More than 50 participants from Penn State University (Smeal College of Business and College of Education), University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics, XV. Gymnasium (MIOC), First Gymnasium Varaždin, Technical School Sisak and Czech Technical University in Prague participated in the project activities.
The project participants had the opportunity to go through an intensive program of education on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, the Internet of Things and other new technologies, as well as entrepreneurship and marketing. Lectures and workshops on these topics were given by teachers from the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Mladen Konecki, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Igor Pihir, Ph.D.) and teachers from Penn State University (director of the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship and director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Intercollege minor Jamey A. Darnell, director of International Programs Dr. Leila Bradaschia).
Members of Penn State Global, Penn State University department for international cooperation and partnerships (vice provost Sabine Klahr, director for Global Partnerships Alexandra Persiko and associate director of partnership agreements Vlad Likholetov), participated in coordination and logistics activities. The lead of the project was Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D. and colleagues Assoc. Prof. Igor Pihir, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Mladen Konecki, Ph.D. and project expert Jerry John Antolos participated in organizational and coordination activities. MIOC headmaster Nikola Dmitrović, First Gymnasium Varaždin principal Janja Banić, Technical School Sisak headmaster Davor Malović and teachers Bojan Banić (First Gymnasium Varaždin) and Milan Toš (Technical School Sisak). The project was organized as a Penn State EDGE (Experiential Digital Global Engagement) activity.
In addition to lectures and workshops in the field of new technologies and entrepreneurship, project participants had the opportunity to develop their own innovative project ideas in project teams with mentorship and bring these ideas to the prototype stage. At the end of the project, the international teams presented their projects to an international panel of judges, which mostly consisted of members from the Smeal College of Business (Jamey A. Darnell, Beatrice Sirakaya, Jaida Copeland). The winning team with the best innovative idea was announced, emphasizing that all teams came up with excellent innovative ideas and created excellent prototypes.
Students had the opportunity to visit the Smeal College of Business during their time at Penn State, where they were introduced to educational opportunities and study programs through an organized presentation given by Christine Ann Wiedemer. They also had the opportunity to visit the College of Education and get to know its organization and study programs, as well as internationalization opportunities, through the presentation of Krishawna Goins.
Students had the opportunity to see Penn State University Park campus, Penn State Global, get to know student life on campus, learn about entrepreneurial opportunities for students, and participate in the student entrepreneurship event Pitch Fest 2025, which was held at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub.
During the 3rd International Student Business Meetup, Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D. also held several meetings regarding cooperation with Penn State in the field of development of artificial intelligence educational technologies, and it was agreed to continue these discussions and project cooperation in this domain. Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D. also discussed the continuation of project cooperation during the second part of the project activities in New York with management of the NYU Game Center. The result of mentioned meetings and discussions was several agreements reached on joint project and research activities.
Vice provost Sabine Klahr emphasized the importance of the implemented project and event, and pointed out that due to its scope and content, it is an important step forward in the cooperation between Penn State University and the University of Zagreb.
The entire 3rd International Student Business Meetup project was organized as a part of activities of the Laboratory for Design of Program Interfaces, Internet Services and Video Games (a part of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics), and the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Holograms (a part of the Varaždin County Center of Excellence in Informatics), given that Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D. is the lead of both Laboratories and that the area of activity of both Laboratories overlaps both substantially and organizationally with the implemented project and organized event.
After visiting Penn State University, students from the Faculty of Organization and Informatics also visited New York University, the NYU Game Center, where a symposium in the field of video game development was organized for students from NYU and students from the University of Zagreb. The symposium was organized in cooperation with Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D. and the management of the NYU Game Center. More than 30 participants participated in the symposium event.
The symposium was opened by Naomi Clark, the head of the NYU Game Center, who reflected on the previous cooperation with Assoc Prof. Konecki, Ph.D. Invited lectures for NYU students and University of Zagreb students were given by Assoc. Prof. Mario Konecki, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Mladen Konecki, Ph.D., and NYU University professor Charles Pratt. The students were also greeted by the former head of the NYU Game Center, Eric Zimmerman. Collaboration with NYU University in the field of video game development is of particular importance because NYU University and its Game Center is regularly among the world’s best ranked higher education institutions in the field of video game development.
"We believe that this project is just one of many future steps in cooperation with Penn State University and New York University, for the benefit of our students, teachers, the Faculty and the University" - emphasized Assoc. Prof. Konecki, Ph.D. and his associates.
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