Penza, 2 July 2015. PenzaNews. The training “Methods of Turning a Project Into a Business” became the first educational event of the IT laboratory organized by the Penza Software Developers Association “Secon” and the Center of Cluster Development.

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Darya Shubina of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF), the coach of the training, held the event in the business incubator “Parshin” in the morning of Thursday, July 2.

The training began with a business development role-playing game: the participants were divided into seven teams and tasked to sell the “customers” as many papercraft snowflakes as possible over five rounds. At the end of the game, the business coach gave a detailed explanation of the typical errors some students made.

The day’s schedule also includes the following workshops: “How to Understand Your Client and What They’re Willing to Pay For?”, “How to Hold Difficult Interviews and Turn Their Results into Business,” “Evaluation of Market Volume and Business Idea Potential,” “How to Plan a Product, and Minimally Viable Products.”

Moreover, the participants will also work on their projects in groups, conduct express-analyses of their target markets, and engage in calculations and business process modeling.

“This event begins the series of dedicated educational seminars, workshops and hands-on courses for secondary school and university students to adapt their work practices to the demands of the IT companies in the region, meet the main issues and gain the skills demanded by the businesses,” Mikhail Lyashkov, general director of the Center of Cluster Development, informed PenzaNews agency.

According to him, the first business training session aims to define the work direction for each team, tell them which projects will be in demand, and teach them how to promote the product and what technologies to use.

“Today, each team will generate a general idea that it will follow throughout the education course in the IT laboratory. Moreover, each group will be assigned a business coach – a developer or a head manager of one of the successful IT companies in the Penza region,” the speaker explained.

He added that each developed project is required to be of immediate interest to the target customer.

“They may choose something for commerce that the businesses need or something socially-oriented. The best projects at the end of the IT laboratory course may receive support in their further promotion or even creation,” Mikhail Lyashkov noted.

Over 50% of the laboratory graduates continue to work in the leading companies of the regional IT cluster, including through the projects they started here, he noted.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, the third IT laboratory opened in Penza on July 1. Every IT laboratory is a free educational project that spans over two months.

During the event, the young men and women who plan to work in the IT field in the future will learn how to code, manage products, work in design and PR, while the brightest students will get an opportunity to find a job in one of the top IT companies of Penza.