On 27 September, as part of IT Arena 2026 in Lviv, the Lviv IT Cluster education team held its annual Education Community Event. The event brought together around 100 participants: heads and lecturers of higher education and vocational institutions, curators and mentors of the Cluster’s bachelor’s programmes, and representatives of member companies. Participants reviewed the year’s results, outlined directions for developing the programmes, and honoured the professionals who work with students from their first lecture to the defence of their team projects.
This year, 45 new mentors joined the education community, including specialists from SoftServe, N-IX, Reface, PrivatBank, Infineon and Sigma Software.
For the third time, special awards went to the laureates of the Education Lights award, presented to professionals who have developed the Cluster’s education initiatives for many years.
“Each award tells the story of people who invest their knowledge, time and belief in young people every day. Through their example, mentors, curators and lecturers inspire students to pursue their ideas with confidence, work in teams and build the future of Ukrainian tech education,” said Yuliia Tsymbala, Head of the Education Team at Lviv IT Cluster.
This year’s awards went to:
Nataliia Melnykova — University Curator 2026
Nataliia Melnykova headed the department and curated the Artificial Intelligence programme at Lviv Polytechnic National University, where she now serves as Vice-Rector for International Relations. The programme attracts strong applicants: this year, 70% of them scored at least 200 points in at least one subject. Around the department, Nataliia Melnykova built a community of students, lecturers and partners united by shared events, camps and trips to the mountains. She also established systematic cooperation between the department and IT companies and brought industry representatives in to work with students.
Mykhailo Kropyva — Industry Curator 2026
Mykhailo Kropyva curates cybersecurity programmes at three universities at once: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv Polytechnic National University and Lviv State University of Life Safety. Each programme has its own specifics, and Mykhailo ensures their content reflects the current state of the field. He involves students in practical work and helps them build careers in cybersecurity, maintaining a steady connection between the programmes and the industry.
Olena Shestakovych — Teamwork Lecturer 2026
Olena Shestakovych teaches teamwork in the UI/UX Design programme at the Lviv National Academy of Arts. Students complete projects for real clients, including municipal institutions, in teams made up entirely of designers. Olena also organised the mentors’ work: her guideline sets out an action plan, timeline and possible tasks, so newcomers can join the process quickly.
Viacheslav Leskiv — Mentor 2026
For more than five years, Viacheslav Leskiv has worked with student teams across various programmes. This year he mentored the largest number of teams, and when the season ran short of mentors towards the end, he took on several more.
Roman Babiuk — Vocational Mentor 2026
Roman Babiuk is a master of industrial training and an IT lecturer at Higher Vocational School No. 29 in Lviv. In 2025–2026, he guided a student team with the SenSyth project to the final of the Junior Achievement competition, where the students won a prize. Roman is also introducing project-based learning at the school and this year began developing a robotics track.
The education community also discussed the role of teamwork in student training during the panel discussion “Team project: teach collaboration or build a startup?” Panellists considered where the main focus should lie, on collaboration skills or on results; how an educational project differs from an MVP and a startup; whether teamwork should be mandatory for all students; and how to assess each member’s contribution fairly. Participants also examined how to keep strong teams together after the course ends and what kind of support from an industry mentor strengthens learning without doing the students’ work for them.
The discussion was moderated by Zenovii Veres, Head of the Internet of Things programme and Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Senior Solution Architect at SoftServe. Panellists included Oleksandr Reminnyi, startup entrepreneur, PhD in Engineering, teamwork lecturer at Lviv Polytechnic and author of the YouTube podcast and book Startup Kitchen; Viacheslav Leskiv, Python Tech Lead at Levi9 and a long-standing mentor of student teams; Ilona Kenio, a student of the System Analysis (Data Science) programme at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and CEO of Aima; and Maksym Zabrodin, COO of Ideas Center UCU.
Sviatoslav Kavetskyi, Chair of the Cluster’s Supervisory Board, recalled how this model began: “When the Cluster started working with universities on bachelor’s programmes, it was a long-term bet. Strong engineers emerge when a practitioner works alongside students from their first year and the programme is written jointly by the university and the industry. Today, the country’s technological competitiveness depends on the quality of engineering education.”
The model covers 24 bachelor’s programmes at five universities in Lviv and Kyiv. This year, 2,050 students enrolled, almost 500 more than last year. Competition averaged six applicants per state-funded place, reaching 15 for Cybersecurity at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
“Demand for the Cluster’s programmes is growing, and our task is to ensure the quality of education grows along with student numbers. Strong IT education emerges where the university, business and the Cluster share responsibility for the result,” said Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster.
To join the Lviv IT Cluster education community, contact Yuliia Tsymbala at julia.tsymbala@education.itcluster.lviv.ua.
On September 28, Lviv IT Cluster welcomed an official delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso. The meeting also brought together representatives of tech businesses, startups, and organizations working to develop Ukraine’s startup ecosystem. The participants discussed the state of Ukraine’s technology industry, key challenges facing businesses, and opportunities to support the tech sector.
The Lviv IT Cluster team presented the association’s key areas of work, including strengthening the technology sector and human capital, analyzing the market, supporting startups, and implementing projects aimed to reinforce the resilience of Ukrainian businesses.
The discussion focused in particular on technology education and IT industry research, including IT Research Ukraine and Salary Report. The Cluster team also presented current support tools for tech businesses, including legal consulting, M&A support, and investment attraction. The participants also discussed the prospects of Ukraine’s startup ecosystem and the development of CodeUA, a platform that helps technology companies find partners and expand into international markets.
Access to financing was one of the key topics of the meeting. The participants discussed various opportunities for raising capital, from private investment and grant programs to European funding and banking instruments. The discussion focused on the needs of startups, including those developing civilian and dual-use technologies. Representatives of the startup ecosystem noted that a significant share of available resources is currently directed toward the defense sector, highlighting the need for additional opportunities for other technology areas to grow.
EBRD representatives also outlined the Bank’s activities in Ukraine and its main areas of support, which currently include critical infrastructure, energy, transport, and the private sector. The discussion also covered opportunities for technology companies and startups, as well as financial instruments that could support their further development.
The resilience of the technology sector amid the full-scale war was another important part of the discussion. Among the challenges affecting the industry’s development, participants highlighted human capital, employee mobilization, and attracting specialists from abroad. The participants also discussed the regulatory environment and tax conditions for technology businesses. Industry representatives emphasized the importance of stable and predictable rules that enable companies to plan for long-term growth, retain their teams, and continue investing in Ukraine.
The meeting provided an opportunity to continue the dialogue with international financial institutions and discuss support instruments that address the real needs of Ukraine’s technology industry.
Scaling deep tech innovations requires more than a working technology. Companies also need to be ready to bring their solutions to market, secure additional funding, and prepare their teams for further growth. On September 18, during the online session “EIC Accelerator for Disruptive SMEs: From Breakthrough Innovation to Scale-up,” participants explored the key opportunities available through the EIC Accelerator program.
Íñigo Larraza, PhD, Innovative SMEs Area Manager at iPlusF, was the speaker at the session. He shared practical insights from his work with the EIC Accelerator and outlined the key criteria that innovative companies should consider when preparing their applications.
The program is designed for companies developing breakthrough technologies that already have a foundation for further development and demonstrate the potential to scale in a significant market.
As Íñigo Larraza noted, the key question is not only whether the technology works, but also whether the company can overcome the barriers to industrialization and scale its solution in line with market needs. This is why the program assesses not only the technological component but also the company’s readiness for the next stage of development.
One of the distinctive features of the EIC Accelerator is the combination of grant and investment components. Grant funding is primarily intended to support the further development, demonstration, and validation of an innovation, while the equity component helps companies move towards the next stages of commercialization and scaling.
According to the speaker, combining these instruments can be a suitable approach for many companies. At the same time, EIC Accelerator support goes beyond funding: the program also provides access to business coaching and mentoring, investors, international markets, and a broad innovation ecosystem.
During the session, the speaker highlighted three key areas assessed in an application:
Technological excellence
A company needs to clearly explain what makes the technology a breakthrough, how ready the solution is for further development, and what technological ambition the project has.
Potential impact
It is important to demonstrate the market opportunity, the path to commercialization and scaling, as well as the project’s potential broader impact.
Implementation — the ability to deliver the project
The evaluation covers the team, implementation plan, resources, and risks. Companies should also pay particular attention to explaining why EIC support is necessary at this stage of their development.
In other words, a strong application should demonstrate not only what has been developed, but also what problem it solves, who it is for, how it can be scaled, and why the company is ready to take the next step now.
The EIC Accelerator should be viewed as more than a source of funding for technology development. The program is aimed at companies that can already demonstrate a technological foundation, market potential, and the team’s ability to move towards scaling.
In particular, it is important to have evidence of market interest — such as customers, partners, or other indications of potential demand. For companies at different stages of development, such evidence may take different forms, but it should demonstrate that the technology has the potential to become a scalable business.
The EIC Accelerator is an opportunity for companies ready to move from technology development to scaling. Therefore, preparation should start not with the application itself, but with assessing the company’s readiness.
The Lviv IT Cluster and LEAP EDIH organized the session in partnership with iPlusF.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
On September 14, Lviv IT Cluster welcomed an official delegation from the World Bank, led by Antonella Bassani, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia. The meeting focused on the current state of Ukraine’s technology industry and the sector’s key needs.
During the visit, the Cluster team presented the latest data on Ukraine’s technology industry, workforce trends, and changes in the volume of Ukrainian IT exports. The participants also discussed the needs and challenges currently facing technology companies.
Ukraine’s technology industry continues to operate amid the full-scale war while adapting to the rapid market transformation driven by AI. In this environment, a predictable business landscape and opportunities for further growth are particularly important.
“For the tech industry, it is important not only to monitor key indicators, but also to understand how they change over time and what lies behind these changes. That is why Lviv IT Cluster, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, systematically studies the market through IT Research Ukraine, the largest nationwide study of the IT industry. This approach allows us to assess the state of the sector comprehensively, understand the needs of businesses, and discuss the development of the tech sector with partners and international institutions based on data,” said Yaryna Voznyak, Head of the Research Department at Lviv IT Cluster.
The participants also discussed how international financial institutions can support technology businesses under these conditions. The focus was not only on direct financing, but primarily on tools that can help companies scale independently, enter global markets, and create greater economic value in Ukraine. At the same time, business representatives emphasized the need for stable, clear operating rules, including a predictable legislative and regulatory environment, as well as access to financial instruments to support growth.
Another important topic was strengthening the perception of Ukraine’s IT industry as a reliable partner in the global market. Despite the full-scale war, Ukrainian technology companies continue to work with global clients, meet their commitments, and develop new products. International support should therefore contribute not only to the growth of individual companies but also to strengthening Ukraine’s technology ecosystem as a whole.
Technology education and human capital development were also among the topics discussed. In particular, the participants considered the impact of specialists’ outflow abroad and ways to leverage their expertise to develop Ukraine’s economy, even though their return to Ukraine is not yet taking place on a large scale. At the same time, participants emphasized the importance of creating more opportunities for specialists who remain in Ukraine, including expanding career prospects for young people.
The discussion also covered the changes artificial intelligence is bringing to the education and training of the next generation of professionals. For the technology industry, technical knowledge alone is no longer enough: critical thinking, decision-making, and the ability to work effectively with AI tools are becoming increasingly important. This creates opportunities for Ukraine to develop not only as a hub for technology talent but also as an environment for creating its own products and innovations.
In this context, the Lviv IT Cluster’s Research Center plays an important role, aiming to systematically study changes in the technology industry and develop a better understanding of business needs. Its work provides reliable data to help shape next steps toward building a resilient technology ecosystem in Ukraine.
Lviv IT Cluster will continue working to strengthen ties between Ukrainian technology businesses and the global market. We value opportunities for open dialogue and knowledge exchange, which help gain deeper insight into the industry’s needs and its prospects for further development.
In September, Lviv will once again become a meeting point for people shaping the future of technology, business, and innovation in Ukraine. This year’s theme, Leading the Way, reflects a world where technology is evolving faster than ever — and where those building, investing in, and scaling new solutions are helping define its direction. IT Arena will bring them together to exchange experience, share ideas, and explore what comes next.
For security reasons, IT Arena 2026 will take place in an updated format. The exact event location will be announced to participants shortly before the event. The dates remain unchanged: September 25–27 and the conference will take place in Lviv.
“IT Arena is a unique space where, year after year, we see how technology in Ukraine and around the world is changing and evolving. In 2026, we will once again bring the tech community together. Despite the war, Ukraine’s IT industry continues to maintain its position in the global market and demonstrate its ability not only to adapt to change but also to set new directions — building products for Fortune 500 companies, testing solutions in real-world conditions, and setting standards that other countries later study,” says Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster.
The speaker lineup includes experts whose work is shaping global technology and investment markets. Barry M. Katz, IDEO Fellow and design historian, will explore how product teams that redefine entire industries think and work. Dan Tyre, Founder and CEO of Tyre Angel and HubSpot’s first salesperson, will share insights on building a sales organization capable of scaling a startup from zero to unicorn status. Aleksandra Balkova, General Partner at Startup Wise Guys and Founder of Ethix, will offer an investor’s perspective on what makes startups stand out to funds today. Oleksandr Kolb, Co-founder and General Partner at Toloka.VC, and Katherine Hill Ritchie, Senior Director of Venture Funds at TEDCO, will discuss how to build venture portfolios.
The Ukrainian government will be represented on stage by Oksana Ferchuk, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, who will speak about the Agentic State, and Natalia Denikeieva, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Dominique Piotet, Managing Partner at Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund, will share his perspective on investing in Ukraine’s recovery economy.
The current speaker lineup is available on the website and is updated regularly.
The IT Arena 2026 program is built around several key tracks. On the Business Stage, entrepreneurs, company founders, and government representatives will discuss global markets and strategic outsourcing. The Dev Stage will focus on engineering, including complex systems architecture, cloud solutions, and practical insights from CTOs at leading companies. The Product Stage will cover market research, product strategy, and expansion into new markets. The Innovation Stage will explore breakthrough technologies, investment, and innovation ecosystems.
As always, a dedicated track will feature participants in the Startup Competition, where teams will pitch their products to a jury, investors, and the media.
IT Arena 2026 will once again host the Startup Competition — Ukraine’s largest startup contest, and an entry point for teams looking to connect with leading investors.
The grant prize pool has already reached $65,000 and continues to grow. The first-place winner will receive $30,000, the second-place winner $20,000, and the third-place winner $10,000. An additional $5,000 special prize will go to the Startup Competition participant who wins the Tequila Night Batch competition by INNOVA.
For investors and conference participants, the Startup Competition is an opportunity to discover promising solutions in the early stages of their market journey. This year, the organizers will select 40 semifinalists, with six teams competing for the prize pool and attracting the attention of global VCs and investors. The competition’s investment fund currently stands at $12.5 million and continues to grow.
In addition to financial support, the winners will have the opportunity to connect with 150+ investors from Ukraine, Europe, the US, and the Middle East, as well as showcase their products at the Innovation Expo.
More details about the event are available on the website, where four types of tickets are offered, from Standard to Top Tier, with different levels of access to networking areas and services.
Companies planning to attend the conference as a team can receive special group ticket rates. Contact partnership@education.itcluster.lviv.ua for details.
Organizer: Lviv IT Cluster
Exclusive Government Partner: Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
Exclusive Bank Partner: UKRSIBBANK
Exclusive Partners: Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv City Council, Google, EU4Innovation East
Gold Partners: N-iX, TAITRA, SoftServe, EPAM, Ukrainian Startup Fund, JETRO, Aleph, IITD, Crowdstrike, MISTO, Everstar, blago, EveryMatrix
General Media Partner: LIGA.net
The activity is organised by Lviv IT Cluster, with support from the EU4Innovation East project, funded by the European Union, co-funded by the French Government and implemented by Expertise France.
Media accreditation for the event is now open — applications can be submitted via the link and will be reviewed by the organizers.
Press office contact: pr@education.itcluster.lviv.ua
On August 18, Lviv IT Cluster, together with N-iX, handed over 10 laptops to Air Command West as part of the SKY project, which supports Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
The equipment will help address current needs and provide the technical capacity necessary for combat operations.
“Supporting Ukraine’s Armed Forces is one of the key areas of Lviv IT Cluster’s social responsibility efforts. Through Victory Projects, we systematically respond to the needs of Ukraine’s defenders and allocate resources where they can strengthen their capabilities. Our goal is to ensure that the tech community remains a reliable partner to the military,” says Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster.
For tech companies, this is also an opportunity to use their resources to strengthen Ukraine’s defense in practical ways.
“Supporting those who ensure our security every day is important to us. We joined the delivery of laptops to Air Command West to provide additional resources where we could make a practical contribution. Staying involved and being useful is our way of expressing our gratitude,” adds Natalia Solina, CSR Lead at N-iX.
The delivery of laptops is another example of cooperation between Ukraine’s tech business community and its Armed Forces. Through Victory Projects, Lviv IT Cluster has already directed more than UAH 179 million toward supporting Ukraine.
Ukrainian tech teams still have a chance to apply for the Startup Competition 2026, held as part of IT Arena — the largest technology event in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Applications are open until September 4, 2026.
This year, the organizers will select 40 semifinalists, with only six teams advancing to the final. The winners will be announced on September 26 on the main stage of IT Arena in Lviv.
The Startup Competition offers a prize pool of up to $65,000. More than 150 investors from Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East will also take part, representing a combined investment portfolio of $12.5 million.
In addition to competing for grant funding, participants will have the opportunity to present their solutions to the international tech community and receive practical feedback from industry experts. Finalists will also be able to showcase their products in the Startup Expo Zone.
In addition to the Startup Competition, IT Arena 2026 will feature three Expo zones: Partner Expo, Startup Expo, and Made in Ukraine Showcase. These spaces will provide a platform for Ukrainian tech products to be presented to an international audience.
Applications for the Startup Competition can be submitted on the official IT Arena website.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
According to data from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Ukraine’s IT services exports reached $567 million in July 2026. This is a 1.1% increase, or $6 million, compared to the previous month.
Compared to July 2025, IT services exports also increased by 2.2%, or $12 million.
“July results continue the positive trend in Ukraine’s IT exports. Despite prolonged global uncertainty and challenges within the country, the sector continues to maintain its position and strengthen its presence in international markets.
At the same time, stable results do not mean that the tech market itself remains unchanged. Companies are reassessing their approaches to work, restructuring their teams, looking for new growth opportunities, and adapting to global technology trends. That is why it is important to look beyond export revenues and understand what is driving these figures.
The second stage of IT Research Ukraine will launch soon, with a survey of CEOs and HR leaders of IT companies. Combined with the findings from the survey of IT professionals, the results will provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of Ukraine’s IT industry, help identify key challenges and trends, and assess the sector’s prospects for further growth,” says Yaryna Voznyak, Research Lead at Lviv IT Cluster.
Total export revenue from all services amounted to $1.468 billion in July 2026, an increase of 5.4%, or $75 million, compared to June 2026.
Computer services accounted for 38.6% of Ukraine’s total services exports in July 2026. This is 2.3% lower than in July 2025 and 1.6% lower than in June 2026.
In cooperation with relevant authorities, the IT Arena team is developing a new event model that accounts for current security risks. The conference will take place across several venues to avoid large crowds and ensure that all participants have access to shelters.
Based on recommendations from the Security Service of Ukraine, the event program has also been updated. This year, it will not include the Dual-Use Expo. The organizers will also limit attendance to 3,000 participants.
“Given the current security situation in Ukraine, we are strengthening our safety measures and have decided to distribute attendees across multiple venues. This will allow us to provide appropriate shelter capacity for everyone while maintaining a responsible balance between the event’s openness and the safety of all attendees. We are also working with the city and relevant authorities on additional security protocols. At the moment, we are developing an updated program model based on the new venue setup,’’ says Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster.
Information about the venues for IT Arena 2026 will be provided to participants on the day of the event. This approach is part of the updated security model.
“This year, we are taking a new approach to how the event is organized, with a more flexible model and a return to a conference format that our audience already knows and values. Venue decisions are made only once we have confirmed that each location meets all relevant requirements,” says Sviatoslav Kavetskyi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lviv IT Cluster.
The team is moving ahead with preparations for IT Arena. More details about the event and the speaker lineup are available here.
On August 18, the Lviv IT Cluster office hosted the handover of equipment to help establish another UAV operator training center at Air Command West and support the needs of the 77th Separate Airmobile Naddniprianska Brigade.
The necessary equipment was purchased together with the charitable initiative «Birds of Victory» using funds raised during a charity auction at the Members and Partners Assembly — a gathering of the Lviv IT Cluster member companies and partners.
The event brought the community together around a common goal — supporting Ukrainian defenders. The auction raised a total of UAH 490,000.
The funds were used to purchase technical equipment, including drones, laptops, remote controllers, VR headsets, and other equipment for operating UAVs. The equipment will be used for training and operational tasks performed by unmanned systems operators.
Part of the equipment was also handed over to the 77th Separate Airmobile Naddniprianska Brigade.
The equipment handover is part of Victory Projects — a series of Lviv IT Cluster initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine’s business, military, critical, and civilian infrastructure during the full-scale invasion.
Overall, the Lviv IT Cluster has already allocated more than UAH 179 million to support Ukraine.
On August 19, members of the Lviv IT Cluster came together for a Strategy Session to jointly define development priorities for the coming years. The event served as a platform for planning and open dialogue among the companies that make up Lviv’s tech community.
From Challenges to Strategic Priorities
The session was facilitated by Oleksandra Baklanova, an expert in strategy and change management. Under her guidance, participants moved from discussing current challenges to defining clear priorities that reflect the real needs of members.
The format gave each company space to share its vision for the community’s future while hearing and considering the perspectives of other members. Together, participants identified key priorities and strategic tasks that will help shape the Lviv IT Cluster’s work in the years ahead.
The Main Outcome — Stronger Connections Between Members
The Cluster’s strategy is shaped through ongoing dialogue with its member companies — the businesses driving the region’s and Ukraine’s tech industry forward.
Beyond strategic planning, the session strengthened ties within the community, giving company representatives an opportunity to connect, and build a stronger foundation for future collaboration.
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly integrated into business processes, but using AI tools does not necessarily mean that a company is undergoing transformation. On August 13, during the webinar “AI Maturity Framework: 6 Levels of AI-Driven Business Transformation,” participants examined a practical model for assessing a company’s AI maturity and looked at how AI can reshape not only individual productivity but also the way teams and entire organizations operate.
The session featured Vladyslav Fliahin, Lead Data Scientist, Co-founder of MindCraft AI, and author of the AI Maturity Framework, and Oleksii Simkiv, CTO, Co-founder of MindCraft AI, and an expert in AI audits and AI transformation roadmaps development.
The discussion highlighted that AI maturity is less about the level of adoption and more about how fundamentally AI has changed the way a company works. Individual AI solutions can increase employee productivity, but systemic transformation requires much broader changes. This includes how a business handles data, makes decisions, allocates responsibility, and translates knowledge into concrete actions.
During the webinar, the speakers presented four questions that can help quickly assess a company’s current stage of AI transformation:
These questions help companies understand the depth of transformation. As the speakers emphasized, one of the main limitations often lies at the very first stage: AI’s access to the information it needs. When a system cannot “see” the necessary context, its ability to act is limited.
The webinar also focused on the AI Maturity Framework, a model that describes six stages of AI maturity — from the initial use of individual AI tools to the development of autonomous systems capable of performing tasks and gradually improving their own performance.
“The challenge today is no longer that AI agents cannot perform complex tasks, but that people have not yet learned how to use their full potential. That is why it is important not only to implement these solutions, but also to know how to control their work, evaluate the results, and understand what is happening within the processes,” said Vladyslav Fliahin, Lead Data Scientist, Co-founder of MindCraft AI, and author of the AI Maturity Framework.
According to the speaker, expectations around the development of autonomous agents are evolving faster than anticipated. Systems can now perform complex tasks that previously required several hours of human work. For organizations, the challenge is shifting from adoption to readiness: knowing how to integrate these systems, evaluate their performance, and set boundaries for their autonomy.
AI transformation is not defined by the number of AI tools a company subscribes to, but by how fundamentally they reshape the way it operates. That is why it is important to assess how processes evolve, how knowledge is accumulated, and how decisions are made across the team.
On July 30, the CEO of the Lviv IT Cluster, Mykhailo Lemak, met with representatives of small tech companies with up to 100 employees. The discussion helped identify the current needs of small technology businesses and the areas where Cluster can strengthen its support.
The meeting was held in an open-dialogue format, allowing participants to share their experiences of cooperating with Cluster, voice their expectations, and suggest ideas for further development of the technology community.
The discussion focused on:
«It was important for us to hear an honest perspective from smaller companies — to understand what they currently expect from Cluster, what is already working well, and what needs to be improved. Such conversations help us better define our priorities and build the association that addresses the real needs of its members. Some of the suggestions shared during the discussion align with the changes we are already working on, and in the near future, we will hold a strategic session to match our vision for the next stage of Cluster’s development», said Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of the Lviv IT Cluster.
The meeting was the first in a series of regular conversations with Lviv IT Cluster member companies. Through this initiative, Cluster aims to strengthen collaboration with its members, gain deeper insight into their evolving needs, and ensure its initiatives continue to deliver meaningful value to the community.
Lviv IT Cluster announces that Scroll.media, the media outlet launched by the association in January 2025, is pausing its work. The team is taking time to rethink the format to return with a new vision.
Over the past year, Scroll.media covered the Ukrainian tech business — startups, investments, deals, companies, and the people making decisions in this market. The editorial team was led by Illia Kabachynskyi, who served as editor-in-chief of AIN.UA for 7 years before founding Scroll. Over the year, the outlet built an audience that kept coming back for its stories, as well as publications that the market referenced.
The Scroll.media team is taking a pause to rethink its work and look at the media market with a fresh perspective. Part of this time will go toward an internal audit: what worked, what’s worth changing, and which formats and topics truly meet the industry’s demands today. With this rethinking, the team plans to return — with renewed energy and an updated vision for what Scroll.media should be.
“In a very short time, the team managed to build a competitive product, produce a wealth of quality material and exclusives that the market cited, and gain a loyal audience of our own. I’m genuinely glad about that. And I want to thank the partners who supported us before the launch and stayed with us through the first year — probably the hardest moment in a media outlet’s life. That means a lot,” shares Illia Kabachynskyi, head of Scroll.media.
Kabachynskyi is leaving the outlet to pursue his own projects.
Lviv IT Cluster thanks the Scroll.media team for the work done and the partners who supported the outlet from the start. Further plans regarding the media’s relaunch will be announced separately.