be the best programmers, and designers. That’s how it should be because the ICT industry is the bright spot of our economy. However, for it to be able to deliver everything that is expected, someone must also think about people. Who will develop all that, master it… Because it is an industry that changes very quickly, is very flexible, and prioritizes efficiency, short deadlines, and innovation. So we have to support people, work on their development, communication and negotiation skills, to overcome their fears, nervousness and the like”, described Ćetković. At the very end, participants were presented with certificates and certificates of completed training, where they shared their impressions from the training. A lot of interaction, group work, and exercises, as they said, facilitated the learning process and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, and they recommend this type of education to people from different spheres because it is of great benefit to everyone. The cooperation of the Capital City and ICT Cortex on this project is another confirmation of joint action aimed at improving the overall business environment and creating an innovative ecosystem for IT companies at the level of the Capital City, where conditions are created for the development of innovative products and their placement on international markets.
ICT Cortex signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports
Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Prof. Ph.D. Vesna Bratić and the Chief project officer in the ICT Cortex, Ferida Mandić, signed a Memorandum of Understanding today on the premises of the Ministry. On this occasion, Minister Bratić announced that the Strategy for Digitization of the Education System envisages the establishment of cooperation with the economy in order to promote IT occupations, order to encourage students to choose occupations that are promising, which are the needs of the labor market, and which are currently in short supply, as well as cooperation on the development and improvement of the digital competence of students and teachers. “The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports and the cluster of IT companies, ICT Cortex, defines cooperation in these fields. More precisely, this memorandum defines cooperation with secondary vocational schools in which the educational program Electrical Technician for the development of mobile and web applications or other educational programs in the field of IT is implemented; cooperation with secondary vocational schools in the form of organization of practical classes at the employer for students and training at the employer for teachers; cooperation with schools dealing with general secondary education in the field of student and teacher education; organization of competitions in the field of information and communication technologies in cooperation with competent institutions, the Center for Vocational Education and the Examination Center; promotion of qualifications, typical occupations and career opportunities in the field of IT among elementary and high school students; raising awareness of the needs and possibilities of education in the field of IT; creation of self-guided programming courses for the “Digital School”; creation of programs in the field of IT for professional training of teachers, as well as cooperation during the celebration of the International Day of Safe Internet and the International Day of Girls in IT”, Minister Bratić explained. The director of projects in the ICT Cortex cluster, Ferida Mandić, stated that the Cortex Academy is currently the most important project of the ICT Cortex cluster and that it represents the largest ICT education program in Montenegro. She pointed out that the courses are intended for different categories of participants, with an emphasis on young people, students, and high school students, and that for the first cycle of the Cortex Academy, as many as 1,292 applications were received, while the training started in February. “What makes us very happy is that there was great interest from high school students, especially from 6 municipalities: Bijelo Polje, Berane, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Rožaje, and Podgorica. We have 300 students from 10 schools who are now attending courses to acquire theoretical knowledge, and then they will do internships in one of the 13 member companies of ICT Cortex. That is why we are extremely glad to have signed this agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, through which we will jointly implement activities within the Cortex Academy project, but also on all other projects in the field of education, over the next five years, all with the aim of that educational programs follow the needs of the labor market”, said Mandić.
The Kingdom of Norway supported the ICT Cortex cluster project – “StepUp with Cortex”
Five projects aimed at increasing the competitiveness of small businesses in Montenegro through their transformation, among which the ICT Cortex cluster project – StepUp with Cortex, are supported by the Kingdom of Norway through the project “Norway for you – Montenegro”, which is implemented by UNOPS in partnership with UNDP. The “StepUp with Cortex” project, which the ICT Cortex cluster implements in cooperation with the Capital City of Podgorica, will be aimed at improvement and education in the field of business skills, in order to improve the competitiveness of our companies through strengthening the skills of employees. The companies that will participate in this project are Alicorn, Amplitudo, Archimede, Bild, Codepixel, Codeus, Data Design, DigitalBee, Fleka, Logate, Omnitech, and Oykos Development. “We will use the received donation in the amount of 50,000 dollars to strengthen the skills of over 100 employees in the members of the ICT Cortex cluster. The focus of the training will be on the development of knowledge and competencies in the areas of business communication, project management, sales, finance, and leadership. The IT sector and the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises form a pillar of the economic development of Montenegro, and we consider the capital city a very important partner for the development of the business environment and the creation of an innovative ecosystem”, said the director of the ICT Cortex project office, Ferida Mandić. “This project is a confirmation that by working together with the ICT cluster, we can improve the business environment for IT companies in the territory of Podgorica, where the conditions are created for them to develop innovative products from our city and place them on the international market,” added the director of CIS in the capital, Džemal Lekić. The project “Norway for you – Montenegro” will support entities that provide support for the development of small businesses in cooperation with municipalities, which will improve the operations of at least 70 small businesses, through the improvement of marketing and negotiation skills, the introduction of innovative approaches in the technological process, the improvement of business communication, project management, finance and leadership, the introduction of digitization, as well as the promotion of best practices for quality, safety and trust in the production of small businesses through the implementation of relevant ISO standards.
Non-refundable funds for the reconstruction and equipping of High School “Vaso Aligrudić”
The Regional Challenge Fund support program is aimed at strengthening the relevance of professional education and training on the labor market by financing investments in equipment and infrastructure for training providers who are involved in cooperative or dual education and training activities with partner companies. The fund was created at the initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, delegated to the KfW Development Bank, and is implemented by the Chamber Investment Forum of the Western Balkans as the main implementation partner, which represents a joint initiative of the Chambers of Commerce of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Out of a total of 205 registered projects from six countries of the Western Balkans at the first call of this fund, 23 of the most successful were proposed for financing, of which only one consortium from Montenegro was successful and received the support of the fund for implementation. It is a project of the Job booster – VET4all consortium, which consists of ETŠ “Vaso Aligrudić”, as a leading partner, IT companies, members of the ICT Cortex cluster (Bild studio, Amplitudo, Data design, Alicorn) as well as the company Mountaineering. “It was with great pleasure that we received the news about the acceptance of our project! The implementation of this project involves the complete reconstruction of the existing classrooms of our school as part of the common rooms with the mechanical school, the acquisition of new laboratory equipment as well as the equipment necessary for the implementation of practical classes in the educational programs Electronic Communication Infrastructure Installer, Electronic Communications Electrical Technician and Web and Mobile Application Development Electrical Technician. In addition to this, a very important segment of the project implementation is the cooperation with the members of our consortium, which includes the implementation of practical classes at the employer for a total of 86 students, as well as the implementation of the necessary training for our teaching staff, as well as instructors, mentors from the company.” – announced Marina Braletić, project coordinator on behalf of ETŠ “Vaso Aligrudić” For the representatives of ICT cluster Cortex, who participated in writing this project, this is a significant success and a confirmation that they are moving towards the achievement of one of the main goals – the improvement of the Montenegrin educational system in the field of ICT. “We believe that with the project we have fully responded to the goal of the call, which is to improve the employability of young people, strengthen the quality of professional education and provide relevant training. With this project, as well as the umbrella education program within the Cortex Academy, we continue to “plant the seeds for a better IT future” and achieve one of the main goals of the Cortex ICT cluster” – added Ferida Mandić, director of the project department of the ICT Cortex cluster, whose members are IT consortium partner companies. Reconstruction of classrooms, equipping them with state-of-the-art equipment, will be accompanied by the improvement of the teaching program through the introduction of mandatory practical classes in the companies that are members of the consortium. In addition to students, a large number of teaching staff will be involved, which will affect the quality of teaching even after three years of the project. RCF supports the establishment of consortia between vocational education and training institutions and companies for the implementation of cooperative education and training programs through the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding. To be acceptable, project partners must be ready to engage in joint training activities to train participants based on qualification standards and/or occupational standards that correspond to labor market demand. The financial support that will be provided by the RCF for the implementation of this project is half a million euros, and the start of the implementation of the project will be in 2022. It is important to note that all funds will be directed to the modernization and equipping of the school, while the members of the consortium will provide mentoring for students, to help students acquire skills aligned with the needs of the labor marke
