The purpose of the Big IT competence award (Stora IT-kompetenspriset) is to appoint an employer who has worked strategically and engaged with the development of competence of the company's staff, as well as collaborated with education providers and/or students linked to IT-related educations, in order to ensure the future supply of skills in an exemplary manner.
The steps to the price
The process to appoint a winner is divided into two stages. Stage one is about collaboration with the educational system and stage two about how employers develop their staff's skills.
Who can nominate?
If you are an education provider, you have the opportunity to influence the process. This is because education providers in the Kalmar and Kronoberg counties at the upper secondary, higher vocational and university level who have courses or study programmes within IT are the foundation of the nomination process and are responsible for providing the working group with a basis for the nominations. Please contact project coordinator Diana Unander for more information on how to participate in this work.
Stage 1 – collaboration
In the middle of the autumn semester, the Department of computer science and media technology at Linnaeus University contacts the education providers in the counties to learn about their experiences of collaboration with employers in the region. The first step in the nomination process is done by the education providers, who look through which employers they have collaborated with during the past year by completing a form. Collaborations may be:
- Participation in program councils/management groups
- Internships/LIA/APL
- Theses/academic papers
- Project work
- Guest lectures
- Study visits
Based on the information received, a total of ten employers are appointed who proceed to the next step.
Step 2 – competence development of the staff
The next step in the nomination process is to see how employers work with skills development of their own staff. The digital sector is developing rapidly and it is crucial for the businesses to keep up with the development and constantly learn and develop. The ten nominees are interviewed – the material is compiled and assessed by a jury.
The winner
When the acquired material has been compiled and assessed, the winner is selected by a jury consisting of representatives from, among others, Videum Science Park, Kalmar Science Park and Linnaeus University. The winner is announced and awarded the prize at a ceremony where the nominated companies, education providers and the press are invited.
