Synergy 2021: How and Why Does EPAM Support IT Education in Ukraine?

EPAM Ukraine is the exclusive sponsor of the annual Synergy 2021. IT Business & IT Education Conference. We spoke with Denys Grynov, the head of educational programs at ERAM Ukraine, about how the company is developing the education direction and why it supports the conference.

Youth support and educational development are among the key priorities for the company. The relevant projects include different age categories:

•         The multi-year eKids initiative introduces the basics of programming to children aged 8 to12. The company invites children from families in tight spot. As part of the program, we additionally conduct training for school teachers and volunteers of public organizations, which later conduct a course for children from families in crisis. The program attracted over 1,200 children and over 400 volunteer coaches.
•         In 2021, the educational initiative Pre-Junior Program for high school students was launched. In addition to getting acquainted with modern IT professions, it helps to learn more about cloud services, FrontEnd, and C#.
•         EPAM also cooperates with over 30 Ukrainian higher education institutions. We join teaching processes, update curricula, and open laboratories. EPAM University programs are open to students and those wishing to learn a new profession, offering over 25 popular directions. This year alone, we have received about 30,000 applications. For many students, ERAM becomes the first company in their careers.

The company also supports educational initiatives of its partners, in particular, the JoinIT project of IT Ukraine Association and the inclusive DevOps training project for young people with disabilities together with UNICEF. To overcome digital inequality and reduce barriers to education, we work with the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, in particular, to transfer equipment to rural schools.