Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) has signed a cooperation agreement with IT and technology accelerator Tesonet. The company agreed to work together with the KTU Faculty of Informatics. Among other things, this means that Tesonet will be involved in the training of IT and IT engineering students.
“I see this cooperation as mutually beneficial. We contribute to forging and growth of young IT professionals, therefore, we are always on the lookout for the partnerships that improve learning experiences and prospects for our students. Involving business in academia opens new opportunities for improvement and simplifies job search. For our students, we aim to be a perfect springboard to opportunities”, says KTU Rector Eugenijus Valatka.
Tomas Okmanas, one of the founders and co-owners of Tesonet Group, says that the signing of the cooperation agreement with KTU among other things means that the company will offer students internship in the field of cybersecurity. The most talented interns may be offered a job after completing the internship.
“The company needs good specialists, so we are ready to contribute to their training and share our experience. We aim to attract as many IT or technical-oriented students as possible to the field of cybersecurity, as we believe that this will be the most value-added work in the next decade,” he adds.
In Lithuania, over 1,200 specialists are working at Tesonet. Today, the company has 12 offices in Vilnius, one in Kaunas and one in London and plan to expand to other countries. Just during the quarantine period, Tesonet recruited over 140 newcomers from many different sectors: IT, marketing, product development professionals and others. According to Okmanas, Tesonet is growing organically and is not planning to stop.
KTU Rector has been fascinated by Tesonet vigorousness for some time now: “Your team is making its way forward very fast while accepting unexpected challenges and seeking leadership in the field”.
According to Rita Butkiene, the Dean at KTU Faculty of Informatics, the young people today need more inspiring motivation to move forward and prepare for changes.
“Students today want to want to see what they can have tomorrow and in the near future. They need real-life examples to understand the benefits of choosing one or another field of study. Certainly, not every student works as a programmer after studying computer sciences, so we will try to encourage them to reach their goal purposefully and not to be afraid of challenges. University’s vision is to train excellent professionals. By cooperating with business, we will exactly know what the market needs today,” says Dr Butkiene.
KTU Faculty of Informatics is already training highly qualified IT professionals. Cooperation with Tesonet will lead to even more productivity.
During the meeting, mentorship possibilities were also discussed. Business representatives could become mentors for students. Also, business experts will be encouraged to deliver lectures and lead educational trips. Last year, first-year KTU students and lecturers visited Tesonet’ subsidiary companies.
According to Eimantas Sabaliauskas another co-owner of the company, Tesonet already has experience with educational institutions – the company has set up several classrooms and leisure facilities. After signing the agreement, Tesonet plans to become more actively involved in new activities with KTU, the main provider of the IT specialists in the market.
