Individual applications are welcome, and in case individuals/teams are looking for additional team members, they can reach out to the organizer to be connected with those who could potentially contribute.

Yes, participation in the Digital Innovation Incubator is free.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to participate.

Each team can have up to 6 members. Students can also apply and participate individually.

Each student can be a member of up to 3 different teams simultaneously.

Digital Innovation Incubator encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, so team members can be from any year, field of study, or specialization.

Interdisciplinary team collaboration is not a mandatory requirement for participation.

All online content and training sessions have been pre-recorded and uploaded to YouTube, allowing you to access them anytime at your convenience.

After the introductory training sessions and an introduction to the creative problem-solving process and approach, individuals and teams select and apply for industries or companies they want to develop creative solutions for, addressing real business challenges. They then compete with peers from Croatia and the EU.

Each team must have a leader who is responsible for the submission, chosen by the team members.

For a successful competition application, the team leader must complete an online form, specifying the team name, team members, and the selected industries in which the team will compete.

Each team can develop a solution for a maximum of 3 industries.

If a team wants to compete and qualify for the grand final, they must:

• Apply to the Digital Innovation Incubator
• Select the industry/industries they wish to compete in
• Develop a creative solution based on the provided guidelines
• Submit the final solution document by the given deadline

Project participants must keep track of the following key dates and deadlines:

• April 20th, 2025 – Application deadline for the incubator
• April 7-25th, 2025 – Education, training and feedback sessions
• April 27th, 2025 – Deadline for industry selection in the competition
• May 18th, 2025 – Deadline for submitting the final solution document
• June 10th, 2025 – Final conference and grand finale

Every creative solution developed by an individual or team within the Digital Innovation Incubator must explain and justify why it is non-obvious, new, and meaningful. These are the three fundamental components of any innovation, which include:

• Non-obviousness – Analysis, reasoning, and background that highlight the existing market landscape and context of the proposed solution. This section should demonstrate what is currently available, who the market competitors are, and what solutions exist, explaining why a new approach is needed.

• Novelty – Description of the proposed idea and solution, along with a justification of its novelty. This part should clearly define why and how the solution is new, unique, valuable, and different from existing market offerings, based on specific criteria and parameters.

• Meaningfulness – Definition and analysis of the target consumers for whom the proposed solution is designed. This includes understanding their perspectives on the problem and existing solutions, as well as a justification of why the proposed solution creates value and makes sense for both the consumers and the company.

The use of AI tools in the development and refinement of creative solutions is allowed. Before the competition begins, participants will receive guidelines and support on how to properly utilize available AI tools to maximize their value and usefulness in the creative problem-solving process.

In each industry, six teams will be selected to present in the grand finale and compete for awards.

The presentation must last up to 5 minutes, followed by a 5-minute period allocated for questions from the jury.

The presentation can be led by all team members, but it’s not mandatory – the team decides among themselves.

In each industry, the top 3 teams are awarded.

The selected finalist teams will, during the final event, tackle a broader societal challenge set by the Institute for Innovation to compete for a place among the top three winners. The challenge must be solved without digital devices or AI tools, using only pen and paper.

Participants will have 90 minutes to develop their solutions. Instead of presenting their ideas, the solutions will be evaluated by an expert jury, which will determine the winners. The awards will be presented during the final event.

In each industry, the top three places will be rewarded with the following amounts:

1st place – 1.000 EUR
2nd place – 600 EUR
3rd place – 400 EUR

In addition, the Grand Prize of the Incubator will be awarded in the following amounts:

1st place – 3.000 EUR
2nd place – 2.000 EUR
3rd place – 1.000 EUR