In a quiet neighborhood of Pristina, there is a house that has now become home to all those who want to further develop their technological, educational, cultural and scientific purposes.

Pristina Hackerspace is one of our city’s special places where many young people find themselves, wanting to further develop their technology skills.

In this pleasant and special environment, we attended the Prishtina Open Source Festival– an event dedicated to open source software and hardware.

Based on hands-on activities, this event brought about very efficient workshops explaining and working together with the attendees.

Kutia was pleased to be present at this event by offering workshops such as:

• Grow your online business using WordPress – Arianit Fazliu
• Hands-on workshop on how to use WooGraphQL (WPGraphQL WooCommerce)- Gentrit Halili & Nesar Havolli
• WordPress Meetup 

With a great diversity of people attending this Festival, starting from students of different universities in our country  to people who are passionate about hands-on activities, this event was a great chance to see the power of desire to learn more.

What did others think of Prishtina Open Source Festival?

“By organizing various conferences, we have noticed that the hands-on activities are missing so that people could work directly with what they just learned. Usually, at various conferences, the main focus is on lectures and there is little opportunity for people to have a hands-on activity.
The main purpose of this festival is for people to work hands-on with what is being offered here such as now some activities that are happening like metal working, hardware, software..
With the enormous technological development taking place in Kosovo and globally, such activities are helping to hire young people. Different companies are expressing interest in further developing people through such activities and the idea of exchanging different people  is growing”.

Besfort Guri- Board member at FLOSKK

“We at hackerspace are people who like to work with hands and different tools. Given that we have been given some very advanced tools as a donation, we have expressed our desire to put them into operation.
Today we are working with the welding machine where we are learning about cutting, welding and metalworking.
The idea is to create a grill from a boiler that is out of use. We are not masters in this field but using the resources we have, especially from the internet, we are trying to learn how metal welding and processing is done with the tools we have”.

Lis Luci

“I’m passionate about handiwork and I came here to learn something about welding and see what we can do. So far I learned how to weld and it was a great experience. Now we’re getting used to cut and by the end of the day we’re going to try something else”.

Gresa Neziri

“This festival is very important because it promotes programs with open source. Any event that relates to opensource and increases awareness of these programs, how they are used  and what can be done, is very important. In schools, it is not that we learn about the differences between open source programs and the benefits that come from it, unlike Proprietary software  programs where only one company benefits”.

Nafie Shehu – Member of Openlabs in Tirana

“As a student of computer engineering I have expressed an interest in coming to this festival. Many of the topics covered by this festival helped me a lot with the future work I will be doing with programming, as well as the projects we have at the university”.

Mihrije Kadriu- Student in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering

“I am a Computer Engineering student. At the same time, I work for an online shop where we introduce products. When I saw the announcement for this festival, I was intrigued by the information session about wordpress and online shops, and expressed an interest in coming to understand more about how it comes to creating an application to introduce products into an online shop. 
As I learned more codes I could use, I am able to compare them with what I actually use and I will see what combination I can make with these codes”.

Margarita Dibrani- Student in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Kutia is one of those companies that highly value the cooperation and well-being of staff. When people join a company, they bring different values to that community. When different values come together in a common vision and mission – success is guaranteed.

In our daily activities we face different loads to succeed in our projects. When co-workers engage in tasks cooperatively, they’re often more productive. In fact, teamwork in the workplace can have advantages that go far beyond mere cooperation in completing a task or project.

Effective teamwork can create a sense of cohesiveness and unity of purpose. Each member of the team should feel some sense of ownership, not only of their individual tasks, but of the project as a whole. When workers sense the “team” in teamwork, even before their individual positions within it, the team is strengthened.

As leaders we need to ensure that our team works in a comfortable environment and we must keep in mind that creating opportunities to see group members as “partners in crime” in both good and bad times, is one of the best achievements to function properly.

One of the best ways to see each other outside of our office space and everyday work environment is definitely going on retreatment. 

Providing our team members with learning experience and tapping into their passions and interests, can result in a more committed, motivated and productive team.

Even the most self-motivated people need support to grow and learn. A team retreat take learning & development to a different level, by supporting team member’s professional and personal growth and maximizing their full potential.

A team retreat is a great way to enable employees to innovate. It can be a canvas where people connect, inspire and educate each other. They explore ideas through collective thinking and may even come up with new ideas or even a new product for the company.

“Kutia” decided to spend the last weekend of October in a very special environment; Pëllumbas village in Tirana. Followed by the beautiful nature scenery and enjoying the autumn fun, all the Kutia’s staff took the road for a 2 day retreatment.

On the first day of our stay there was a presentation of the main issues we face as a company, such as what are the processes we will change in order to achieve better products for clients; how we will increase productivity at work; what are the tools we will use for management; what are the technologies we will be targeting in the coming months; the function of the company which implies issues related to how the company loses money and how it earns. These issues were addressed in order for each team member to understand the business processes better.

Day two began in the most relaxing way-yoga. The idea was for everyone to understand the benefits and importance of physical activity. The day continued at the same pace, with games and activities that involved more teamwork. Through these activities, special emphasis was placed on the process of decision-making and the division of roles into groups. It was very funny to see the competition between teams. 

One of the best activities was the one with the construction of Formula 1 with the equipment that was available. We were divided into two teams and through the game we have learned a lot about managing- how to organize teams; how to divide tasks; how important it is for the manager not only to work “hands on” on projects but also to monitor the others. 

We looked at the points that need to be fixed such as identifying the difficulties encountered in team work, the communication struggles between team members, etc.

Just as we evaluated the Formula 1 build by assessing whether this is the product we can compete with, we looked back to the fact that also the work we do every day is actually measuring the products we create so that our customers are pleased. At the end, the winner of the race was announced and we all dispatched our congratulations.

These two days have greatly influenced the creation of a bond between the team, especially now that we have new members in “Kutia”. 

“The weekend in Pëllumbas has been a great event that we all enjoyed because it helped us get to know each other even more outside of the workplace while we were given different opinions on many things besides the routine of work we have every day.”

What impressed me most was the fact that everything was well organized. Everything went as scheduled and everything was planned ahead. The games were very well thought, we learned as much as we could, especially how to work efficiently in groups. The part that impressed me the most was the fact that despite all the technical problems we had on the road, we were always organized and helped each other so that we would all enjoy that weekend to the fullest.”

Gentrit Halili, Front-end Developer

“Last weekend I personally had a great time with “Kutia” team. This  activity was important to me since I got to know more of my work colleagues. I enjoyed having those outdoor activities, away from our electronic devices and find ourselves in a whole another environment and all together.” 

Meriton Reqica, Back-end Developer

“Last week team retreat was awesome. I enjoyed every minute spent there and got to do many things I found interesting such as games, new personalities, adrenaline, team spirit, extra info about the company, and many more”.

I personally find it very exciting when it comes to team spirit. I find myself knowing more about my coworkers, their opinions, their skills, and creativity, which I think helps a lot in problem solving and everyday-job routine.”

 You get to feel a whole lot better the week after, once you go through a weekend like that. Especially if you’re a winner☺.” 

Qëndresa Hoti, Front-end Developer

“I was part of the team building activity organized by Kutia in Pëllumbas, Tiranë. We were divided into two teams and I was part of the winning team. This experience was something new but very rewarding to me. Through it, I have come to understand the effect of teamwork better, in order toI achieve a common goal. During the activities, we gave the best of ourselves. I think it is very important to have such activities in order to advance the team professionally.”

Nesar Havolli, Web Developer

“For me it has been a wonderful weekend full of activities, information but also lots of laughter with the whole team. In my opinion, such organizations should be followed so that the team members not only notice themselves as employees of a company but also as a part of a friendship, which results in knowing a person in another form of life (out of work). The activities we did there are important because we understand better how the team is organized by other team members (not only by the  team leader, management or any leading part of the team). And finally, I consider the staff retreatment as a positive impact on our daily work, increasing the motivation and productivity.” 

Shyqeri Gashi, Web and Mobile Developer

“From the “Team Building” activity we learned how to properly work together as a team in managing a project/game. Given that it was the first time I participated in such an event, I can say that the general organization was in a high level. We are looking forward to know  what we need to change or what we could have done differently to achieve greater results.”

Hazir Bajrami, Back-end Developer

On Thursday and Friday (24-25/10/2019), thousands of people gathered in downtown Pristina for the largest technology conference. Everything seemed to be in the right place at the right time. The good autumn weather and the presence of the most diverse people brought a pleasant and positive atmosphere.

This conference is one of those that will be remembered for a long time. That’s because everything was at the right level ranging from technical organization to other details that made this event achieve its goal.

Events like this make us even more aware of how much potential lies in the field of technology and entrepreneurship in our country. We were present at many presentations featuring very important topics and interesting ideas, both on Main Stage and Developer’s Stage.

“Kutia” as a Gold Member of STIKK was pleased to make its contribution to the presentation and treatment of topics affecting in one way or another the work and further development of various software and outsourcing companies.

Arianit Fazliu, the CEO of “Kutia” moderated the discussion panel “DEVELOPMENT OF OUTSOURCING AND HOW KOSOVO CAN LEARN FROM OTHER EXAMPLES”.

This discussion highlighted some very important points related to outsourcing and the challenges that different companies face in achieving their goals. The discussion took many positive feedback’s and was described as very interesting and informative.

Faton Selishta, the CTO and Astrit Zeqiri – Team leader in “Kutia” presented “MOVING TO FULL STACK JAVASCRIPT DEVELOPMENT” on the Developer’s Stage. The presentation attracted the public’s attention and there was a great deal of interest in this topic by receiving positive feedback as well.

Our CEO, Arianit Fazliu was also a part of the evaluation jury in the competition of young programmers from the Digital School. The competition brought to the stage so many talented children in all kinds of ages. It was impressive to see projects done so well by these young programmers.

All the presentations highlighted the great use of technology and internet in Kosovo and beyond. Being a society that for a few years has made a great deal in the field of technology and entrepreneurship not only domestically but also abroad, such a conference was another prove than with such potential, the various challenges that we face in our daily work will be surpassed.

A special space of the conference was dedicated to new startups to present themselves and their products/solutions. We had the chance to hear the most impressive new ideas in this space full of innovators and developers.

This conference brought together important people from other countries such as Germany, America, Greece, Austria, Canada and others. From conversations with representatives of the various companies that were present at the conference, we heard very good comments about what they found among us. They seemed quite surprised by our potential and achievements in the field of technology.

We hope that such an event will always take place in our country and beyond, as it conveys great value in the field of technology and development.

What internationals think of Kosovo?

“First of all I am happy to be here because in this kind of environment you get inspired from all the positive vibes that you get. I had completely wrong perceptions about Kosovo, and I came here and I see boost of growth, of happy faces! It’s an honor to be here because you see how thirsty these young people are to know and collaborate better. It’s a privilege to be here and to meet all of these people!”

Lena Kyropoulus, Journalist in www.bcimedia.net – Canada

“When you google about Kosovo it’s not that you get positive information and news, it’s a mindset- they first put bad things about a country rather than the good ones. But when people come here to visit, this totally changes. They are impressed by this country and they even consider living here. It is so nice in here, people are so open and so lovely!”

Goran Kelemen, Business Consultant

“It’s the first time for me to be in Kosovo and I am super surprised. My visit here changed my perceptions completely. For me it is a discovery, it’s quite a journey and I am very delighted with all the bright minds in here. The population is very young and very ambitious, very creative, very professional and also very well connected and I’ve seen high quality of software products and great ideas. I really admire the creativity power of Kosovo!”

Prof. Dr. Rolf Becker, University of Applied Science “Rhein-Waal”

“I am positively suprised about this fresh and young energy I found here and about knowledge and well educated people in here. Also I am surprised about the curiosity of people in here to develop and to learn more. This is not what you expect in Germany for example, we have a totally different view and we are still in the old view from years ago, when Kosovo was very poor and in bad condition. I am happy to bring such positive information to Germany and share this great experience I had in Kosovo!”

Christiane Amini, International Business Consultant