This year, the eighth KulenDayz IT innovation conference was held from September 2nd to September 4th in Osijek, at the fair and shooting range location known as Pampas.

The conference became popular due to a combination of different IT sector themes, including databases, development, and project management.

The opening and keynote speeches were given by the guys from Osijek Software City, who welcomed all attendees and presented their research, which showed a significant increase in Osijek's IT sector in the period between 2012 and 2015. Sixty-one speakers in six different tracks held lectures and panels during this year's conference. Among them were many Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professional): Tomislav Bronzin, Adis Jugo, Nenad Trajkovski, Andrej Radinger, Bernardin Katić, and others. The design track was a novelty, with lectures and workshops focused on different design topics from fonts and typography to interactive design.

Project management was probably the most attended track. The increase in the number of its attendees can be attributed to the lack of project management conferences and events.  According to the organizer, Nenad Bestvina, KulenDayz is one of only three conferences in Croatia that cover project management lessons and workshops. It’s no wonder so many project managers attended this conference to gain new project management knowledge.

At KulenDayz, even the youngest generations were not neglected. A special track called "KulenDayz Kids" was organized for them, with workshops, good fun and cheerful company.

This time, our KulenDayz attending team was even bigger than last year. We listened attentively, learned, mingled and had fun. By attending lectures and workshops, we gained insight into IT market trends and proved our team's competitive strength in many topics based on the technology, knowledge and work methods we use. After Saturday's conference day, it was time for some teambuilding, so we took an expedition to the Kopački rit Nature Park, where we enjoyed the natural beauty and recharged our batteries for the upcoming projects.

KulenDayz was my first IT conference, and it will remain a nice memory thanks to its interesting lectures, the ability to forge new acquaintances, and my time spent deepening existing ones, but mostly for the welcoming and embracing atmosphere the organizer created. I am already looking forward to next year's conference.

This year's KulenDeyz once more proved why it is regarded one of the region's best conferences. I wish to thank the organizer for the effort and time invested, as well as the great speakers and lectures.

Written and edited by Simeon Kordić