If remotely based then only in Kielce. A city open to new

Until recently, none of us was able to imagine what the world might look like in the face of an epidemic threat. Only in the film frames we could see snapshots of what we would really face. The global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has recently put into question the activities of a huge number of enterprises, and remote work has proved to be an excellent tool enabling the smooth operation of many companies.

In this difficult, demanding situation, cities also see opportunities for development. Created for years in Kielce, good conditions for students, residents, employees and entrepreneurs may become a magnet that will attract people looking for their place in the new reality.

In the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, we focus on the IT sector and work & life balance. For IT companies, we offer very good conditions for doing business, including support in finding a location, in the recruitment and promotion process and for those planning to build new office spaces – tax reliefs and exemptions. Kielce is also attractive due to its location – placement between two strong centers, Warsaw and Krakow, by the expressway S7, complemented by modern road infrastructure forms an undoubted advantage. The capital of the Świętokrzyskie region is inhabited by nearly 200 thousand people, of which 112 thousand is in working age. The unemployment rate is around 5.5 percent. There are over 29,000 companies in the city. An employee – a resident connected or willing to tie up with the city, a freelancer looking for a place to live and work from home, a person who wants to open up a business or work remotely away from the hustle and bustle of large metropolises, Kielce tempt with a number of amenities and offers. The city's main advantages are a green and clean spece with five reserves, unique geological conditions on a European scale, a network of modernized bicycle paths, excellent teleinformation infrastructure, rich cultural offer, opportunities for active leisure and a price-competitive housing market.

Kielce is a city where more and more people are coming back. Coming back to start a family here and raise children in the city of slow life. The availability of places in nurseries in Kielce is very high, which helps young parents from the very beginning. Free programs for the prevention of meningococcal infections among children implemented in the city are also highly appreciated.

The proximity of green areas and what the city has to offer to its residents after working hours are requirements that a dozen years ago were never considered, and which nowadays make the city authorities undertake a number of activities aimed at harmonizing the professional and private life of their residents. As a result, Kielce has changed spectacularly in recent years, gaining a good reputation both among residents and investors, becoming an interesting example of how to care for the quality of life and at the same time create conditions for professional fulfillment.

Two public universities and several private institutions in Kielce currently educate nearly 20,000 young people. Nearly 6,000 students study at the Kielce technical university – Kielce University of Tech nology. IT majors – a forge of talents for the IT sector is the most popular choice of young people. However, the university focuses not only on programming and the IT industry. The Kielce technical university educates world champions in the robotics and cosmonautics sector. Last year's European Rover Challenge in

Kielce once again proved that the teams from Kielce are world leaders when it comes to designing, creating and programming Martian robots – "rovers".

As the global pandemic has put the implementation of many events into question, the next edition of the European Rover Challenge (ERC) has also been put into question. However, an unprecedented solution was found. During the final of the event scheduled for September 11-13 this year, the teams will compete in field competitions, which – for the first time in the history of ERC – will be conducted in a remote formula. The struggles of participants controlling a robot physically located on the Martian track in Kielce with the help of a simulation platform will be able to be followed as part of a live internet broadcast. As last

The current forecasts and market analyzes clearly show that many companies no longer perceive a threat to work efficiency in the home office and intend to leave them in this mode for a longer period of time. For those working from home, who need to come to an office periodically, the ideal location are intimate cities, different from large metropolises, with an excellent offer for a remote employee. We encourage you to take the direction to Kielce.

year, the sixth edition of the ERC will be accompanied by a business conference in the hybrid form: some of the speeches will be held at the venue in Kielce, and the entire program will be broadcast live online.

A perfect example of the company's operation in the remote work mode is the company Britenet, which employs several dozen programmers in Kielce. It turns out that a well-conducted transition to work in the home office mode and ongoing verification of the tasks carried out help in maintaining the commitment at the same high level.

– We made it – admits Tomasz Dziki, vice president and co-owner of Britenet.

At Britenet, most employees switched to home office in the second half of March. This decision was dictated by the need to ensure safety and minimize the risk of coronavirus infection. At that time, new rules of work organization were introduced. All people working in home office mode were provided with the necessary equipment (laptops, computers), as well as peripheral devices (additional monitors, headphones, etc.). In addition, throughout the entire period of the epidemic, the employees were supported by the IT Department and the Helpdesk, which was at their disposal.

– Employees working from home were obliged to record their working time on a daily basis, that is the time when the working day begins and ends, in our internal system. To ensure effective

Remote work enables the reduction of many costs of running a business (e.g. reducing the demand for office space), allocating human resources in different parts of the country, where labor costs and housing prices are much lower. According to the data of the National Bank of Poland, in Kielce, a square meter of an apartment on the secondary market costs PLN 4,578 average. This is the least of the 17 cities included in the analysis. The most expensive apartments are in Warsaw (PLN 9,705), Gdańsk (PLN 8,347) and Kraków (PLN 7,766).

communication, the frequency of organizing video and teleconferences was increased, during which a detailed work plan for the next day or week was established and the progress and division of tasks in projects were discussed – recalls Magdalena Chabros-Borny, Director of the Communication and Administration Department.

More information:

Strycharska 6 Street, 25-659 Kielce Phone: +48 41 36 76 571, 41 36 76 557 e-mail: coi@um.kielce.pl www.invest.kielce.pl/en www.mapa.invest.kielce.pl/en