This year, the competition was expanded through collaboration with another University of Zagreb constituent, the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering (GFV) in Varaždin, further strengthening interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation. Under the mentorship of teaching assistant Larisa Hrustek, mag. oec. (FOI), teams began preparing and shaping their ideas and prototypes as early as April. They utilized the resources of the MakerSpace at the Varaždin Technology Park, as well as digital tools such as apps, interactive platforms, and other technologies that can enhance the efficiency and scalability of sustainable solutions.
Participants included undergraduate students from the Entrepreneurship Economics program at FOI and the Environmental Engineering program at GFV, along with other students passionate about sustainability and technology. Through a multidisciplinary approach, competitors combined knowledge from social sciences, technology, and environmental protection to develop digitally supported solutions tailored to the needs of their local community.
The Global Goals Jam was held as part of the project Sustainable Development Days: Global Goals Jam, organized by the FOI Student Union. The project aimed to raise awareness among students about social inequalities and the importance of sustainable action. Through hands-on work, the initiative encouraged students to adopt sustainability principles, leverage technological innovation for socially beneficial purposes, and develop a sense of civic responsibility.
During the final two days, teams completed their ideas through four development sprints and presented them in short pitches before a panel of expert evaluators. The evaluation panel included Assoc. Prof. Martina Tomičić Furjan, Ph.D. and Dr. Nikolina Dreven, Ph.D. (FOI), as well as Prof. Nikola Sakač, Ph.D. and Filip Kramar, univ. mag. ing. amb. (GFV). The best teams were awarded, with first place going to the team behind the concept “Bio-Guc”, which proposed using alternative materials to replace plastic bottles, along with an innovative business model for selling beverages in public institutions.
This year’s Global Goals Jam once again demonstrated how a combination of young talent, sustainability-driven thinking, and digital technologies can result in concrete solutions for a better and fairer future.
*The activity/project was funded by the Student Center in Varaždin from the 0.5% fee collected from student job payments.
