Drin Hadri is one of the founders of Formon, a Kosovar company that makes 3D printers. He says that the initial idea was to offer 3D printing as a service, but after they got a 3D printer they saw that the demand was higher for the device itself. They created a prototype with a new design then ordered the necessary parts. With the help of a private investor, they started to produce the first 100 printers, most of which were pre-ordered. Their team, which initially consisted of three people, increased to ten. To achieve this success they got help from Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK).
“ICK has helped us a lot, especially with the sales, marketing, networking, and provided the space where we work,” says Hadri.
It has been five years since ICK has been promoting the fields of IT and entrepreneurship. Over these five years, ICK has received approximately 500 applications with innovative ideas, of which 150 presented in front of a committee, and around 100 have used ICK’s incubator services.
“ICK is a center that intends to help the economic development of Kosovo by helping young people to turn their innovative ideas into stable businesses. The idea is to create places for work and economic development based on the future, meaning based on knowledge and technology,” says Uranik Begu, executive director of ICK.
ICK functions on two pillars: 1) The Business Incubator offers business advice from different mentors, work spaces, help finding sources and finances. 2) The Training and Activity Department offers specific trainings to fill the existing void in the labor market. Some of its previous endeavors were Startup Weekend Prishtina, Global Entrepreneur Prishtina, and Nasa Space Apps.
“A lot could be done, especially towards creating favorable conditions. There is only so much we can help with. Other components play a role as well. Improving the quality of education and finding finances remain two of the biggest obstacles that unfortunately are not under our control,” says Begu.
In 2014, BlertaThaҫi and her friend, Zana Idrizi, decided to found an organization to offer practical work in computer engineering for students in Prishtina, which they lack in their studies. The NGO, which they named “Girl Coding Kosova,” aims to empower women through programming.
After Thaҫi started working as a programmer, she found she was surrounded by men, although during her studies there was a considerable number of women majoring in computer engineering. Taking other countries as a model, Girls Coding Kosova started offering informal activities. In 2015 they started working towards their goal to empower girls through activities in a different way from the previous efforts of similar organizations.
“We wanted to offer activities that help increase the number of girls in this field because for most of them, it’s not that they didn’t want to or that they couldn’t, they just needed a little push or a little directing,” she says.
Thaҫi thinks that during this time they have helped promote computer science programming among women. Now, their community has more than 700 women engaged in various activities. After every project, they register the participants, creating a network where these women can get information about the newest activities, get to know each other, and continue to work together.
“Our target is girls who study computer science or computer engineering as well as some younger girls because it is important they start early,” she says.
Blerim Rexha, the Head of the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering, believes that the students of this department in the University of Prishtina (UP) are well prepared for the labor market. He claims that nearly all students of the Masters study level are currently working, and a lot of students of UP were employed by different European companies after having finished internships there.
Begu from ICK criticizes the lack of internships and believes that UP should be more flexible and cooperate with the private and public sector as well as various NGOs, in order to find different ways and programs to better prepare students for the labor market.
BlertaThaҫi agrees with him. She says that students struggle to meet the demands of the market after graduating. Although Internet is a helpful tool, she believes that internships are very necessary. These projects not only help students better prepare for their careers, they also help keep them motivated.
“If they only program examples and theories that they have already done then it is very hard to stay motivated…The best part of this career is that it allows you to access large platforms around the world online,” says Thaҫi.
Bulza Çapriqi
