Тип пројекта: Realized projects

Project name: Program for the formation and development of innovation incubators in scientific research organizations (Naučno-istraživačke organizacije – NIO) in the Republic of Serbia

Project lead institution: Faculty of Technology in Leskovac

Project partner: Science and Technology Park Niš

Financier: Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation

Project goal: The main goal is to establish and increase the capacity of the innovation incubator within the Faculty of Technology in Leskovac, with a special focus on supporting the development of startup teams and the commercialization of their innovative ideas. The project aims to encourage multidisciplinary cooperation and networking between members of academia, startup teams, and industry, with the aim of improving the innovation ecosystem in the region.

Project activities STP Niš is in charge of:

• Development of the Program for the establishment and operation of the innovation incubator,
• Development of the Program for work with students and researchers,
• Implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the Program for the establishment and operation of the innovation incubator.

Project lead institution: Science and Technology Park Niš

Project partners: Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Fazi d.o.o.

Project budget: 12.615.000,00

Financier: Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Fazi d.o.o.

Project goal: The goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of newly founded companies (startups) via the the Launcher acceleration program through training and support from experts in the respective fields. Launcher implies a three-month program of intensive mentoring and financial support for the realization of innovative growth-oriented startup ideas in the early stages of development.

Project activities: Through 12 educational modules, mentoring, and providing financial support, the Launcher program enables startups to develop their innovative ideas, build sustainable business models, and acquire key knowledge necessary for success and growth in the market. The project activities take place in two phases:

Phase 1 – Lectures and Startup Challenge: The first phase includes lectures and a startup challenge in the form of a pitch in the Niš Science and Technology Park. During these events, participants had the opportunity to attend workshops and compete with their innovative ideas. Based on the achieved performances, the teams that will participate in the next phase of the Program were selected. The lectures in this phase include work on the following topics:

Module I – Innovation Ecosystem

Module II – Teamwork and idea

Module III – Lean Startup 101 and Lean Canvas Business Model

Module IV – Funding – Information on available funding mechanisms and programs

Module V – How to Pitch

Phase 2 – Intensive workshops and mentoring: Teams that successfully pass the first phase get the opportunity to participate in intensive workshops and receive mentoring support from experts in the relevant fields. During this phase, teams have the opportunity to further develop their ideas with the support of experts, acquire new knowledge and skills, and improve their business strategies. The planned program of activities takes place within 12 modules, namely:

1. Introduction to the startup world
2. Introduction to Lean / Lean methodology
3. Prioritization and testing of target segments
4. Model validation – Customer/problem fit
5. Competitive research and positioning strategy
6. Problem/solution fit
7. Marketing
8. Sales tech
9. Pitch deck
10. Legal regulation and intellectual property protection
11. Funding and Programs + Trial Pitch
12. Demo Day

This phase culminates in the Demo Day, where teams have the opportunity to present their ideas to a committee. The committee decides on financial support for the most promising teams on the basis of the quality of the presentations and the progress they made during the program, giving them an incentive for further growth and success in their business ventures.

The Science and Technology Park Niš is a part of the “Technopark Serbia 2 – Boosting Exports through Technoparks” project, through which the Government of Switzerland supports further development of innovations and technological entrepreneurship in Serbia.

The project’s goal is to empower science and technology parks to recognize specificities of innovation development in their regions and develop technology parks suited for their environment in order to encourage the founding of new startup companies.

By developing and strengthening the regional network of science and technology parks through this Project, with the support of the Government of Switzerland, support is given to the founding and development of new startups so they can compete with companies from the most developed parts of the world with their services and products while working from Serbia. At the same time, founding new startup companies increases the strength of the startup ecosystem and raises its visibility on the international scene.

The project represents a more advanced phase in informing high school students about the possibilities the Science and Technology Park Niš provides to young people when choosing a future profession.

When meeting STP Niš organizers and users, high schoolers who already have an affinity towards technical sciences will get a picture of perspectives opened to them in the context of a knowledge-based society. In that sense, it is important to illuminate the perspective that professionals in the fields of technical sciences can expect in a society based in knowledge for them. To that end, aside from STP Niš, the Association for Industrial Heritage and Promotion of Advanced Technologies is also engaged in the project. With their help, everything that was being produced in this region will be shown, visits to relevant scientific laboratories at the technical faculties will be organized, as well as visits to companies whose production is based on applying results from technical sciences.

The “Future Cities of Southeast Europe” project is financially backed by the “Climate-KIC” organization, a community of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, and is being implemented in 5 pilot cities which, according to assessments, have the capacities for a systemic transformation of the cities: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Skopje (North Macedonia), Križevci (Croatia), Maribor (Slovenia), and Niš (Serbia).

The project is supposed to provide qucker and easier systematic changes through innovations, in order to achieve a better quality of life for citizens and the necessary decarbonization in the activities which critically affect the emission of greenhouse gasses. Since technological innovations by themselves will not achieve structural changes necessary for progressive growth over time, the project will combine different innovative methods in the fields of finances, business models, legislative frameworks, behavior perception and social norms, education and skills, new and existing technologies, citizen participation, market structure, etc.

The “Future Cities of Southeast Europe” should help the City of Niš, as well as other partner cities, to deal with these challenges and, as a response to them, conduct the process of transformation. Progress, quality of life, and climate resistances form the vision – which is possible to achieve by using natural and human resources with the right combination of ambitions, innovations, and other resources.

The agreed common mission is that the partner cities of the project become some of the best possible places in Europe for living, working, and staying in by 2025. Within the mission, the following radical goals were set:

• To bring the quality of air in our cities within the levels recommended by the World Health Organization by 2023.
• To achieve circular economy with zero emissions by 2030.
• To ensure that, by 2025, all members of our community have equal access to basic human goods: proper living conditions, healt insurance, education, mobility, food, water, green public spaces, security, and productive work possibilities.
• To be reducing the influence of warming on floods in our communities year by year.
• This wide approach lead by the set mission requires a mass reshaping of thinking and the manner of work, because of which the City of Niš is working on creating a program package of actions and innovations, facing the existing challenges and using its possibilities in the largest possible number of certain key fields where quick and high-quality urban changes are needed.