SFI History

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This special jubilee edition featured many additional attractions – participants could test their skills in the "Seek Find Input" and CTF competitions, as well as compete in gaming tournaments. A Q&A zone was also opened, allowing for casual conversations with speakers

The edition during which the friendly "SFIstak" (a groundhog-like mascot) became the official mascot of the festival. Its image accompanied participants on commemorative stickers, building a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Among the speakers, Krzysztof M. Maj, a game studies scholar and lecturer, stood out by introducing participants to the secrets of building and designing open worlds in video games.

The return to the stationary format was graced by the presence of Cay Horstmann, author of world-renowned Java textbooks.

Due to the pandemic, the festival moved to the virtual world. The online edition included remote lectures, workshops, and a series of podcasts, proving that SFI can adapt to the most difficult conditions.

Participants had the opportunity to listen to Håkon Wium Lie, the creator of the CSS standard, and Borislav Slavov, composer of music for world-famous RPGs such as "Baldur's Gate 3."

Special guests included the creators of key programming tools: Larry Wall Perl) and Bram Moolenaar (Vim). The festival was enriched with a Hearthstone tournament and dedicated sweets.

An impressive line-up of guests: the return of Andrew S. Tanenbaum, a talk by Paweł Sasko on game development (e.g., The Witcher 3, and a lecture by Thomas H. Cormen, co-author of the legendary "Introduction to Algorithms".

This edition focused on prominent figures from the Polish IT and network security scene. Knowledge was shared by, among others, Piotr Konieczny, creator of the Niebezpiecznik service, and Jakub "unknow" Mrugalski.

The festival's debut on Instagram. The stage featured, among others, space engineer Marcin Stolarski and the creator of the Elixir language, José Valim.

The jubilee edition, summarizing a decade of SFI activity. It was a time to celebrate ten years full of inspiration, innovation, and building a strong IT community.

This edition made history with the inauguration of the "SeekFindInput" competition. Participants had to find QR codes, which allowed for a combination of learning and great fun through competition.

After years of exploring different spaces, SFI settled in the prestigious interiors of the Jagiellonian University's Auditorium Maximum, attracting crowds of listeners and building a unique atmosphere.

The festival opened up to modern forms of communication, organizing the first- ever lecture in the form of a videoconference. It was delivered by Stephen Wolfram, introducing a new quality to knowledge sharing.

The event returned to the walls of the Krakow University of Economics. Renewed cooperation with the university allowed for the creation of an inspiring atmosphere in a proven location.

The festival gained immense popularity, attracting about 2,000 participants. The special guest was Professor Ryszard Tadeusiewicz, a three-time rector of AGH University of Science and Technology and an authority in the field of automation and computer science.

The festival presented its new logo, which became its recognizable trademark for years to come. Among the speakers was Joe Armstrong, a distinguished computer scientist and creator of the Erlang programming language.

This edition stood out with an impressive number of 21 speakers from all over the world. It was also a symbolic moment, marking the end of the visual identity based on the original logo of the event.

For the first time, the festival adopted a three-day format, which remains in place to this day. A breakthrough moment was the visit of the first international guest  Professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum, creator of the MINIX system and author of fundamental academic textbooks.

The first edition of the event was born from the initiative of Jan Szumiec, a student at the Cracow University of Technology. This two-day festival gathered 11 speakers and over 300 IT enthusiasts, laying the foundation for a long-standing tradition.