Designed a line of probiotic products and won 15,000 kuna

At the finals of the National Student Startup Competition, held on Wednesday, 16 finalist teams from across Croatia presented their ideas to a panel of experts and the gathered public.

Of the 16 teams that reached the finals, five were from Zagreb and Rijeka, four teams from Split, and two from Osijek.

The first prize (15,000 kuna) was awarded to the SmartFood team, which designed a line of probiotic products containing genetically modified bacteria from dairy products. SmartFood, as food of the future, adds not only nutritional value but also other, previously unimaginable roles to food items – specifically, it will be able to detect the first signs of cancer and other deadly diseases at their very onset.

The second prize (3 smartphone devices) was awarded to the Canelio team, which designed a smart device for dog training and a corresponding mobile application. Canelio will enable dog training and education accessible to everyone, anywhere and anytime.

The third prize (direct entry into the ZIP incubator) was awarded to the Mellon team, which designed an online platform for learning online video games such as League of Legends, Dota, Counter Strike Go, and similar. Users can subscribe to free courses from professional players or pay for a private mentor for personalized learning.

A special award for the best project in tourism (3,000 kuna) was awarded to the Lucky4You team, which designed a mobile interpretive center powered by solar energy, allowing it complete independence. The focus is on providing information about the content of surrounding areas through displays located at the station. Users of the station could find out with a few clicks what they should visit, where they can have lunch, where to rent a car, and similar, as well as how to get to those places.

Cash prizes were provided by Five, Infinum, Kompare, Osijek Software City, Perpetuum mobile, and the Tourist Board of Split-Dalmatia County.

The project was co-financed by the European Union, the European Social Fund 2007-2013, and was initiated by partners with respectable experience in organizing and implementing startup competitions of significant regional and national importance: the Entrepreneurial Incubator ZIP d.o.o, STEP RI Science and Technology Park of the University of Rijeka, the University of Split – Office for Technology Transfer, and the Entrepreneurial Incubator BIOS d.o.o.

The project aimed at promoting entrepreneurial culture and a positive attitude towards lifelong learning was launched on July 20, 2015, and is intended for students up to 29 years old attending higher education institutions in the four largest cities: Osijek, Rijeka, Split, and Zagreb. The goal is to encourage innovative entrepreneurship among the student population of technical (ICT) and economic fields, as well as to promote the need for lifelong learning through the national student startup competition.