Review: CEE-Swiss IT Matchmaking Summit by SEC 2023 – A new platform for IT Partnerships
Invented and hosted by the non-profit Chamber of Commerce Switzerland Central Europe (SEC), this one-day Summit is a vibrant marketplace that connects Swiss businesses facing critical IT challenges with solution providers from the 17 CEE countries.
On November 28, the inaugural CEE Swiss IT Matchmaking Summit took center stage, offering a unique networking opportunity for IT companies from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and Switzerland. Organized by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce (SEC), the event aimed to address the IT talent shortage while fostering collaboration and networking.
Key Highlights
1. Speed Meetings Unleashed
The event featured a remarkable 200 Speed Meetings, allowing participants to engage in 15-minute discussions covering a wide range of IT topics and forging new connections.
Attendees demonstrated their dedication by participating in up to 18 meetings—a true Speed Meeting marathon.
2. Diverse Representation
With representatives from 26 CEE IT companies, including Bulgaria, Poland, Kosovo, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia, alongside Swiss counterparts.
Prominent Swiss companies such as Google, PwC, Tata, and numerous SMEs joined the event.
The participants engaged in discussions primarily focused on collaboration opportunities, capitalizing on the CEE companies’ expertise in areas like apps, blockchain, data, cybersecurity, AI, and web applications.
3. Emphasizing Common Ground
Networking sessions underscored that the commonalities between Swiss and CEE participants far outweighed their differences.
In an era marked by IT talent shortages, “Nearshoring,” or “Friend-Shoring,” emerged as a viable path forward for many companies.
CEE IT firms showcased their impressive technological know-how, quality offerings, and strong motivation to collaborate with Swiss counterparts, leaving a lasting impression on participants.
4. AI Panel Discussion
A thought-provoking panel discussion on artificial intelligence featured insights from Katharina Lasota Heller (Lexcellence), Damian Mazurek (Software Mind), and Shirley Werchota (Bluesoft).
Key topics of debate included whether AI has already begun to mitigate the IT talent shortage and the influence of AI tools on IT deliverables and productivity.
5. Informative Workshops
Three workshops, namely “Doing Business in Switzerland” with Ulrich Langanke (LSG & Langanke), “Why come to Switzerland? How to create a presence!” with Sirpa Tsimal (S-GE), and “Work Without Limits: Building Successful Remote Work Solutions” with Dagmar Richardson (International HR Services), enriched the event.
6. A Successful Kickstart
Oliver Bertschinger, SEC’s president and Managing Director was pleased with the first edition of this new event. Many things worked out terrifically. Like the interest and the quality of the CEE companies, the support by major industry associations and partners in Switzerland and CEE and the whole event organization before and during the event (thanks to the SEC team)! Something that was harder than expected was to catch the interest of the Swiss companies to participate. In the end, with more than 30 Swiss representatives attending, it turned out well, however, according to him, the setup of the event and the quality of the CEE companies deserve more attention by the “lack-of-talent” suffering Swiss businesses.
Regarding the summit itself, Oliver emphasizes the excellent atmosphere and positive interactions among Swiss and CEE representatives. Post-event, Oliver and SEC remain committed to connecting Swiss companies with IT needs to the top IT-CEE providers, solidifying the event’s lasting impact.
Impressions from the Summit
A video message of H.E. Mr. Bogdan Mazuru, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the Swiss Confederation and Principate of Liechtenstein
Main Sponsor
Gold Partner
Partner Organisations
Media Partner
CEE IT-Companies
