At the conference on March 21st, from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM, held at the HSE CREATIVE HUB, IT industry experts discussed how large projects and enterprises train their specialists and integrate new developments in the field.
During the TED talk, attendees heard concise presentations from industry leaders regarding the key aspects of education and the integration of IT specialists into large teams.
In a panel discussion, speakers debated the shifts occurring in IT education, shared anecdotes, offered their experiences, and explained how to avoid failures.
The conference concluded with Vadim Bulgakov, a faculty member of the Design School, presenting on supplementary education programs at the HSE Art and Design School.
The Director of Analytics at Samolyot Group, Maria Chudinova, opened with a TED talk titled «How to Digitize IT Talents: Assessing an Analyst Team.»
Maria Chudinova: «I have been working with the Samolyot group company for over eight months now. In these eight months, it feels like every month has passed like an entire year because a whole life has unfolded within it.»
The «Samolet» group of companies is experiencing very rapid growth in headcount, so it is making every effort to automate all processes and eliminate manual labor while increasing productivity.
The company’s growth is driven by:
- IT specialists who are digitizing many processes
- Staff who generate significant profit and help sell more homes
Maria, along with Alexander Kuznetsov, devised a tool for companies called an assessment—it evaluates analysts. It was built upon hard skills, meaning it is a comprehensive evaluation of employees' competencies and abilities.
«To understand who we are, we must define the boundaries of what we should or should not do.»
The happy job index is a survey designed to gauge knowledge of the criteria necessary for career advancement.
The test process was structured as follows: — first, the analyst completes a questionnaire, thereby self-assessing — next, the questionnaire along with their answers is sent to two of their colleagues, who provide commentary on the employee’s competencies — finally, a joint interview is conducted to clarify all the results
This three-stage evaluation yields the most objective result.
Maria Chudinova: «The assessment gave the students an understanding of the breadth of their profession. Because when we are studying IT and just beginning our career path, we often don’t understand all the tools we can use.»
The assessment provided a competency matrix that now clearly defines what distinguishes each level: «You clearly know, just by looking at this matrix, what you need to know in the next level and what you need to strive for to reach it.»
The questionnaire clearly indicates what to read and which areas to practice. It provided expert analysis of analytical standards and tools.
The career track became clear: «For every person who participated in this evaluation with us, we developed an individual development plan.»
The role of the analyst was determined overall.
Maria Chudinova: «The entire team gained confidence. They defined their place and their hierarchy. A clear trajectory emerged for them. They understood what stage they were at and how to move forward and upward.»
Maria Kovaleva, Director of the Yandex Practicum Educational Technologies Lab, discussed the concept of evidence-based education and how it is structured. She shared insights from Yandex Practicum’s research and explained the practical benefits of this approach.
The Educational Technologies Lab is a center for scientific expertise within Yandex Practicum, an online education platform where one can gain a profession related to IT and Digital.
Maria Kovaleva: «I think this can be more easily explained using the analogy of evidence-based medicine, which seeks statistical correlations between a person using a drug and whether they recover or the illness progresses more easily. The same applies to evidence-based education.»
Evidence-based education—it is the construction of education based on an evidence-based approach and scientific methodology.
What happens in practice? — Statistical research is utilized. — The most effective methodologies are scaled up. — Educational technologies are applied in practice.
The concept of the Hierarchy of Evidence> clearly demonstrates what evidence-based education consists of.
Maria Kovaleva: «If you put two people in front of the same dashboard, they will see different things; therefore, Peak brings this all together and provides a unified approach.»
Maria shared the results of several lab studies in the format of a quiz. The speaker provided a fact, and the audience had to guess whether it was true or false. After gathering different responses from the floor, Maria revealed the intrigue and clearly demonstrated why each statement was either true or false.
SMM Manager Sofiya Fremer and Communications Designer Anya Eremeeva shared insights into how the HSE careers service operates.
The service assists students not only in job searching but also in professional development, growth, and skill enhancement.
Sophia Fremer: «Our service helps people build a fulfilling and successful career. We believe that everyone deserves a great, successful career. That’s why we share the tools, experience, and solutions so that everyone can achieve this goal.»
The H team always reminds everyone that changing careers is completely normal—even multiple times—and it is never too late to do so. As an example, the speakers shared the success story of Maria, who came to H for help in finding a new job.
Every success story is carefully crafted: from the initial call with the subject to the final post layout. Anya Eremeeva highlighted the importance of creating illustrations and shared the path she found for herself as a designer. Anya no longer draws illustrations manually because it takes too long; instead, she uses the Midjourney AI network to do so.
Representatives from H shared exciting news at the end of their presentation regarding a new product launched by their company. It is a subscription service that includes resume and cover letter creation, as well as a session with a coach to simplify the future job search process.
Art Director of Communications for the online cinema Ivi, Rinat Seifutdinov, shared his secrets to maintaining team spirit at Ivi and discussed how a designer can stay engaged and develop within a team.
Rinat began his presentation with a brief overview of the company’s situation. The values and operational principles at Ivi center on productivity, ambition, freedom, and loyalty. The processes adhere to strict guidelines. The Art Director holds significant responsibility for the outcomes of the entire team.
Rinat Seifutdinov: «We strive to create human-centered design. We work for the people who use our service.»