'To list everything I don’t like would be easier'— iTechArt software developer Uladzislau N. about his life in Uzbekistan

IT Park continues to tell the stories of IT professionals who came to work in Uzbekistan. Today we are going to talk about Uladzislau N., 26 year-old software developer at iTechArt.

iTechArt Group is one of the fastest growing companies in the development, testing, service support of software products, modernization and integration of business applications.

Today iTechArt is more than 3500 specialists, and offices are located in the USA, the UK, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Uladzislau joined the company in 2015 as a second-year student at the university. He started as a software engineer, after receiving a diploma he became a software engineer. Now Vladislav leads a small development team.

Moving to Uzbekistan

Uladzislau moved to Uzbekistan in early spring.

‘I moved here with my girlfriend. iTechArt has offices in Poland, UK, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It was easiest to move to Uzbekistan, so we settled here. And now I understand that I did the right thing.’

As he admits, at first he had little doubts, but the reality exceeded all expectations.

‘I confess that we were afraid that the living standards would be lower, there were doubts because of the stereotypes about the Central Asian region. But when we saw everything ourselves, we were glad that we came here,’ he added.

There were no problems, he says. Uladzislau collected all the necessary documents on his own. He did it pretty quickly.

‘We found a realtor who quickly found us a good home, also completed all the documents for employment and registration in 1-2 days. I know that IT Park helped my colleagues: from meeting at the airport and issuing SIM cards to accommodation. Personally, IT Park provided me with great consulting support.’

Uzbekistan’s IT industry

Answering a question about the development of the IT sector, Uladzislau first notes that everything here is digitalized. He is satisfied with the Internet, even noted that the speed is crazy.

‘I noticed that the industry is actively developing, there is IT Park, which makes a huge contribution to this. I am glad that the necessary operations are easy to perform. For example, I liked the PayMe application - it is very convenient for paying utility bills, everything is in one place. We also have the opportunity to pay online, but each bank provides its own application for mobile banking - that is, you have to connect several interfaces and cards. And here is a centralized system - everything is as it should be.’

Uladzislau notes another positive side: there are many Paynet points in the city through which you can pay for all services. According to him, there are also information kiosks in Minsk where you can carry out all these operations, but there are more of them here.

In addition, he says that he was very interested in the history of the creation of IT Park.

‘I can say that the work that has been done since the establishmen of IT Park is impressive. Many interesting projects and courses have been launched, which means that there are resources and we need to invest even more in this industry.’

He also notes that there are many educational centers in Tashkent and much attention is paid to the development of the English language in the country.

Impressions from Uzbekistan

Uladzislau admits that he and his girlfriend like it in Uzbekistan.

‘We like nature, cuisine and people. You can talk endlessly about the cuisine: there are many good establishments here and delicious food is cooked everywhere. Surprisingly, regardless of the location and the price segment, everything is delicious! Vegetables and fruits are amazing. The taste is incomparable, and when you cook, the aromas scatter throughout the house.’

Of the shortcomings, he notes only one: it is unusual that there are so few sidewalks in Tashkent. But he is sure that this problem will be solved soon.

‘It’s easier to list everything you don’t like because it will be faster. Tashkent is developing, for sure. I noticed that the driving style is different from ours, but there are few accidents. Here, drivers let the pedestrian pass - it's nice,’ he says.

In Tashkent, Uladzislau and his girlfriend visited many interesting places. In addition to the main tourist destinations, they visited almost all the parks, as well as the Japanese and Botanical Gardens.

‘The botanical garden is really impressive. It is located approximately in the center of the city, but when you enter, it is as if you have moved into the forest. A real forest in the middle of the city. Everything is very clean, green, well-groomed. Another interesting place is Magic City - eyes run wide from such beauty, a fabulous little Europe. We also really like Tashkent City: musical fountains, laser show - this beauty is mesmerizing.’

Impressions about local people

The locals also made a good impression on Uladzislau. He describes Uzbeks as extremely positive, kind, sympathetic, non-confrontational, hospitable people. According to him, all residents offer them to stay in Tashkent, they say that they are welcome here.

‘I am also pleased that the Russian language is developed in the country: you turn to a passer-by, and even if he does not speak Russian, he will still understand what you are asking for and helps.’

According to Uladzislau, his acquaintances, who moved to Uzbekistan before him, assured that Uzbek, Russian and English are spoken here.

‘I was also pleasantly surprised by the existence of the mahalla. At first, I could not understand what it was. I thought it was just the private sector - well, nothing new, there is such a thing in Minsk too. And only then I found out that these are not just houses, but in general a culture and a way of life.’

Uladzislau and his girlfriend recommend all relatives and friends to come to Uzbekistan.

‘We tell everyone how warm and delicious it is here. We hope that they will come to visit.’

For now, they plan to stay here for a year. When asked what they would like to take with them from Uzbekistan, they reply that it is not possible to take away everything that one would like to take away.

‘Probably, we will take the painted dishes as souvenirs. This is a real work of art. I want to hang it on the wall so that this beauty pleases the eye. Uzbek national headwear, of course. Carpets, but I would not be able to walk on such a luxury. Most importantly, we will take heartwarming memories about this beautiful country.’