EIT Climate-KIC RIS Hub Croatia
The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme accelerates climate innovation across Europe. EIT RIS facilitates connections into the established innovation hubs, now in 12 countries in the centre, east and south of Europe, securing EIT Climate-KIC’s Pan-European reach, boosting climate innovation capacity across the continent.
The EIT Climate KIC RIS Hub Croatia was established in June 2018 and is composed of Zagreb Innovation Centre, North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency, University of Zagreb (University Technology Transfer Office and Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering), Terra Hub, Zelena energetska zadruga (Green Energy Cooperative, ZEZ) and Mreža znanja d.o.o. The aim of the consortium is to promote and set up a net-zero carbon economy and resilient society through building a systematic climate innovation ecosystem and catalysing systemic change involving all layers of society.
The EIT RIS Hub is a focal point to connect organisations and individuals from cities, research and education institutions, students, start-ups, entrepreneurs, public and civic organisations, with a role to support knowledge sharing, integration and acceleration of the journey of solutions from the labs and garages to the market in the fastest and most efficient way.
In particular, the EIT RIS Climate-KIC Hub Croatia will leverage the Croatian Smart Specialisation Strategy 2016-2020 in energy and sustainable environment and work with the cities as challenge owners. The cities are affected the most. Cities are hot-spots due to density of people, buildings and traffic, due to consumption of energy and resources, due to rapid urbanisation. At the same time, cities are great spots for testing, experimenting and finding the right solutions to these same challenges – with smart construction and management helped with the use of artificial intelligence, with re-use of materials and use of compostable materials, with urban farms and home-gardens.
In Croatia we are doing it through several EIT Climate-KIC programmes:
Zagreb Innovation Centre manages the start-up accelerator programme with the six teams as the first generation of EIT Climate-KIC start-up accelerator in Croatia that have already worked-out innovative solutions for a better life. The programme is to continue in 2020.
Regional Energy Agency manages the Pioneers into Practice professional exchange programme in Croatia. This program of system innovation for climate has inspired more than dozen professionals who got irreversibly weaved into European climate innovation network of professionals, partners and actors. The programme is to continue in 2020.
The pool of programmes alumni is strengthened as well with those who participated in Journey summer school or in Climathons held in Croatian cities two years in a row – Zagreb, Rijeka and Varaždin.
All these and more upcoming activities will accelerate and catalyse Croatia’s journey towards a zero-carbon economy and resilient future. Every single citizen, student, researcher, entrepreneur, bold, passionate, sensitive human is invited to join us. We have a room for everyone: we are an inclusive and open community. We listen, we communicate, we co-operate, we co-design tools, technologies, innovations immediately available on the stage. We would like to ground our feet into reality delivering concrete solutions for all. Let us create resilient future together and now. Apply to our start-up accelerator programme, apply to our education programmes, participate in our cities’ accelerator programme. Join us!
Zagreb Innovation Centre, North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency, University of Zagreb Technology Transfer Office and University of Zagreb Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, Terra Hub, Green Energy Cooperative, The Knowledge Network
For general information about our EIT Climate-KIC Regional Innovation Scheme activities, please get in touch with eitris@climate-kic.org
More detailed information about the EIT can be found as follows:
EIT website homepage: https://eit.europa.eu
EIT in your language: https://eit.europa.eu/in-your-language
EIT RIS: https://eit.europa.eu/our-activities/outreach/eit-regional-innovation-scheme-ris