TEKWILL –WITH CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY!

TEKWILL is a responsible social actor, which in addition to the development of educational and entrepreneurial projects, promotes social inclusion, gender equality, community development and environmental sustainability. Following the international trends, in recent years, TEKWILL has become the business card of the Moldovan IT sector by implementing innovative programs and concepts, but also the connection point of communities that think progressively and demonstrate daily passion, responsibility and involvement.

Encouraging a healthy lifestyle and protecting the environment

Efficient lighting system. By adopting innovative concepts for environmental protection, Tekwill has become a trendsetter in the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the lighting system of the center is based entirely on LEDs, which allows the use of electricity efficiently in events, study programs or in the daily work of the residents of the hub.

Electric car charging stations. The installation of electric charging stations was the next step towards transforming the TEKWILL project into an ecological space and popularizing a healthy lifestyle among the technological community. Thus, Tekwill supports eco-driving and contributes to a cleaner and more balanced environment.

Gym for residents. To promote a healthy lifestyle, “Tekwill” has set up a gym equipped with the necessary equipment and which can be used by the residents of the center. The facility is constantly visited by about 60% of the residents on campus.

Bicycle rental. In partnership with Velopoint, a local initiative to provide cycle renting and cycling services, TEKWILL has developed a policy focused on a healthy lifestyle. Thus, all residents of the “Tekwill” hub have the opportunity to borrow bicycles for free and move around.
Selective waste collection. Tekwill has also reconfirmed its eco-friendly attitude through selective waste collection. Moreover, in the center, a box was placed to collect used batteries, phones and other equipment used for recycling. TEKWILL also promotes the collection of plastic bottles and the separation of food waste. Residents are encouraged to give up disposable coffee cups and use their own mug.

Promoting social inclusion and gender equality

More friendly working conditions for mothers. To support women who are breastfeeding but want to return to work, TEKWILL has created a space dedicated to mothers to take care for a baby. In this way, women are encouraged to combine work and raising children at the same time. This is because in a lucrative environment based on open communication and equal opportunities, people are able to develop their talent and progress.

Initiatives to support girls and women in IT. The TEKWILL project continues to focus its actions on enabling more girls and women to take STEM courses, benefit from quality tech programs and choose an IT career. The purpose of the programs is to provide them with equal opportunities regardless of gender and the opportunity to obtain well-paid jobs, for financial independence and equal contribution to the country’s economic growth. These include:

• “Tech Women Ambassadors”. TEKWILL’s effort to encourage more girls and women to pursue a career in IT has spawned the “Tech Women Ambassadors” initiative. 11 women ambassadors, with a special representation in the community and business, committed themselves to act and support girls and women, increasing their self-confidence, professional skills, and motivation for STEM education. 330 women joined the platform and over 15 meetings were organized.
• “Girls can do IT”. TEKWILL continued its dedicated campaign to inspire 10th-12th grade students to pursue a career in IT. Hundreds of girls from all over the country participated in career guidance sessions, learned about the opportunities, benefits and advantages of ICT work, and met successful IT women who talked about their careers.
  Women’s participation in TEKWILL programs reached 42.24% (approximately 17,500 beneficiaries) of the total number of participants. As part of the #AlegCarieraIT campaign, TEKWILL, with the support of USAID Moldova, Sweden, and UN Women Moldova, continued to promote information technology, encouraging women to be the next IT leaders in Moldova.

Supporting Community initiatives for sustainable development

Tekwill focuses its action on supporting Community initiatives, which encourage innovative thinking, successful collaborations, and the use of digital tools for the good of society.

Local group “BEST Chisinau”. Within the project, TEKWILL supported the local stage of the “European Best Engineering Competition” Chisinau (EBEC), an event organized by BEST Chisinau, at which the student teams had the opportunity to test their software and technical skills, busting creativity and teamwork. Among other tasks, students had to develop ideas of alternative energy sources, aimed to contribute to an eco-friendly environment in Chisinau. EBEC is a European engineering competition, whose main objective is the development of students’ personal and intellectual skills. This project is developed through a pyramid structure composed of three phases: 88 local rounds, 15 national and regional rounds, and 1 final round, with over 6,500 students from 32 countries. EBEC Chisinau is the national round in which the winners of the local round in Moldova compete with each other and gain access to the final round.

Climate LunchPad competition. The TEKWILL project has partnered with the Climate LunchPad initiative – a project that aims to accelerate innovative ideas for a low-carbon future and develop a greener economy. Climate LunchPad is Cleantech’s largest business idea competition. Its mission is to attract potential innovative technologies to Europe and to create opportunities for innovators to mitigate climate change towards sustainable development.

National Conference, “Young Energy Leaders”. For many years, TEKWILL has been the partner of Yes Europe Organization in promoting energy sustainability. Annually, during the conference, the community interested in energy efficiency and environmental protection policies is involved in discussions and debates on renewable energy sources, energy future, alternatives, and challenges for Moldova together with representatives of local energy companies. In this sense, TEKWILL continues to support specialists and enthusiasts dedicated to reducing pollution through smart and sustainable initiatives.

The “Uteach”. The initiative provides development opportunities and the necessary resources for all those interested in achieving performance in the field of information and communication technology. One of the initiatives of the first edition of the program, aimed at applying automation in agriculture, by developing a product for companies interested in using automatic plant cultivation technologies (Intelligent FarmBot). It is a system that aims to manage automatic planting, online monitoring of growth processes, identification of parasites and their removal, but also automatic control of microclimate conditions. The event helped to improve students’ skills in applying intelligent automated systems in agriculture.

The TEKWILL project – The revolution begins!

The TEKWILL project is implemented by the National Association of ICT Companies, with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development and Sweden. “Tekwill” was created in 2017 as a Center of Excellence of the ICT sector in Moldova, with the main purpose of aligning the field with current market requirements. Aiming to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the IT industry and other strategic sectors of the economy, the center expanded its fields of activity, becoming in 2019 a complex project at national level, with the slogan “The revolution begins!” The basic objective of the TEKWILL Project, as a platform dedicated to the progress of the IT sector, is to ensure a major impact on the economic development of the country, by improving the entrepreneurial and educational capacities of society, but also by increasing the research and development potential of educational institutions, in line with the demand in the IT market.