The fourth edition of STup has started! – of the international university startup competition: Split is the global stage of university entrepreneurship this year as well!

In accordance with its fundamental postulates – encouraging entrepreneurial awareness and skills among young people, the Student Entrepreneurship Incubator of the Faculty of Economics in Split organizes the fourth edition of the international university startup competition called STup!2023 as part of the University Green Digital HUB project and with the support of the City of Split, the European University Alliance sea ​​(SEA-EU), the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and the Tourist Board of the city of Split.

This year, the competition will be held on June 30 and July 1 at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Split. The event aims to enable competitors and visitors to connect with each other, improve entrepreneurial culture among students, and exchange ideas and experiences on an international level.

At the opening ceremony, the gathered were greeted and welcomed to Split and the University of Split by prof. Ph.D. sc. Igor Jerković , vice-rector for science and quality, associate professor prof. Ph.D. sc. Vinko Muštra , dean of the Faculty of Economics, prof. Ph.D. sc. Ivica Puljak , mayor of Split.

– It is my pleasure to attend the opening of this competition today. It contributes significantly to the University of Split, especially in the ranking on the Time Higher Education and WURI rankings, where we present this activity as part of the Green Digital Hub activity, under the auspices of our alliance European University of the Sea – SEA EU – said vice-chancellor Jerković.

Dean Muštra pointed out that this event brings together students who compete in promoting entrepreneurship and the startup scene. He emphasized that it is a traditional competition that is recognized in Croatia, but also much more widely, and helps them to open extremely important doors for themselves in real life.

The importance of the event was also recognized by the City of Split, and Mayor Puljak stated that in this way, they want to motivate young people to be innovative and show that Split is a modern city that strives to be a trendsetter in this area.

In the two days of this year’s event, the city of Split will be the stage for innovations, new technologies and ideas, with which university projects will try to secure the attention of renowned experts, potential clients and investors. Stop! the conference will bring together local and international startups, entrepreneurs, representatives of incubators, accelerators and companies, as well as investors, so in addition to competitors, programs intended for young innovators and startups will be presented.

30 selected startups representing 17 universities from over 10 countries around the world will be presented at the competition. The competition will be attended by startups presented by the following universities: University of Split, University of Zagreb and Aspira College (Croatia), University of Sigmaringen, Hochschule der Medien and Kiel University (Germany), Azerbaijan State University of Economics (Azerbaijan), University of Luxembourg (Luxembourg), University of Sousse (Tunisia), Tampere University (Finland), HAN University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), University of Malta (Malta), University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences (Serbia), University of Malaga and University of Cadiz (Spain), University of Brest (France).

University startups will compete according to the categories in which they operate, and the categories covered are: AgriTech, Food and Bioeconomy, Martech, Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Fashion, Robotics, AI and IoT, Education (EdTech), Tourism and Creative Industry and Medicine and quality of life. Jury members and speakers are experts from the world of entrepreneurship and investment management, and they come from Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Poland and Croatia.

The following will participate as members of the jury:

● Michael Chaffe , director of Wolves Summit

● Arjan Goudsblom , co-founder and director at Preneurz.Amsterdam

● Alexander Bernhard , co-founder and partner at Impact Hub Stuttgart

● Mirza Segdati , founder and accelerator manager at Red Brick Accelerator

● Kristina Čorić , project manager at HdM Startup Center

● Catherine Ogilvie , strategic marketing consultant at Silicon Castle

● Vedran Blagus , principal at South Capital Ventures

● Tamas Szeker , co-founder and partner in iScale HUB

● Antonija Eremut Erceg , Head of the City Development Department, City of Split

In addition to the competitive part where startup teams will give presentations, there will also be lectures. On the first day, the lecture will be held by Alexander Bernhard on the topic “How to be an Impact(Social) Entrepreneur” and Goran Palvov on the topic “Capacity2Transform”, while on the second day the lecture will be held by Catherine Ogilvie on the topic “Story, Brand and Messaging: How to Tell your Company Story” and Rafael Ventura Fernandez on the topic “What would Maslow say to the startup CEO”.

The best team will take the title “Best University Startup 2023.” and as such ensures numerous awards. The main prize was provided by Infobip, a global IT and telecommunications company, namely €7,500.00 for the winner for the use of Infobip’s communication technology, €5,000.00 for the second place, €2,500.00 for the third place. The first three teams will also be awarded with tickets to the Shift conference. In addition to the Infobip awards, the best startup will also be awarded a place in the Silicon Castles accelerator program.

Also, the first three startups ensure participation and exposure at Wolves Summit 2024. Wolves Summit is the largest entrepreneurial conference in Central and Eastern Europe that brings together over 2,000 startup companies looking for investment and investors from all over the world. All participants of this year’s competition will receive three free months of using the QuilBot tool, and the first three places will each receive a $5,000 credit from the Sendpulse platform. In addition to the valuable prizes, it is also worth noting that the organization was supported by the company Dalmacijavino, which provided drinks for the participants, and the company Promet Split, which provided all participants with free rides during the event. Pole! is taking place this year as part of the University Green Digital HUB project.

The main goal of the project is to strengthen the digital, green and entrepreneurial skills of students, university startups and university employees, and to strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions in the field of teaching for the digital and green transition. The “University Green Digital HUB” project lasts 24 months, and is co-financed with funds from the Erasmus+ program. This competition is an ideal opportunity for university startups to connect with the international startup community and get noticed by startup investors from Europe.