Recently, American University Kyiv hosted a major IT event this autumn – Student IT Fest 2025 – an educational and career-oriented gathering for students eager to enhance their skills, expand their networking opportunities, and build careers in IT.
Over three days at the AUK campus in Kyiv, participants engaged in lectures and workshops led by companies such as EPAM Ukraine, SoftServe Ukraine, Genesis, Empat, and ByteCode Security Lab.
The event also featured open discussions about career paths, the development of hard and soft skills, as well as internship opportunities. The festival culminated in a hackathon where teams of 3-4 students tackled real business cases.
What stood out at Student IT Fest 2025?
Day 1: Software Engineering Day
The first day of Student IT Fest 2025 opened the festival of technology and became a meeting place for young engineers who are already shaping the IT future of Ukraine. Among the participants were students from AUK, KPI, NaUKMA, and even high school students who are just beginning their journey in programming but already aspire to create their own products.
The day’s program featured four key sessions that reflected the core directions of the modern tech industry: the development of soft skills, the journey from idea to product, the integration of GenAI into the development process, and a panel discussion on internships and first career opportunities. This day showed how a community of students, lecturers, and professionals can inspire each other, share experiences, and build a culture of future innovators.
A heartfelt thank you to our day partner, EPAM Ukraine, for the support, valuable insights, and contribution to shaping the next generation of engineers! Special thanks to the speakers – Oleksandr Krakovetskyi, Ivan Kupriianov, Sergii Borodavko, and Denys Grynov – for their insightful presentations and guidance.
While the first Software Engineering Day focused on developing soft skills, the path from idea to product, integrating GenAI into development, and taking the first steps in a career, the next day was dedicated to Data Science.
Day 2 – Data Science Day immersed participants in the world of data, analytics and artificial intelligence. Students from different universities actively joined lectures and discussions, where theory met real-life case studies and lively debates.
The program covered four core topics:
- enhancing productivity with AI,
- the potential of multimodal RAG,
- analytics in cybersecurity,
- scaling complex systems.
Sincere thanks to our speakers – Yehor Hunia, Yaroslav Melnychenko, Mykhailo Antonishyn, Kyrylo Kotelevets, as well as the partners of the day – SoftServe Ukraine, ByteCode Security Lab, Empat and Genesis – for their support, expertise and inspiration in helping grow the Ukrainian data science community.
The third Digital Design Day of Student IT Fest 2025 brought together creativity and technology, proving that design is not only about form but also about meaning, emotion, and user experience. Participants explored how AI influences modern design, how to craft strong visual metaphors in interfaces, and how to use Tailwind CSS for fast and efficient workflows.
A special part of the program was dedicated to developing soft skills – essential qualities for creating design that truly works for people.
We would like to thank the speakers Andrii Tsabanov, Olena Metelova, Larysa Zavydovska, Sergiy Seryogin, and the partners of the day – EPAM Ukraine and Empat – for their support, practical insights, and inspiring sessions that encouraged participants to see design from a new perspective.
Special thanks to the organizing team of Student IT Fest – Oleksii Shershnov, Oleksandra Antoniuk, Sergiy Tytenko, Anna Belyakova, Sofiia Viazovska, Kateryna Abramova, Uliana Sova, and Solomia Viazovska – thanks to whom the festival not only united talented people, but also supports the development of the Ukrainian IT community.
Dnipro
