The GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge is a competition intended for students from secondary technical schools outside the capital Skopje, with the aim of designing innovations in the field of green technology and developing an entrepreneurial mindset through practical work. The project was simultaneously implemented in Macedonian and Croatian secondary schools in partnership with Lean Startup Croatia, co-financed by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.
STARTUP MACEDONIA HOSTING YOUNG INNOVATORS
GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge was realized for the first time here in Macedonia. After five weeks of education on the basics of the process of designing entrepreneurial ventures and developing innovations, interesting workshops on climate change, as well as understanding the role of green technologies, mentored by Macedonian startups and partner organizations, it was time for the pitching of the solutions. . The final of the competition was held in Netaville in Skopje – a Coworking space with a classroom for training, a rest area, a cafe and an amphitheater in one place – a space for students and the IT community. The event was opened by Hristijan Volkanovski – project coordinator of GTEC
This year, five schools from different cities of Macedonia participated in the GTEC challenge
– SEOU “Gostivar” Gostivar
– OEMUC “Naum Ohridski” Ohrid,
– SOU “Gosho Vikentiev”
– Kochani, SOTU “Gjorgi Naumov”
– Bitola and SOU “Kiro Spandzov Brko” – Kavadarci.
The students had the freedom to choose their challenge which they then solved with the help of innovations in the field of green technologies.
But the students didn’t just stop at presentations, they went a step further and under the mentorship of their teachers developed prototype models to solve the challenge they chose. In this way, the jury could personally check the functionality of the solution.
developed prototype models to solve the challenge they chose. In this way, the jury could personally check the functionality of the solution. An air purifier and a mobile application for mapping landfills of different scales were prototype models that were in the top 5 solutions.
After the final pitching, the students together with the teachers went on an educational walk through the facilities of ProCredit Bank, which was one of the main partners for the realization of this project. Metodija Minoski, in the role of head of the environment unit at ProCredit Bank, spoke with great enthusiasm about what makes ProCredit a green bank. From -1 to the roof, the building is energy efficient, they produce electricity for their own needs through photovoltaics and use electric cars. This example served to inspire young enthusiasts.
Although the decision was not an easy one, the prize was ultimately won by the TRASHPINGER team – an application for mapping wild dumps of various scales.
Igor Madžov and Hristijan Volkanovski from Startup Macedonia closed the GreenTech Entrepreneurship Challenge by thanking all the participants, teachers and collaborators. The two announced that this project will be implemented on an even larger scale in 2023 and called on the younger generations of students from technical schools to be drivers of positive changes in the Macedonian start-up ecosystem.
