With Ukraine integrating in Europe and harmonizing its laws with the European ones, more and more companies, especially those operating on the international markets, favor corporate social responsibility (CSR) over strategic development. Although corporate social responsibility policy in Ukrainian companies remains a guideline, it offers unmistakable advantages to businesses:
- most of the large customers prefer cooperating with a socially responsible business;
- the business boosts loyalty amongst its specialists and attracts new talents;
- brand awareness grows.
IT environment is very competitive as companies try to win not only customers, but also expertise. To remain in the leading position businesses must follow the new trends that is why it is little wonder that CSR has become a trend in the past few years.
Defining CSR is not an easy task, that is why CSR managers argue that if a company performs its legal obligations, it is law-abiding business, and if it delivers more to its stakeholders, it is a socially responsible business.
CSR in IT: main points of reference
Infopulse is one of the leading IT companies in Ukraine, a member of EVRY, a Scandinavian IT-group, and a reliable IT services provider with a comprehensive approach to corporate social responsibility. Operating on the IT market since 1991, it has implemented a wide range of initiatives to develop education, e-democracy, digitalization of the public sector and improve infrastructure. In 2017, Infopulse made CSR its strategic target and in 2018 it was named among the Best of the Global Outsourcing 100. The Top CSR category was featured.
CSR has seven main avenues in Infopulse:
- Making business according to the Code of Conduct of the mother company and taking into account Human rights as well respecting ethnic, race, and gender diversity and rights of vulnerable citizens.
- Organizational Governance of the company is centered around the needs and interests of the main stakeholders.
- Implemented Labour Practices promote professional and personal development of specialists.
- Environmental management and adherence to the Green Office principle caused the company to obtain the ISO 14001 certificate.
- Fair Operating Practices are applied to cooperation with other companies: fairness, transparency, openness, anti-corruption, -bribery and -monopoly management.
- The company holds to the Clients interests and maintains quality standards on all stages of its supply chain as well as provides first-class services.
- Corporate competences and expertise promote Community Involvement and Development.
With its activities, the company strives to promote quality changes not only locally, but also globally, that is why Community Involvement and Development of Infopulse has the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals for 2016–2030 – adopted during the UN Summit 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Companies that want to participate in solving the main problems of humanity can select from that list a number of goals, depending on their industry, and use their competence and operations to reach them. Infopulse has selected UN Goal 4: Quality education and Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
Industry-specific education is priority for IT
Anton Vitiaz on the Business Analysis lecture for students of National Technical University of “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”
With Ukrainian IT being one of the main export-generating and growing industries, Infopulse desires to improve the quality of IT education and professionalism of potential experts on the global market. The company has always been looking for developing and promoting professional potential. In 2016, Infopulse has launched an internship programme for Ukrainian students. The programme is aimed at both individual and group learning. Interns have a possibility to communicate with experts and participate in projects.
For many years, Infopulse has been cooperating closely with the leading universities of Ukraine, its professionals have been giving regular lectures on telecommunications, management and IT, preside as experts in university competitions and help future talents grow. Infopulse is a standing member of IT-events , conferences and hackathons and takes part in industry-specific events all around the country.
In February 2019, Infopulse and Lviv IT cluster opened Infopulse Data Science&Machine Learning Lab in the Data Science&Intelligent Systems Department of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. The Lab has 15 workstations and a state-of-the-art server, allowing the students to work on their projects and attend lectures and master classes of IT experts.
Infopulse Data Science&Machine Learning Lab opening, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
Key role of the IT company in sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation and development of infrastructure
The main benchmark for innovation projects is their viability. The real value of resources invested in the development of a country is revealed when a project remains productive and contemporary for many years to come.
In 2015, Infopulse and Lviv City Council launched a Lvivian Private Cabinate portal providing on-line access to administrative and electronic services of the city. It is a wide-spread practice in European cities, and Lviv has become the first in Ukraine to implement e-democracy locally.
In 2016, Infopulse and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine are pleased to announce the release of the Official Mobile App “Olympic UA”. The mobile application users could follow the latest news from the Olympics, receive push-messages about the latest events, teams’ line-ups, standings, medals, photos, videos, schedules and results, as well as participate in a lottery.
“Olympic UA” Team, Infopulse
In 2017, the company, the Ukrainian Center for Education Quality Assessment and BIONIC University developed the “My ZNO” application (My External Independent Test). The application informs the user about the time and place of the test, synchronizes the data with the calendar, shows the test results and saves them in the personal cabinet, etc.
Sergii Vasko, Project Management expert, and Alexey Sigov, the President of Infopulse, on the press conference devoted to “My ZNO” mobile application launching
The same year, there was the opening of the Virtual Museum of Vasyl Stus developed by Infopulse specialists together with Dmytro Stus, the poet’s son. Actively supporting the development of Ukrainian culture, the team performed the complete development cycle of the virtual museum web-site. The Virtual Museum shows how the poet’s work shaped Ukraine and how Ukraine defined his work and make it available for all people in Ukraine and abroad.
Alexey Sigov, the President of Infopulse, on the presentation of the Virtual Museum of Vasyl Stus
This year, Infopulse experts advised the students of Faculty of Informatics and Computer Science of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and together with the “NO WASTE Ukraine”(Ukrayina Bez Smittya) developed and deployed a sorting chat-bot. The chat-bot helps to distinguish different types of trash, provides location and open hours of recycling stations. The application offers tips, search function and reference to specific web-pages.
Last year, the company joined effort with the “Horoshi Spravy” Charity Found and started the Sensor Garden project, the first Ukrainian park for disabled people based in M. Hryshko Botanic Garden. The aim of the project is to use innovations and improved infrastructure to help the disabled to integrate into the society. The park boasts:
- Plants resistant to touch and very fragrant
- Sensor tables made of natural materials: water, bark, wood cuts, pebbles etc.
- Adapted infrastructure: convenient location of flower beds, fountains and other objects, pathways made of tactile tiles adapted for people with reduced mobility, descriptions of plants in the Braille script etc.
- Ecotherapy room and a first aid centre.
In autumn 2018, owing to the help from the company’s volunteers foundations were laid while the park opening is planned for this autumn.
Infopulse’s volunteers laying the Sensor garden foundations, M. Hryshko Botanic Garden
The company stands by the principle that a business must primarily contribute to the success of society and invest into the wellbeing of the country. As the company was founded in Ukraine, our past, present and future are inseparable from our country. Using international experience, Infopulse helps Ukraine to implement the projects that change life for the better.
