Is the future of Split in technology?
“This city cannot live just for tourism. More than a thousand people in Split are employed in the field of information technology, and everybody knows that is where the future of the economy is. Therefore, our goal is to brand Split as the ‘IT city’!”, said Đulijano Nola, one of the speakers at the 19th CISex Friday, the traditional meeting of Croatian software exporters which was held on Friday in Split, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on September 26, 2015.
The main topic was how to encourage the development of the IT community in Dalmatia, while the discussion covered various problems that plague entrepreneurs in this sector.
“As far as the legal provisions are concerned, there are many difficulties since in Croatia it is often the case that the time and money are being spent without any need. But, our biggest problem is the lack of experts, although we have excellent cooperation with both the University of Split the University of Zagreb. We need people with better knowledge and non-formal education, because there are few young people with a diploma who can immediately start working. Therefore, a diploma is just the first step, and we should appreciate when young people gain knowledge on their own, which is more than necessary in this business”, said Nola, adding that Croats are known as excellent programmers and provide outstanding value for money.
He also noted that the Croatian IT sector exports a lot and that salaries are above average, but still quite a number of young people leave Split in search of better working conditions. “We should provide them with better conditions. In our CISex association, we have about 140 companies in total, while the number of employees last year, compared to 2013, has increased by 11 percent to 2,500 people. Revenues have increased by ten percent, and exports by 16 percent. I want to say to young people that they should turn towards entrepreneurship”, said Nola.
Ivan Burazin from Codeanywhere company presented the Shift Conference, which brings investors from all over the world to Split. “In just two years, we have increased the number of participants from 200 to 1200. We want to inspire people, so we bring in entrepreneurs who have managed to conquer the world with their start-up companies. There are many shining examples. My company deals with applications for developers, and we are the second largest company in the world in this segment”, said Burazin.
