This week, the first Green Startup School, initiated by the Startup Center Niš within the project “Future Cities of Southeast Europe” and supported by the City of Niš, the EIT Climate-KIC initiative, and the Science and Technology Park Niš, was opened.
The City of Niš has recognized the problem in the field of environmental protection and, as part of the “Future Cities of Southeast Europe” project, along with Skopje, Maribor, Križevci, and Sarajevo, is working hard on developing and finding solutions.
Nineteen teams applied to participate in the program, of which the best ten teams were selected, which is a total of 38 participants in the Green Startup School. Slavimir Stošović, PhD, a professor at the Academy of Applied Technical and Preschool Studies in Niš and founder of several startups, and Marko Ljubenović, representing STP Niš, were the first lecturers who, during the opening of the school, introduced the teams to the innovation ecosystem, the importance of teamwork, and what is a unique and scalable idea and how to come up with one.
The Green Startup School will last until December 11, and through seven modules, many other experienced lecturers will work with the participants and prepare them for participation in the hackathon that will be held on the last day of the Green Startup School, which is an excellent opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in this program in practice.
At the third consecutive National Conference on Philanthropy, organized by the Trag Foundation, with the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Science and Technology Park had its representative as well.
Within the “We Care: Investing in the Development of Local Communities” session, Stanislava Simić spoke about the steps that STP Niš takes to support the Local Foundation Niš and local initiatives. In addition, she pointed out our role in motivating STP member companies to participate in our or to start their own socially responsible initiatives.
The goal of this session was also to emphasize the importance of including the corporate sector in the development of local communities and their future.
The Climathon for young innovators was held once again this year, conducted by the Green Key organization from Niš in cooperation with the Science and Technology Park Niš, Youth Achievements in Serbia, Connecting, and the Innovation Climate Hub.
Seven student teams from high schools from Aleksinac, Boljevac, Prokuplje, Leskovac, and Niš participated in this year’s Climathon for young innovators for the region of Southern and Eastern Serbia, which was held this week.
During the Climathon, a three-member team of mentors guided the teams through the process of creating ideas and solutions in response to the challenge of climate change.
The young people who participated responded to the challenge “Improvement of Water, Natural, and Communal Infrastructure, Water Efficiency, Saving and Conservation, as a Response to the Challenge of Climate Change”. The teams worked together with mentors on their ideas by applying the Climate-KIC methodology and using the Miro tool during the first day of the Climathon.
On the second day, the three-member jury selected the three first-place teams who will have the opportunity to visit STP Niš, as well as the Medijana water factory. The Science and Technology Park will provide mentorship support for the improvement of the winning ideas and present the teams with all the opportunities provided by the ecosystem of the Science and Technology Park Niš.
This week, the Science and Technology Park in Niš hosted the EU delegation in Serbia and journalists from eight newsrooms from various European countries, who visited institutions in Serbia that deal with biotechnology, innovations, and information technology for the first time, as part of the “Pulse of Europe – EU Media Visits” project.
A group of journalists who follow science and business visited STP Niš and talked with the founders and employees of two startup companies – Beehold and Canandi, and two technology development companies – Coming Computer Engineering and Syncit Group. By presenting these companies, we introduced the visiting journalists to the development process of the innovation and startup ecosystem in our city and region, the role of the STP in that process, and the results of partnerships with EU support programs.
On Monday, November 21, the Science and Technology Park Niš organized a Meetup on the topic “Med&BioTech scene of the Eastern and Southern Serbia Region” within the “Health Tech Lab” pilot supercluster, where STP Niš is also a member of the consortium.
Representatives of the Clinical Center Niš pointed out the challenges and problems they encounter and presented the solutions which the supercluster and the connection between the state, science, and economy can offer.
Two startup companies – ByTech and Kidneya Therapheutics – shared their experience in the supercluster, the cooperations they realized, and the benefits they recognized with the attendees.
Representatives of the city’s health institutions, faculties, and private clinics and companies attended the event.
