Following the kick-off event organized in December last year, VOICT OI LAB – Serbia, an Open Innovation Lab established within the EU project ‘Open Innovation for Enhancing Entrepreneurial Skills and Public-Private Partnership in the Danube Region’ (DA-SPACE) by two Serbian partners University of Novi Sad and Vojvodina ICT Cluster, offered a series of entrepreneurship trainings to young talents.

VOICT OI LAB – Serbia is the physical space within the premises of Business Incubator Novi Sad, where young talents have started to work on challenges offered by companies from Novi Sad, in order to generate new solutions and create entrepreneurial skills for the benefit of the Danube region. Apart from this one in Novi Sad, there are 6 more open innovation labs established by project partners: City of Ulm, Germany; ‘Dunărea de Jos’ University of Galati, Romania; Czech Technical University in Prague; Institute of Management, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava; Juraj Dobrila, University of Pula, Croatia and Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Representatives of SMEs and universities will be actively involved as mentors during the training program, giving concrete support to the teams of young talents involved in the development of solutions within the OI framework of the lab.

In order to contribute to the project specific objective ‘Raise entrepreneurial skills and reduce brain drain’ as it aims to promote an entrepreneurship culture and give concrete tools and knowledge to young talents to make them able to start an own business, the Entrepreneurship training concept as a mix of academic education and business practice, was also developed, and is being offered to the talented young people participating in the open innovation lab, as well as to the others who want to participate.

The first training ‘SCRUM’ in Novi Sad was organized on March 23rd, thirty young talents participated. The trainer Mr Vladimir Nikic, experienced Product owner (role defined by SCRUM), through practical exercises and group work explained difference between traditional project management (waterfall) and this modern framework.

Got the chance to learn about basic concept of SCRUM, especially its application to non ICT projects. The series of trainings continued during the last week of March, with training Presentational skills. Other trainings will be organized until the end of May, when it was planned to be organized Demo Day.

University of Novi Sad is a higher education institution, and the Vojvodina ICT Cluster is one of the most successful Serbian clusters. Both are partners in DA-SPACE project. DA-SPACE Open Innovation Lab Novi Sad is established in Business Incubator Novi Sad.

Contact information:
daspace@uns.ac.rs

smilja.krajinovic@vojvodinaictcluster.org