TechIsland Summit turns the spotlight on the ‘This is IT!’ programme

Martin Thorvaldsson, Community Director, Exness showcased the premise of the innovative ‘This is IT!’ programme at the recent TechIsland Summit.

Thorvaldsson began his presentation by asking audience members to remember when they were 16 and still trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives,

“The world has changed since we were 16,” he continued, noting, “AI is not the future anymore, it is the present.”

The expert continued that this meant that individuals and societies that were not moving forward would, by default, be falling back and “One way forward is to generate interest in IT.”

As Thorvaldsson explained, the ‘This is IT!’ programme sees IT experts going back to their high schools and sharing their professional paths with pupils.

He noted that while speakers followed certain, specific guidelines during their visits, the story they told was their own personal one.

“This year speakers have been to 15 schools, more than last year, and are being invited to more,” he shared.

The effort, Thorvaldsson suggested, allowed students to gain rare insight, while schools, teachers and the Ministry of Education could open the to career guidance from multinational IT companies free of charge. He said that letters had been sent to schools, with focus currently being put on schools that taught in Greek or predominately in Greek.

The presenters benefit from gaining presentation skill since one of the prerequisites of participating in the programme is that speakers are trained by a presentation coach before the event. They also have the chance to give back to their old school, Thorvaldsson added.

For Exness, the benefit was gaining more brand recognition while also making the future local skilled IT workers aware of the company.

“Most importantly, it's a change to shape the Cyprus that we all love in the right direction,” he said, inviting more companies to get in touch and join in the initiative.