Mykola Bilokonenko

📣 The first edition of Public Interviews is here! What are the Public Interviews? They are honest conversations between candidates and HRs — no prepared scripts, just real talk. In this first episode, IT recruiter at Click Sadullo Erkinov and PHP developer Bekhruzbek Mirzaliev showed the real job interview process in Click. The full version will be released only on LinkedIn soon. Stay tuned, if you are especially interested in getting a job offer from Click! 😉 Enjoy the snippets, and follow us on LinkedIn to watch the full interview. 💚 #publicinterviews

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At BRAVE1 in Lviv, our CEO Andreas Flodström announced the launch of Embedded Development at Beetroot Academy. We’ve trained thousands of engineers before — now we’re on a new track – to focus on the skills that power Embedded systems, from everyday devices to technologies that help protect our freedom. This is just the beginning of what’s to come.

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Oleksandr at Games Gathering Conference in Lviv Our Senior UI/UX Designer gave an offline talk at Games Gathering on accessibility in games. He discussed different types of exclusion, shared examples of both successful and less effective solutions, and explained how inclusive design helps make games comfortable and accessible for all players. The video is now available — watch the full talk here: https://lnkd.in/dQpSmpJ5 #Ubisoft #UbisoftUkraine #GamesGathering #UIUX #Accessibility

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🚀 We are delighted to release MamayLMv1.0 - the first open and efficient multimodal LLM for Ukrainian that can handle both text and visual data! 📊 MamayLMv1.0 outperforms up to 5x larger open models on Ukrainian tests, maintains strong English skills  and surpasses proprietary models such as GPT-5 mini in Ukrainian chat performance. Importantly, it is compact and can run on a single GPU, enabling cost efficient AI adoption. 📖 The model is ideal for enabling rapid Ukrainian AI autonomy and AI deployment across various sectors in Ukraine, including education, law, healthcare, and the public sector. It is also attractive in scenarios where data privacy is important, as it can efficiently run on a local machine. 💡 Our prior Ukrainian LLM release few months ago, MamayLM v0.1, was well received by the Ukrainian community and had > 10,000 downloads. Now, MamayLMv1.0, released in two model sizes, 4B and 12B, comes with several key new capabilities, including large context size allowing efficient processing of large documents, the ability to handle visual data, and stronger language performance. 📝 MamayLM v1.0 is based on the Google’s Gemma 3 model series but with many innovations in training based on INSAIT’s extensive expertise in creating nationwide LLMs. 🧠 The release of MamayLMv1.0 is coordinated with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine as part of their ongoing national LLM initiative as well as with the Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth, Bulgaria.  🤗MamayLM v1.0 is freely accessible on Hugging Face, full and quantized formats. All benchmark results are also transparently shared with the community. More details are provided in our Hugging Face blog, see comments. 🌐 The release of MamayLMv1.0 is part of INSAIT’s strategy for creating specialized open models which serve as the basis for achieving national AI autonomy in a cost-efficient, controlled, secure and predictable manner. Please find the link to models and blog in comments.

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Is the lottery still relevant in the age of instant wins and crypto prizes?   Nikolina Gabelica, Head of Lotteries at EveryMatrix, speaks with iGamingBusiness about how the industry is evolving to meet today’s player expectations.   From gamified innovation and cross-sell potential to the roadblocks posed by outdated regulations, this interview explores what’s next for the lottery and what it needs to thrive in a rapidly changing market.   👉 Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gyF-Q7db

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We raised $4.5M seed to build a digital bank in Belarus. At the time it felt like the future: wallets, instant transfers, mobile-first design. But the truth was harsh: the market wasn’t ready, and the regulations were hostile. What in 3–5 years would look like a perfect business… in that moment could put you in jail. That’s when I learned: being early can be as dangerous as being wrong. In business, timing is everything. The skill is not just building something “cool” — it’s creating the situation where technology, regulation, and society are ready to adopt it.

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Three cheers for Kamil Mrzygłód's "Azure for Developers 3rd Edition"! Even as someone who isn’t a full-time developer, I found Azure for Developers to be surprisingly approachable and engaging. The author strikes a great balance between clarity and depth, guiding the reader through both foundational concepts and advanced Azure services without assuming you live and breathe code every day. One of the book’s greatest strengths is the book's strategic perspective. Kamil doesn’t simply list Azure features, he thoughtfully compares different approaches, explaining the pros and cons of each and when you might choose one over another. This kind of insight is invaluable, helping you make better strategic, architectural, and tactical decisions rather than just learning "button-click" instructions. The technical writing is excellent, well-structured, logical, and free of unnecessary jargon. Even complex services like Azure Functions, Application Insights, or container hosting are explained in a way that feels both accurate and digestible. The inclusion of real-world examples, CI/CD pipeline guidance, and integration tips makes it clear the author has hands-on expertise. Special mention goes to the index, because no technical book is complete without one. It’s easy to quickly find relevant topics, which is a real time-saver when you’re in the middle of a project and just need that one key detail or guidance. If I had to point out a minor drawback, it would be that the diagrams are fairly basic. They're functional, but not as visually rich or detailed as the text deserves. That said, the writing more than compensates, and the visuals still serve their purpose. Overall, I feel that Azure for Developers is a well-crafted, practical, and insightful guide that is equally valuable for career developers and those of us who work with Azure as part of a broader role. It’s a resource I’ll be keeping close at hand. Many thanks to Deepak Kumar for helping me get a review copy! #azure #microsoft Packt #books #authors

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I know that's all we hear these days, but there's a significant divide between AI hype and the practical reality of using these tools every day. After years of experimenting with AI tools across DataArt's 6000+ team, here's what I'm actually seeing: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: Code migration, QA automation, documentation, test generation, code refactoring, API integration. We've seen measurable and drastic reductions in time spent on these well-defined tasks. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭: Complex corporate software with stringent security requirements, compliance needs, domain-specific logic, and deep integration with proprietary systems. The performance of AI tools declines fast as we move toward this reality. The biggest misconception I hear from other leaders is that AI will reduce billable hours and hurt revenue. But that's still not a reason to avoid using AI. It's our professional duty to give clients the best value for their money. And no matter what you do, competitors 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 use AI. By lowering costs, AI actually increases demand because more projects pass ROI thresholds and get approved. Another thing to keep in mind is that while it's natural to adopt AI quickly, it's also natural to think things through, take things slow and be cautious, because it's still new tech. While startups can pivot, address issues quickly, or even change their brand, corporations are far more liable for compliance, security, and mistakes are too costly. Right now, we're treating some projects as investments in accumulating AI experience. There will be mistakes, but acquiring these skills is just reality now. It reminds me of the early cloud computing days - we started with little experience, specialists emerged over time, and now we have the deepest expertise. The structural nature of software development won't change drastically in the short term. Instead, individual components like DevOps and QA will accelerate faster than others. Our job is to learn and stay on top of this powerful new technology. #DataArtVoices #AI #BigData #AgenticAI #DigitalTransformation

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When fast-moving companies like NAGA need to scale personalized, real-time marketing, disconnected systems just don’t cut it. With 2M+ users primarily on mobile and social, NAGA needed a smarter, faster, and unified approach. Working with Intouch365, NAGA chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, #Copilot, and Microsoft #Fabric, and transformed its marketing operations--unlocking speed, agility, and intelligence across the board. "We built a system that supports real-time, hyper-personalized engagement. It’s not just marketing—it’s a deep customer connection at scale," says Marijn van Haperen, CEO, Intouch365. With a lean team and powerful tools, NAGA became a marketing engine—anticipating user needs, scaling globally, and setting the stage for the next wave of #AI-driven growth. Read their #CustomerStory today: https://lnkd.in/gf2TwmwN #CustomerInsights #MsDyn365 #DigitalTransformation

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How can a Belarusian attend startup conferences for free? (Actually, even in profit) I often meet startup founders. During intros, I usually share about Govar – AI English speaking club, our achievements, and how I’ve attended several major startup conferences for free — Web Summit, Slush, Reflect Festival, Wolves Summit, TechChill, The Next Web. If the founders are from Belarus, I always add: Belarusians (not just founders) can attend conferences with full support from the MOST IV program by Goethe Institut. It’s not just a ticket discount — the program covers all expenses, and even more. This post in Russian: https://lnkd.in/ePEiWJaV What does it cover? ❗MOST IV pays for: • Travel from your place of residence to the conference • Conference ticket • Daily allowance (about €200/day per person, varies slightly by country) • Additional justified expenses • Insurance • Visa support ❗Important details: • Only for Belarusians • Only within the EU (Switzerland and the UK are excluded, but Cyprus and Ireland are included) • You must apply at least 3 months in advance (better more, to have time for revisions if rejected) • Up to 3 conferences can be included in one application • Up to 5 people per application — so you can go with your startup team • You can’t attend a conference in the country where you permanently live • If rejected, try to understand the reason, adjust, and reapply • Your application should clearly state why you need to attend (not “this is a cool conference,” but “these venture funds names will be there, they invest in your industry, and I’ll have an open round of X amount on date”) About 10 of my founder friends have attended different conferences through this program. Since you need to apply 3 months in advance, there’s still a chance to get to Web Summit in Lisbon (the largest startup conference in Europe) and Slush in Helsinki (which I personally liked even more than WS) this year. Why attend startup conferences at all? For me, it’s one of the best ways to expand your network, meet founders and investors (crucial for fundraising, even future rounds), and build partnerships. In B2B, you can even close deals right there. In B2C with a low price point (e.g., a mobile app), direct sales are less realistic. And in tough times, meeting people who are succeeding can be a huge energy boost. I’m not attaching a link — just search for the program name. If you know a Belarusian founder, send them this post — in most cases, they have no idea this amazing opportunity exists.

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As already shared by Andrey Adamovich, a huge thanks to everyone who joined The Riga Sessions on post-GenAI software architecture. It was great to exchange ideas across science, start-ups, and industry — and to see how aligned we are on where software is heading. We explored how the fundamentals of software creation are shifting: - from deterministic code to adaptive systems, - from design-time logic to runtime learning, - and from automation to true human–machine collaboration. As often happens, we only managed to cover a few pages from the report Andrey and I prepared — it’s included in this post. The discussion confirmed one thing: we are entering a new architectural era, where AI is no longer a component but the organizing principle of software systems. We’ll continue this dialogue in the next Riga Session, focusing on architectures, agents, and autonomy. If you’d like to join or contribute, feel free to reach out or comment below.

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