The GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge is a competition for students of higher grades of technical high schools with the aim of designing innovations in the field of green technology and developing an entrepreneurial way of thinking through practical work. The project is implemented simultaneously in Croatian and Macedonian secondary schools and is co-financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program.
INFOBIP HOSTED YOUNG INNOVATORS
The competition took place at the wonderful location of Infobip’s Campus in Zagreb. Infobip’s director of global internal communications and ESG, Martina Rizman Matić, welcomed the students, and Tihana Tea Mušica led the young innovators through the campus. The students were delighted by the modern “open space” offices, beanbags, huge terrace and canteen, but also by their green approach and socially responsible business.
The most successful teams were chosen by an expert committee consisting of:
Predrag Samardžija, Zagrebačke otpadne vode – pogon i jedinstvo
Tihana Tea Mušica, Infobip
Erica Svetec, Zelena Energetska Zadruga
Goran Ladišić, Project 02
Mario Špadina, Sea Cras
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOUND SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY’S CHALLENGES
In Croatia, five schools participated in the challenge – Krapina High School, Čakovec Technical School, Varaždin Electrical Engineering School, Slatina Industrial Crafts School and Virovitica Technical School. The students had the opportunity to choose one of 3 challenges and in 5 weeks to come up with a solution to the following questions:
How to use unused energy from wastewater?
How to protect forests and increase afforestation using technologies?
How to increase the use of renewable energy sources for electricity production in Croatia?
After five weeks of training on the basics of the process of creating an entrepreneurial venture and developing innovations, as well as understanding and the role of green technologies in one’s profession and education, the grand finale of the project took place – the GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge Demo day. Students from the 12 most successful teams from school competitions had the opportunity to face other selected teams from other schools for cash prizes worth 5,000 euros provided by Zagreb Wastewater – Management and Operation and Infobip.
Thus, the students developed numerous prototypes, from a solar cell phone mask, a system for heating buildings using waste water, a Carpling car for reforestation, and an application that recycles furniture using the circular economy and at the same time promises to plant one tree for each order.
But the students didn’t just stop at the presentations, they went a step further and made prototypes. Thus, the jury was able to check whether the solar mask really charges a mobile phone, what a reforestation car looks like, and how the innovative system for heating buildings from waste water works.
Although the decision was not at all easy, the awards were ultimately won by 3 teams: Fu(rni)tur, Green Pipe and GreenHeat.
Filip Stipančić from Lean Startup Croatia closed the GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge by thanking all the participants. He also announced that this project will be implemented in 2023 on an even larger scale and called on the younger generation of technical school students to be the initiators of the positive changes they want to see.
