CHI Software is a strong community of professionals and like-minded people who put social responsibility high on the priority list. The expiring year is not an exception.
2021 has been demanding in many ways. The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t gone anywhere, putting a spanner in the works for many of us. At the same time, we realize that our corporate social responsibility activities should remain in place and respond to the challenges inside and outside the business environment.
We directed our efforts to confront the pandemic together with our team, initiate charity events, and expand the Ukrainian IT community.
Charity Events
There is no better way to awaken the team spirit than to make a positive change together. This year, CHI charity events aimed to help children from various Ukrainian regions, people who need a blood transfusion, and homeless pets.
International Day for Protection of Children
On June 1, we celebrated one of the most heartwarming holidays – the International Day for Protection of Children. The company has prepared special gifts for the children of our employees. Family is the strongest empowerment for the CHI Software team that motivates us to become better as experts and people.
We sincerely believe that every kid should be healthy and surrounded by care and love. For this reason, we support those who need it the most – children with no guardians or from low-income families.
We provided charitable assistance to the Regional Specialized Children’s Homes “Hippocrates” (Kharkiv) and “Solnyshko” (Zaporizhzhya). We also took part in volunteer activities in collaboration with the charitable foundations “Volunteers: Adults-Children” (Kharkiv) and the “Quantum of Mercy” (Dnipro).
With the funds raised, we purchased food and essential goods, which were delivered to the charitable foundations.
World Blood Donor Day
World Blood Donor Day was first organized in 2005 to raise awareness of the medical need for blood and its products and to thank everyone who voluntarily donate their blood. Since then, June 14 has become an official date to celebrate Donor Day on the global level.
In 2021, this event was held under the slogan “Give blood and keep the world beating”, and our team members decided to contribute to it. We’re grateful to everyone who took this life-saving step towards helping patients who suffer from various medical conditions.
Support for children with cancer
Our company took part in the All-Ukrainian action “Coins for Children“, which was carried out by the “Tabletochki” charity foundation together with the National Bank of Ukraine.
The idea of this action is to help children with cancer by spending available money with a good purpose. Starting from October 1, 2020, 25-kopeck coins were taken out of circulation in Ukraine, but many of us still have them at home.
For several days, we were gathering the remaining coins at the office, and then we donated the money to the “Tabletochki” foundation. We collected 309 UAH in total (1,236 coins).
Used laptops for children with disabilities
Our employee Iryna Kutova, Project Manager, with the help of the charity foundation “With the heart to children”, initiated the transfer of used laptops to children with disabilities.
The foundation helps Kharkiv orphanages, boarding schools, and mixed-type homes which, as a rule, receive little funding for their daily needs. On top of that, the organization sometimes supports disadvantaged families and children with disabilities.
Support for homeless pets
In November, Hanna Lakhina, Department Resource Manager of Python, PHP, Ruby, and Design, and Olga Stankevich, UI/UX Designer, visited the Kharkiv animal shelter. Our teammates brought warm clothes, bedding, food, toys, bowls, and dog leashes, and also spent some time with the pets.
The shelter was opened in 2012, and since then, over 9,500 animals have already found their homes, and 600 pets on average are waiting to meet their loving owners.
New Year presents for disadvantaged children
In December, our team decided to organize a real New Year’s fairy tale for disadvantaged children and fulfill their cherished wishes.
We collaborated with three organizations from different regions of Ukraine, which help children with special needs:
The “Happy Child” charity foundation in Zaporizhzhya;
We got a list of 55 children and their wishes, which was shared with the company employees from the three CHI Software offices. Anyone in the team could pick a wish (or even several wishes) to fulfill.
The CHI team showed great enthusiasm for this idea – it took only a couple of days for all wishes to find their secret Santas. Also, many employees added a personal touch to their gifts with warm New Year wishes and beautiful packaging. This charity action made holiday preparations really special and memorable for all the participants.
Fighting COVID-19
The pandemic has affected our lives in many ways and heavily changed our daily routines. In such a troublous time, CHI Software strived to guarantee every employee the highest level of support.
The company adopted the hybrid working model, allowing team members to pick where to work during the pandemic – at home or in the office. Everyone was equipped with the necessary technical equipment to work remotely and with vital hygienic norms for the office work.
Furthermore, the company compensated 3,000 UAH if an employee was tested positive for Covid-19. In case of a severe or critical disease course, each situation was considered individually.
Throughout 2021, CHI Software compensated its employees 150,000 UAH for Covid treatment.
Vaccination campaign
To get back to normal faster and protect its employees better, CHI Software in collaboration with Kharkiv IT Cluster organized a vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in Kharkiv.
Also, for everyone’s comfort, a mobile vaccination point was organized twice in the head office. Employees and their families could get the Pfizer vaccine upon request.
The company communicated individually with the employees from other Ukrainian offices (Kyiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhya) who needed additional information to get a vaccine.
225 CHI Software specialists were vaccinated against the virus in 2021.
IT Community Development
The IT industry is extremely diverse and promising for other markets and the Ukrainian economy. We at CHI Software are doing our utmost to spread the word about the niche and expand its community.
In 2021, we established an educational project and collaborated with several organizations to share our knowledge and practical use cases with the crowd.
CHI IT Academy
CHI IT Academy officially started its work on November 30 at O.M. Beketov NUUE. The organization was founded with the support of Yevgen Chernyak, CHI Software President, and Volodymyr Dumyak, CHI Software Founder.
The academy’s goal is to ensure affordable and high-quality education to everyone aiming to work in IT (both technical and non-technical specialists) regardless of their age and previous work experience.
In addition to theory and practice, each course includes English language training and career counseling. Thereby, not only do academy graduates receive relevant skills but also understand the plan for their further development.
All academy mentors are real fans of their work and have extensive experience on projects of different sizes. Professional insights, tips, and lifehacks make every class unique and valuable for students who don’t know the industry yet.
The first academy program started even before the official opening, on October 25, and was finished on December 1. It was the “Recruiter” course with lecturers Tetiana Korbanyuk, Lead of Recruitment Department, Natalia Moiseenko, Head of Education Programs, and Yana Kupina, Head of English Department. One student started her career at CHI Software.
The “Manual Software Testing” course took off on December 6 with 11 students on board. Lecturers include Oleksiy Stankevich, QA Manual Lead, Oleksandr Gorshokov, Senior Software Test Engineer, and Yana Kupina, Head of English Department.
The “Project Management” course, which started on December 8, now counts nine students. The main lecturer is Olena Morozova, Head of Project Management Office.
All academy classes are conducted in small groups to guarantee an individual approach to each student and a high-grade education process. The best students who successfully complete their training at CHI IT Academy get an opportunity to start their career at CHI Software as Junior specialists.
IT Ukraine Association
Starting from November 1, CHI Software became a full member of the IT Ukraine Association. It is the largest IT community in the country, which represents the interests of more than 65,000 specialists. The organization’s mission is to create the most favorable conditions for the growth and development of the Ukrainian IT market.
Bogdan Steblyanko, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Katerina Bugakova, Head of Strategic Partnership, and Oleg Chernyak, Head of Business Development, represent CHI Software in this association.
On December 1, Dmytro Golosenko, Head of Japanese Business Development Department, and Tetiana Pleskach, Japan Business Development Manager, took part in the IT Export Boost event organized by the association.
The goal was to familiarize the Ukrainian IT market with the Japanese business realities. Companies that work with eHealth, Big Data, and cybersecurity had an opportunity to learn more about the Japanese market and ask their questions. Dmytro and Tetiana were active participants at this meeting, sharing several successful cases of our cooperation with Asian partners.
Kharkiv IT Cluster
On October 1, Dmytro Kravchuk, Flutter Developer and Tech Lead, gave an interview under the topic of “Flutter Cross-Platform Technology: Another Hype or a Forward-Looking Step?”
The talk was recorded in collaboration with Kharkiv IT Cluster and the student television of NURE (National University of Radio Electronics).
On October 13, Lyudmila Omarova, HR Manager, held a lecture on “How not to Lose Motivation in the World of Motivation” for students of 1-4 year. The event was organized in cooperation with Kharkiv IT Cluster for its closed Junior Club and took place in the “Synergy” science park.
Lyudmila talked about the motivation concept in general and what to do if you have none. Apparently, this topic resonates with the student community as the audience was highly involved in the discussion and shared a lot of examples of personal motivation incentives.
At the end of the lecture, Natalia Moiseenko, Head of Education Programs at CHI IT Academy, told the students about the importance of motivation in studies and its impact on personal development and career growth. She introduced CHI IT Academy, talked about the start of courses and the benefits of studying at the academy. Iryna Getsko, Recruiter, consulted the audience on the opportunity of joining the company’s internship.
Another event for the Junior Club was organized on November 25. This time, Papin Paronikyan, Android Developer and Tech Lead, gave a lecture on “Time Trackers: Untangling the Cycle of Problems at Work”. Papin told the audience how to use Jira and Trello – tools that help streamline workflow and improve its efficiency.
On November 27, CHI Software, along with nine more Kharkiv IT companies, took part in the IT Cluster event “Jobs4JunDev”. 35 candidates had a chance to talk directly to the companies’ representatives and get career feedback.
Olena Lialiaeva, Recruiter at CHI Software, conducted blitz interviews with eight potential candidates, told them about the company and shared the key advantages of working with us.
IT Dnipro Community
On November 24, CHI Software became a member of the IT Dnipro Community. On December 3, Tetiana Korbaniuk, Lead of Recruitment Department, delivered an online lecture on “The First Interview and the Main Preparation Stages” for the students of one of the Dnipro universities.
The lecture contained several parts and included all of the issues that trouble IT industry newbies:
How to assess the market and competition;
How to distinguish personal strengths and weaknesses;
What job search channels to use;
How to write a CV and cover letter;
How to prepare for an interview and treat it as a mutually beneficial dialogue.
On December 14, Tetiana Korbaniuk, Lead of Recruitment Department, and Iryna Hetsko, Recruiter, took part in the Career Day of the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. Tetiana and Iryna told the students of technological specialities about CHI Software and its projects, the vacancies in high demand, and the requirements for junior specialists.
SOURCE iT
On September 6, Iryna Getsko, Recruiter, took part in iT Week’21, a conference organized by SOURCE iT. Iryna told beginners and career switchers about our company, open vacancies, and how to pass an interview. She also mentioned external internship options, prospects for interns, and necessary hard skills to study at the CHI Software internship.
On December 9, Hanna Krokhmal, SMM Lead, gave a lecture on “LinkedIn: Work in IT Will Find You by Itself” at iT Party, another SOURCE iT event.
The lecture included the following:
What LinkedIn really is and why it’s important;
How to properly design your LinkedIn page;
What content you should create for this social network and how to promote it to get noticed;
How to respond to open vacancies and communicate with the best companies to get a job offer;
And, of course, how to achieve the main goal – make a dream job in IT find you all by itself.
Our Journey Continues into 2022
CHI Software has turned 15 this year, which means we’ve seen a lot and had to cope with many challenges as a team. But what we always know is that progress is impossible if we don’t support each other and the world around us.
Next year, we plan to expand the list of our corporate social responsibility activities with more internal and external initiatives. Thinking outside of the box in everything we do allows us to become more powerful as a professional community and grateful for what we’ve already achieved.
About the author
Polina SukhostavetsContent Writer
Polina is a curious writer who strongly believes in the power of quality content. She loves telling stories about trending innovations and making them understandable for the reader. Her favorite subjects include AI, AR, VR, IoT, design, and management.
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