The basis for SNITS, a collaboration between business and IT students, is the same: An important opportunity for the twelve SNITS companies and students at Karlstad University to get to know each other a little better. For the students, it can be a first contact with Karlstad's IT sector, a glimpse of a possible internship or future employer.

- SNITS is a very good forum for networking and for finding future employees. I hope that the candidates find it rewarding for them too, as it is just as important that they find their future workplace where they can grow and develop, says Therese Gawor, recruitment specialist at Elvenite, which has a broad skills need for the future:

- We are looking for people who are curious, driven and want to develop. We are quite broad and we apply from most educations within IT/Data, business systems and finance.

What was completely different compared to previous SNITS dinners was that the gathering was completely digital due to the corona pandemic. However, the turnout was still high – almost 100 students were attracted to participate. One of them was Izabel Tawfik Arvidsson, who is in the first semester of the program for web developers.

- I was hoping for a small introduction about each company, so that you get a picture of what the IT job market looks like and what opportunities you will have in the future. I felt that I got that information for the companies I ended up in the same room with, she says.

Johan Lindqvist and Daniel Lievendahl from Prevas talk to students in one of the digital meeting rooms.

When the event has previously been arranged at Karlstad University, the students have been able to mingle and talk with the companies they want. This year, that part was directed to eleven student groups, which were limited to digital meeting sessions with three randomly selected companies. (Here, Sogeti's representatives deserve an honorable mention, who had a gala time even though the dinner was canceled.)

- My expectations were roughly to meet and see the companies, I had a suspicion that it would not be as personal over Zoom. But even if it's not as personal, there are still good opportunities to learn more and discover new local actors, says Christoffer Björk, who studies year 3 in software design and sees a future as a backend developer.

Top priority issue

However, the dinner is only the opening of the SNITS year, which offers several other opportunities for the students to get to know the companies. For those students who are closest to finishing their studies, there is also a chance for real close contact with a company via a mentoring program.

- Sometimes I have as many students as 50 who want to be part of the mentoring program, then we involve other companies than those that are part of SNITS, said Katarina Groth Jansson, who is responsible for the matching at Karlstad University.

Because the pressure to participate and be part of SNITS is also great from the companies. Since last year, a new company, Atea, has been selected for SNITS.

- We know that the issue of finding the right skills is a top priority for our member companies and we are constantly looking for new ways to create contact surfaces between the member companies and the students, says Mikael Holmgren, responsible for skills and member issues at Compare.

• Quick facts about SNITS
• SNITS was formed in 2006 and consists of twelve IT companies in the region, the Compare foundation, the student association Linda and informatics and computer science at Karlstad University. In addition to the IT dinner, the group also arranges lunch meetings, study visits, mentoring and guest lectures. The participating companies are: Altran, Askås, Atea, Afry, CGI, Elvenite, Prevas, Redpill Linpro, Sogeti, Soleil, Stamford and Tieto Every.
• Here you will find more information about SNITS