The first step is to establish the foundational industry on solid ground, and only the second step is reindustrialization, innovation, and digitalization, explained Minister of Economy Darko Horvat on one occasion in Varaždin to leaders of export stars from northern Croatia such as Omco Croatia, Vetropack, and Oprema Ludbreg. However, they have already passed the tests and in many ways 'outperform' the Croatian average. These companies have long begun working on the second step and do not cease to digitalize their operations, optimize production through investments in smart systems and automation.
Full throttle in digitalization
The north is already at a great advantage due to its geographical position. It is perfectly positioned to conduct business with foreign markets, but this also places the task of being competitive in foreign markets upon it. Today, this is an impossible task without the use of digital technologies. And in the north, they have long known this; they are not called the leaders of the fourth industrial revolution for nothing.
– Without systems that increase productivity and efficiency of production, one simply cannot sell on the global market. This is a process that must continue and in which investments must be made before anything else because without it, there is no further development – emphasized Darko Ranogajec, the head of Omco Croatia from Huma na Sutli, at a gathering.
Our 'northerners' have moved far beyond the introduction of computers at workplaces and by providing physical services digitally, they have fully engaged in digital transformation, and they are also working on the future, addressing what Gordana Deranja, CEO of Tehnomont and Vice President of the largest independent employer association in Europe, BusinessEurope, identified as the biggest problem of employer digitalization – the insufficient level of worker education for using the latest technologies, and there is also a lack of workforce, which the corona crisis could change.
Robotics and Deficient Professions
The northern counties have decided in various ways to expose primary and vocational school students to robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things so that they can easily embrace all the tools that companies today do not yet possess in the workplace.
– Students use modern technologies and digital platforms to discover new ways of conducting business. For this purpose, the first Robotics Center has been established in the Business Technology Incubator of Krapina-Zagorje County. With the advancement of digital and other working technologies, new challenges have been set that manufacturing companies must follow to ensure competitiveness. Accordingly, the educational system must keep pace with labor market demands and timely, earlier than companies, apply new technologies in production processes. Timely intervention by vocational schools ensures the creation of appropriate competencies at the moment of need, as students will be able to apply the knowledge, skills, and responsibilities acquired only three years after entering vocational school – explain the Zagorje Development Agency, which, in cooperation with the County, is also implementing the project 'ENTER – Entrepreneurship for Employment'.
Varaždin County also insists on aligning educational programs with the labor market, and it is proud of the Center of Excellence, which is one of a total of 25 European centers for gifted students within the European Council for Gifted Children (ECHA).
– Our gifted students from primary and secondary schools can attend one of 13 programs in the Centers of Excellence of Varaždin County free of charge. These include mathematics, computer science, physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy, robotics, new technologies, Croatian language, visual arts, history, entrepreneurship, and chess. We have also established the Center for New Technologies (CENT), with an emphasis on robotics – say representatives from Varaždin County, where projects for establishing centers of excellence in vocational education in medicine and agriculture are also starting.
– In the Arboretum area, after 40 years of waiting, the Opeka Castle will finally be reconstructed, which will house a dormitory and numerous laboratories, practicums, cabinets, a genetic seed bank, and other facilities, while the Medical School in Varaždin will equip a small hospital with rooms, operating rooms, and laboratories, aimed at educating staff not only from Croatia but also from this part of Europe – they reveal new projects that will bring new applications of digital technologies and changes in business.
Investments in Innovations
Their neighbors from Međimurje have one of the most developed economies in the country, and their vision for the future includes 'strong entrepreneurship based on knowledge and innovations'. They believe that a significant contribution will come from the newly established Metals Core, a development-educational center for the metal industry, whose research infrastructure is intended for the scientific-research community to conduct 'top-level research aimed at strengthening scientific excellence, creating a knowledge society, and increasing the competitiveness of the metal and related industries'. However, Ivan Plačko, director of the Technology-Innovation Center Međimurje, brings it back to reality, stating that the structure of the Međimurje economy is heterogeneous so that it does not create the impression that all companies are equally advanced. Some, he explains, only introduce new technologies and business models when the market forces them to do so.
