Lublin IT Upland

The specificity of the IT/ICT industry is a vast spectrum of its member companies. Activities in this sector are carried out both by large capital groups and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as natural persons running a sole proprietorship. This diverse landscape is complemented by specialists in specific projects and a group of freelancers. Their activities are concentrated in numerous business incubators and accelerators, and there are multiple pro-business organisations and informal groups in the industry.

Today, the Lublin IT industry is composed of over 750 registered IT and ICT companies employing over 5 thousand people – mainly IT specialists of various specialisations, specialists in mobile applications, systems used in medicine, as well as business solutions experts. Nearly 5.5 thousand students study at 5 IT faculties of Lublin’s universities. Over 900 IT and related graduates leave their walls every year. The research of secondary schools conducted in 2016 by the Lublin master’s office shows that 8.5% of graduates of post-junior-high schools who continue their studies at universities have chosen IT majors, of which 80% have chosen Lublin universities. The Lublin IT sector is experiencing one of the highest growth in the number of IT and ICT companies in Poland. As a result, Lublin’s universities consistently increase the number of applications for IT majors by adjusting their educational programmes to the needs of employers.

The growing potential of the IT sector became an inspiration for the City to establish an integration programme called the Lublin IT Upland. It aims to activate all industry players by integrating the environment, building the Lublin IT brand, promoting the city and the region among industry investors and creating conditions for young and talented graduates of Lublin’s universities to pursue their interests and passions in Lublin. The integration and communication activities undertaken are of a multi-faceted nature and are targeted at secondary school students, students, IT/ICT specialists, as well as entrepreneurs and investors. By establishing cooperation with universities, Lublin IT/ICT companies jointly adjust their education programmes to the needs of the Lublin’s labour market. The positive response of the commercial market, in turn, stimulates frontier research, innovation and patents in the ICT sector. It also influences the retention of secondary school graduates in Lublin and encourages them to study in Lublin by adjusting their educational, developmental and research offer to the needs of companies operating in Lublin, which create opportunities for attractive, exciting and prospective work.