On August 10, Eastern Europe’s largest IT conference brought together companies and people who are the backbone of the country’s economy for the thirteenth time. The event was supported by 130 top speakers, 85 companies in the Expo Zone, and more than 30 miltech developers in the City of the Future. The total number of participants amounted to 5400.
iForum in wartime is primarily about mobilizing the country’s technological potential for the benefit of the defense forces. Investing in technology today means saving people in this war. Realizing this fact for the first time at the forum brought together the efforts of the state, business and the military sector.
Ukraine is engaged in the largest technological war in the world. And if we don’t mobilize and coordinate the country’s intellectual and technological capabilities, we will lose – this was the leitmotif of the new Military Tech direction.
Defense
According to the SBU, last year, at least 4,500 cyberattacks were carried out on critical infrastructure facilities (in 2021 – 1,400, in 2020 – 800). And every month, our information field is subject to about 1,000 Russian disinformation campaigns. The only way to withstand such pressure is to consolidate and develop our own military and security technologies.
At iForum, Oleksandr Kardakov, Head of Military Tech, presented a unique development of Octava Defense, the SPHERE critical infrastructure protection platform. This is a single system that combines a radar system, acoustic sensors, optical and thermal imaging systems, and software that provides information on active fire countermeasures.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, emphasized the coordination of joint efforts of business, the Defense Ministry, the General Staff, the GRU, the Security Service, and the Ministry of Strategic Industry in the fight against military aggression.
In particular, he spoke about the state’s need for its own UAV production. According to him, it will increase 100 times by the end of the year:
“AMONG MANY WELL-KNOWN IT PROFESSIONALS AND TECHNO-ENTREPRENEURS, THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DEPLOYED PRODUCTION LINES AND ARE ALREADY PRODUCING THOUSANDS OF UAVS EVERY MONTH.”
A year ago, there were only 7 Ukrainian UAV companies that produced drones for the state, today there are 40, and by the end of 2023 there will be 70. Among the drone manufacturers, 3 companies are state-owned. There are 26 UAV pilot training schools in the country. The readiness of state institutions to invest in military technologies is illustrated by the fact that by the end of the summer, the state will finance Ukrainian developments in the field of military technologies for $1 million through Brave1 (a cluster for the development of Defense Tech).
AI and recovery
The topics of artificial intelligence and post-war recovery also became mainstream at iForum 2023. Serious discussions touched upon migration policy, the labor market, and education, which are the basic conditions for the country’s development after the war.
According to Ivan Prymachenko (Prometheus), the number of students on the online platform has increased by 35% since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Of those who have taken the courses, 150 thousand are military personnel.
Artur Mikhno (Work.ua) noted that the Ukrainian labor market, despite the war and forced emigration, has revived by 90%. He also said that Work.ua is ceasing cooperation with corporations that have not yet left Russia. Currently, these are 20 international companies with which Work.ua had contracts worth more than UAH 5 million.
New directions
The new directions at iForum 2023 (E-commerce, Blockchain, AI), like the traditional ones, contained a cross-cutting theme of professional challenges caused by the war. And, naturally, businesses shared their experience and ways of solving problems for the development of markets in extraordinary conditions.
Oleksandr Olshansky, Chairman of the iForum Organizing Committee, said:
“WE GATHERED IFORUM IN 2014, AFTER THE MAIDAN AND THE ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA, AND AGAIN IN 2021, DURING THE COVID. UNITING TO FIND SOLUTIONS IN THE MOST DIFFICULT TIMES IS A SIGN OF AN ADULT SOCIETY AND THE MISSION OF IFORUM.”
