The competition for the new season of the Uplift Academy has been opened – a unique education for small entrepreneurs in the tourism and hospitality sector

As part of the Uplift project launched last year by Mastercard, which brings together news, information, and educational content aimed at micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs to facilitate the growth and development of their businesses, a unique educational program – the Uplift Academy – has been designed. After the successful first season of the academy conducted by Algebra, it is now time for the competition for the second generation of scholarship holders, which will last from today until October 2. All interested owners of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the fields of tourism, hospitality, services, and related activities can apply for scholarships for themselves or their employees via the form available on Uplift.hr by the beginning of October.

As in the first season, both the Uplift project and the Uplift Academy are focused on the tourism and hospitality sector as crucial branches of the Croatian economy, aiming to create stronger entrepreneurs who gain tools for achieving competitiveness in the digital age through education. The Uplift Academy is the only education of its kind in Croatia that bases its program on a modern approach, taking into account current market trends as well as the specificities of the tourism sector.

This year’s educational program will be adjusted compared to the first season, in accordance with feedback from the first generation of participants who can best convey the needs and knowledge required for improving their businesses based on their own experiences. Thus, the second season of the Uplift Academy will last slightly shorter, starting in November 2022 and concluding in March 2023, consisting of a total of 100 teaching hours. The reason for this is the desire to provide entrepreneurs with an optimized schedule that is maximally adapted to their business obligations. Lectures will remain online to allow entrepreneurs from all parts of Croatia to participate, and a total of 32 scholarships will be awarded.

Changes in the academy program aimed at optimizing the schedule

The Uplift Academy will have ten seminars focusing on digital transformation and sustainability as two key elements for creating a new generation of entrepreneurs in the tourism segment. The seminars are: leadership, tools for digital transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation, destination management, sustainable tourism, tourism and experience economy, platforms and business models based on the Internet of Things (IoT), the fourth industrial revolution and Industry 4.0, commitment to growth and results, and customer journey.

– Algebra has prepared new content for the Uplift Academy for the new school year, and we believe that, as last year, we will receive an exceptionally large number of applications for the scholarship competition. When we started this project with Mastercard, the agreement was that we would change the program every year, offer something new, and adapt to market demands – emphasizes Igor Kundić, a member of the management board of Algebra, and explains:

– There are two main reasons for the changes. The first arises from our desire to offer scholarship holders exactly the knowledge they will need to elevate their competencies to a higher level and, of course, to utilize and apply them in their businesses, and in this regard, we have included new workshops in the curriculum. Constant communication with students, carefully listening to their suggestions for improving the execution of the academy in the mentoring program was the second reason for the changes in the academy, particularly in the relationship between the hours of theoretical and mentoring programs. As for the content itself, we have included four new workshops, three of which are part of our mini MBA program, where we aim to provide students with work experience through the mini MBA program, and these workshops will, of course, be closely related in content to tourism. The fourth workshop is related to the area of sustainable development and sustainable management in tourism. –

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Igor Kundić

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In the second season of the Uplift Academy, there is also a strong emphasis on the mentoring program, which is part of the education where scholarship holders, divided into teams and under the guidance of mentors, design concrete projects and their implementation, which they will present at the final competition before a jury, thus getting the opportunity for a cash prize.

With new knowledge, one’s own business changes, as does the economy as a whole

Through the Uplift project, Mastercard is working towards achieving its goal on a global level, which is to bring 50 million small businesses and 25 million women entrepreneurs into the digital economy by 2025. Additionally, Mastercard, through Uplift, aims to be a motivator for real social change, through the lens of digitalization and education, helping precisely where the community needs it most at a given moment.

– In 2021, we ambitiously started the Uplift project, and our ambition has proven justified as we encountered a strong response and positive reactions from both the primary target and the wider community regarding what we are doing through Uplift. Our desire to create entrepreneurs who are more digitalized and resilient to change in society and the market, as well as the desire to show that investing in knowledge is the only long-term investment in society, continues into the new season of Uplift – stated Gea Kariž, marketing director at Mastercard in Croatia.

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Gea Kariz

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In addition to the Uplift Academy, scholarship holders in the second season will have the opportunity for additional education through e-learning, a program in which they will be able to learn about topics that further interest them through video content created in collaboration with Algebra. Since the program will be available on uplift.hr, all other readers will also have this opportunity. Additionally, a new feature this season is the e-mentoring program, where all readers of the Uplift.hr page can send inquiries related to their business and seek help or advice from one of the eight experts available to them, depending on the business area of interest.