Open Applications for the Digital Innovation Incubator

Applications have started for the first edition of the Digital Innovation Incubator, a project aimed at students from all over Croatia and the development of their innovation potential.

The Digital Innovation Incubator by Hrvatski Telekom is a project of the Institute for Innovation designed as an online ecosystem where students learn about creativity and innovation, connect with leading companies from various industries, and develop applicable innovative solutions.

The goal of the project is to build a community of exceptional individuals who want to develop their own potential and be recognized as talents, leaders, and experts of the future. From initial education to turning ideas into finished innovative projects, students are taught how to create value and given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to solve complex problems and challenges faced by industries, markets, and companies.

– We launched the Digital Innovation Incubator to develop new generations of innovators, leaders, and talents and connect them with leading regional companies. Through the project, our goal is to actively train creative, abstract, and critical thinking essential for solving complex problems and developing innovative projects. This will be the key currency of the future in the labor market, and that is why we want to prepare students today for such a future – says Filip Vrhovnik, project manager.

Sharing Knowledge and Experience

To develop key knowledge and skills about creativity and the management and development of innovative projects, students will have the opportunity to hear lectures and discussions with leading regional and global professors from prestigious faculties such as Harvard Business School, ETH Zurich, SDA Bocconi, Georgia Tech and others.

Participants will also have the opportunity to see how important activities and processes of value creation work in practice and collaborate with experts from leading regional companies such as Hrvatski Telekom, Jamnica, PIK Vrbovec, Pevex, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, and Poliklinika Bagatin in developing innovative solutions for specific industries.

Valuable Prizes for the Best Student Innovators

Selected teams will present their solutions during the Final Pitch event in early June, where the most successful in each industry will win valuable cash prizes and the opportunity for internships/employment. The best of the best will compete for the General Award of the incubator amounting to 20,000 kuna, sponsored by Hrvatski Telekom as the general partner of the project.

– As digital optimists, in these quite challenging and uncertain times, we want to create a world of better opportunities with and for young people, one that we live every day in the company. That is why we want to enable them through the Innovation Incubator to develop with digital technologies, discover their talents, and, with the support of the best experts, step out of their comfort zone and actively create their future. And in that future, of course, there is no room for worry about employment – says Anamarija Minarski, director of the department for competency development, employment, and human resources development.

Regular and part-time students from all faculties in Croatia can participate in the Digital Innovation Incubator, and applications can be submitted free of charge until March 27, 2022, via the project’s website.