Students at the University of Pécs can learn how to use the ServiceNow platform—which is widely used in corporate IT—through a new joint course offered by ALDI International IT Services and the University of Pécs’s Faculty of Natural Sciences. No prior IT background is required for the course, so the collaboration could open up new career opportunities not only for programmers but also for students in other fields.
The cooperation agreement was signed on September 22, 2026, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Pécs. As a result of this partnership, a course on the basics of ServiceNow will begin as early as the fall semester of 2026. The goal of the course is not only to provide students with theoretical IT knowledge, but also to familiarize them with the operation of a platform used in an international corporate environment.
This collaboration serves both educational and labor market objectives. The University of Pécs (PTE) aims to expand its network of corporate partners to include companies that can directly contribute to keeping its programs up to date. For ALDI International IT Services, this creates an opportunity for students to become familiar, even while still in college, with the technologies and workflows they will encounter later in corporate IT.
Available even without prior IT experience
The ServiceNow Fundamentals course is based on hands-on exercises and introduces the platform’s role in the enterprise. Students will learn the fundamentals of how web-based, client-server applications built on relational databases work, as well as how an organization’s IT and business processes can be managed and automated within a unified system.
One key feature of the training program is that it is not exclusively for computer science students. The curriculum is built from the ground up, so even those who have not previously studied programming or enterprise IT can participate. This is also important because some of the roles related to ServiceNow are not traditional software development tasks: assessing business processes, configuring systems, organizing services, managing customer needs, and process improvement can also provide entry opportunities for professionals with other types of training.
According to Ferenc Pap, Group Manager at ALDI International IT Services, who initiated the collaboration, the platform’s widespread use in the corporate world makes it important for students to become familiar with the tool and its development potential while still in college.
What is ServiceNow?
ServiceNow is a cloud-based enterprise platform that can be used to connect, track, and automate various organizational processes, tasks, and data. Among other things, it can be used to manage IT incident reports, approval processes, internal service requests, customer processes, HR tasks, security incidents, and custom enterprise applications.
The platform’s significance lies in its ability to transform previously separate or manually performed processes into unified digital workflows. According to ServiceNow’s official description, the system now integrates data management, automated workflows, artificial intelligence, and enterprise security solutions on a single platform.
The course offered at the University of Pécs is not a general product demonstration; rather, it focuses on understanding the application logic behind the platform. It provides knowledge that can be applied to the use and development of other web-based, database-driven enterprise systems.
The company’s growth requires new professionals
Sándor Gergely, IT Manager at ALDI International IT Services and Head of the ServiceNow Program, emphasized when announcing the partnership that, due to the company’s continuous market expansion, there is a growing need for professionals with the appropriate practical knowledge. The current basic training program may therefore be followed by additional courses that provide developer skills.
The partnership thus represents not only traditional university education but also the first step in a potential talent development and recruitment program. According to Anikó Karl, a representative of the company’s human resources department, ALDI International IT Services currently offers several positions to college students, entry-level professionals, and recent graduates.
Completing the course does not in itself guarantee a job offer, but knowledge of the technology actually used at the company can be an advantage when applying for internship and entry-level positions. In addition, students can gain a more direct insight into IT roles and expectations at international companies while still in college.
International IT Services from Pécs
ALDI International IT Services provides IT and business services to the ALDI SÜD Group from Hungary. IT support operations began in 2012 within ALDI’s Hungarian organization, and the company has been operating as an independent entity since 2018.
The company has offices in Budapest, Pécs, and Debrecen, and employs nearly 1,000 people nationwide. In recent years, the number of employees has tripled, and in 2023, the company further expanded its presence in Pécs.
The company’s Global Service Desk teams provide daily IT support to ALDI stores and logistics centers in 11 European countries as well as those outside Europe. Another major organizational area of the company includes, among other things, higher-level IT support, as well as ServiceNow, SAP, logistics, and e-commerce development.
The joint course is therefore directly related to the company’s actual operations. Students will be introduced to technology that ALDI also uses in its international IT services and development processes.
The pool of new IT talent in Pécs may grow
The economic significance of the agreement lies primarily in strengthening the local workforce. University programs tailored to corporate needs can help bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge of recent graduates and the practical skills expected in the workplace.
Partnerships that offer high-value-added work in an international setting right here in Pécs could be particularly important for the city. If students establish connections with local IT employers while still in school, they are more likely to begin their careers in the region.
According to Dr. András Trócsányi, dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Pécs, the university’s goal is to engage market partners who can help continuously update its programs and make them more market-relevant. The partnership established with ALDI International IT Services reinforces this effort: the company provides practical knowledge and technological expertise, while the university provides talented students and an educational framework.
The long-term success of this collaboration will be measured by how many students enroll in the course, how many go on to pursue advanced developer training, and how many of them find employment in the IT sector in Pécs. At the same time, the agreement already signals that the University of Pécs and one of the region’s major IT employers are striving to establish a more lasting partnership that is aligned with the needs of the labor market.
Sources:
- University of Pécs – Joint training program between ALDI International IT Services and the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Pécs is set to begin
- ALDI International IT Services – Company Profile
- ALDI International IT Services – Organizational Units and Services
- ServiceNow – An Introduction to the Enterprise Platform
