Infomaker and IST awarded The Big IT Competence Award
When The Big IT Competence Award (Stora IT-kompetenspriset) was handed out in Växjö on Tuesday, the companies Infomaker Scandinavia in Kalmar and IST Group AB in Växjö were the recipients of the award. The jury thought both companies were such good candidates that it decided to appoint two winners – which is a first.
Caption: Mathilda Wirenstrand from IST receives the award, while Nina Månsson and Patrik Granlöv from Infomaker took part in the award ceremony via link and received their diploma on site in Kalmar.
The idea was that ten nominated candidates should become one. However, when the jury had made their assessment, they could not choose between Infomaker Scandinavia AB and IST Group AB. Therefore, they were both awarded The Big IT Competence Award.
“We have never had such a close race before! All the nominated candidates do fantastic work within collaboration and internal continuing professional development. It feels great to see how the companies develop from year to year and that these questions are given greater focus. This is beneficial not only for the individual company but for all involved actors and it contributes to a positive IT climate in the entire Linnaeus region”, says Diana Unander, project coordinator for The Big IT Competence Award.
“This feels great, and we are honoured to receive this award. It is valuable to us to be able to make the most of our collaboration with the university. A lot of people benefit from this”, says Nina Månsson and Patrik Granlöv from Infomaker.
“We are truly grateful for this award and look forward to continuing our work with both internal and external continuing professional development”, says Mathilda Wirenstrand form IST.
“Both Infomaker and IST show great commitment to both internal and external continuing professional development and have been successful in presenting this in a god way to the jury”, says Jesper Andersson, head of department at the department of computer science and media technology at Linnaeus University.
About the award: https://lnu.se/en/meet-linnaeus-university/Organisation/faculty-of-technology/meet-the-faculty-of-technology/computer-science/stora-it-kompetenspriset/
Contact
Diana Unander, research and project coordinator, +4670-591 07 29, diana.unander@lnu.se
Simon Kristoffersson, senior press officer, +4673-051 45 09, simon.kristoffersson@lnu.se
Motivations of the jury
Infomaker Scandinavia AB
Infomaker Sacandinavia AB has shown broad commitment to collaborations where students are in focus. Collaborations are in place with a number of degree programmes, primarily at university level, where representatives from the company meet the students both within the programme and on the students’ leisure time.
Infomaker Scandinavia AB has appointed a dedicated resource and contact person for collaboration which facilitates the contacts between the university and the company, for students as well as for teachers and researchers. The forms for this collaboration vary and can range from shorter guest lectures and taking on the role of a sounding board for the students to more time-consuming ventures like student projects, internship positions, degree projects, and mentorship. The collaboration has resulted in many new members of staff, new perspectives and ideas, and initiatives that started as student projects have been developed and are now important global products for the company.
Infomaker Scandinavia AB works with great focus with continuing skills development based on each individual’s drive, curiosity, and needs. Many members of staff are eager to try new things and to learn more, something that is encouraged by the employer. Continuing professional development should be fun and members of staff at the company work a lot together to spread knowledge and ideas – collegial learning is in focus. Infomaker Scandinavia AB has also taken part in the design and implementation of courses for professionals in close collaboration with Linnaeus University, which has contributed to a ripple effect and an increased level of competence also for other companies.
The jury is of the opinion that Infomaker Scandinavia AB has a great passion for competence issues in many forms and that the company through its work and strong commitment contributes significantly to raising the general level of competence in the Linnaeus region.
IST Group AB
IST Group AB has shown a genuine interest and taken a lot of responsibility for competence issues both internally and externally. The company has well-developed collaborations with actors in the education sector on primary and upper secondary level as well as on higher vocational education and university level.
Representatives from the company are available to students regardless of whether this concerns answering single questions for an interview or supervision of internship holders or degree projects. IST Group AB also welcomes the region’s international students with open arms and sees it as great additional value to be able to bring in new perspectives, knowledge and cultures into their activities. Meeting students is very rewarding for the members of staff since students often think a bit differently and contribute with a lot of energy and creativity
IST Group AB has a well-thought-through and structured plan for continuing skills development at all levels and for different types of needs, with strong links to research. Learn More is the company’s strategy and this is prevalent in all its activities. The pace of change is so much quicker today than it has been, which brings with it new requirements on development in order to be able to stay competitive and be on the forefront, which in its turn requires new knowledge and more knowledge. IST Group AB has developed a number of internal continuing professional development ventures with programmes for different target groups with everything from trainee positions and job rotations to leadership and expert groups. What is more, a full week has been set aside for joint skills development for all members of staff at the company.
The jury is of the opinion that IST Group AB has a great passion for competence issues in many forms, from working with students in primary school, through the entire education system, to strong ventures on research and development. The societal commitment is an important contribution to raising the general level of knowledge in the Linnaeus region but also nationally through the ventures on the development of EdTech.