Accelerating Croatian Innovation: Challenges and Opportunities in Technology Transfer
Last week, our team attended the EIT Community Hub kick-off meeting titled "Making Innovation Happen in Croatia," an event aimed at strengthening innovation ecosystems and promoting collaboration among academia, businesses, and public institutions. The gathering brought together representatives from the Croatian government, European Parliament, academia, startups, investors, and research centres to explore critical challenges and opportunities for innovation in Croatia. One key area of discussion was technology transfer (TT)—the process of converting scientific research into market-ready products or services. Despite Croatia's significant research potential, TT remains underdeveloped, highlighting both existing challenges and opportunities for growth.
Several pressing issues emerged during the discussions. It was emphasized that academia, industry, and public sectors often operate independently from one another, limiting effective collaboration and knowledge exchange. There is a clear need for stronger integration among these stakeholders to foster innovation. Additionally, researchers frequently lack sufficient training in commercialization skills—skills that are essential for translating scientific discoveries into viable products and services. Integrating education programs that teach commercialization skills early in researchers' careers could significantly improve this situation. Another identified obstacle is the presence of administrative barriers. Bureaucratic processes continue to create significant hurdles for innovation-driven startups. Streamlining these procedures would be essential to creating a supportive environment conducive to research commercialization.
Since Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) play a critical role in bridging the gap between academia and industry, it is important to emphasize that in Croatia there are currently not enough of these offices to adequately support the innovation ecosystem. Moreover, existing TTOs often focus primarily on administrative tasks rather than proactive business development activities. Furthermore, there is insufficient strategic planning regarding the commercial potential of ongoing research projects. To become more effective, TTOs need to actively identify promising research initiatives and guide them toward commercial viability. During the event, participants discussed several strategic opportunities to address these challenges. Strengthening partnerships between industry and academia through targeted funding calls and mentorship programs could significantly enhance collaboration. Additionally, developing specialized educational programs focused explicitly on commercialization would equip researchers with entrepreneurial skills necessary for successful technology transfer.
Improving the capacities of Croatian TTOs is another critical step forward. International best practices suggest implementing clear intellectual property (IP) policies, simplifying licensing processes, investing in robust digital infrastructure for IP management, and actively engaging with industry partners. Finally, continuous knowledge exchange among research teams, TTO staff, industry partners, investors, policymakers—and ongoing adjustments based on stakeholder feedback—are essential components of successful TT.
Looking ahead, there are many things that need to be taken into account and using professional services providers could significantly complement existing TTOs by offering targeted guidance to researchers and innovators throughout their commercialization journey, ultimately contributing to stronger market readiness of Croatian innovations.
At RISE, we aim to foster innovation ecosystem and are experts in intellectual property management and protection strategies, project proposal development support, and commercialization planning.
As highlighted during the event's conclusion: "Connect, stay connected, and take action." By proactively addressing identified challenges while strategically leveraging available resources Croatia can significantly enhance its competitiveness within Europe's innovation landscape and beyond.
