For more than two decades, the organization of Tera Tehnopolis has been bringing together young innovators, entrepreneurs and experts who believe in the power of ideas. The tradition continues this year: on November 28, 2025, the finals of the 21st BE A ROLE MODEL business plan writing competition will be held at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek.® and the Entrepreneurial Academy. This is a program that combines youth creativity, mentoring support, and contemporary business trends — with the goal of giving innovation its true momentum.
The program begins with an introduction and presentation of the BE A ROLE MODEL initiative®, followed by the competition finals in which students present their business ideas to a jury of entrepreneurs and industry experts. Participants previously underwent training and mentoring under the guidance of experts from Terra Tehnopolis, learning how to develop a sustainable business model — from their own idea and market research to the definition of value and financial assessment. Twenty-one years of tradition make this competition one of the longest-running programs for the development of young entrepreneurs in Croatia.
The Entrepreneurial Academy, an educational module intended for all those who want to understand contemporary trends in business, provides great value with practical experiences to the entire event. This year's theme, SustAIn – Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence, explores the question of how new technologies can support sustainable development, but also how to ensure ethics, equal access and responsible application. The panel brings together experts from the technological and social sectors: Darija Walter from Plantation Associations, Fabian Feđa Ivanšić from Barrage companies, Mihael Tomić from the company Mono Software, Želimir Gusak from Consult Zee and David Zovko from Soldered Electronics.
The SustAIn panel is designed as a dialogue, as a joint discovery of experiences, expectations and applications related to artificial intelligence. The starting point is simple: artificial intelligence has become a global tool before society has had time to shape rules, understand consequences or set boundaries. The panelists therefore open up personal insights — from their first encounters with AI technologies, through concrete benefits in business, to issues of ethics, privacy and the future of work, to the development of ideas and new possibilities for restructuring. The discussion is guided by key topics: can AI help in smart resource management, speed up and facilitate business, help reduce waste and CO₂ footprint, can it improve agriculture, how the labor market will change and can algorithms learn from nature in the same way that humans can learn from data. The audience is actively involved through questions and describing their experiences using AI tools, and encouraging the idea that technology should be a means, not an end.
After the panel and discussion, the awards ceremony for the most successful teams and projects follows. As every year, the final networking creates new value — connecting mentors, entrepreneurs, investors, teachers and young people, future entrepreneurs, into a new network of cooperation. Often, it is from these spontaneous conversations that partnership projects, test versions of products, student internships or first investments arise. This is proof that BE A MODEL® more than a competition: it is an accelerator of a young entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Entrepreneurship Academy is a combination of knowledge, practice and inspiration. In a time when business models are changing faster than ever, programs like this enable young people to develop their ideas, understand new technologies and learn to use artificial intelligence responsibly. TERA Tehnopolis through BE A MODEL® for 21 years, it has been building a community that believes in innovation and brave thinkers — because it is they who become the initiators of changes in society and the economy.
