Meet CROBOHUB, the non-profit EU effort to boost Croatia’s thriving robotics sector

(Editor’s note: This post about CROBOHUB and the innovation space in Croatia is part of Dispatches’ Tech Tuesday series. Dispatches covers tech because so many of our highly skilled internationals are engineers and innovators.)

The words “digitize” and “robotic” probably aren’t the first that spring to mind when thinking about Croatia, but you’d be surprised to learn how many steps forward this Adriatic country has taken in technology. Arguably, Croatia should have been known for its technological advancements before tourism, given the fact that Smiljan in the heart of Lika is the birthplace of the one and only Nikola Tesla, but I digress.

The aptly named Nikola Tesla Innovation Centre is the home of CROBOHUB, the acronym for Croatian Robotics Digital Innovation Hub. CROBOHUB is the European Digital Innovation Hub funded by the European Union to aid companies with free services in their digital transformation while also offering a helping hand when it comes to robotics.

CROBOHUB provides connections with investors, facilitates access to financing for digital transformations, helps connect customers and suppliers of robotic innovations across the value chain and "fosters synergies between digital and other key enabling technologies," such as biotech, advanced materials, etc.

That includes everything from a “smart service” package of technical support, business mentoring and financing in the field of logistics automation to boosting robotics research, working with end users to streamline new product development and tracking industry trends.

There are multiple Croatian companies operating (and succeeding) in the challenging and competitive robotics field, and one of the most successful stories is Gideon from Osijek. With CROBOHUB’s support in the pre-commercial and commercial development of robotics for end-user enterprises, the plan is for many more homegrown startups to join Gideon in global markets as Croatia begins expanding beyond the shackles of tourism and hospitality.

Driving Croatia’s high-tech visibility and innovation

Being competitive is something that demands close attention in the age of AI and general digitization. It’s difficult to keep up with this accelerating world. Here in Croatia, going at a snail’s pace and missing the proverbial train is commonplace. “Competitive” is no longer a mere buzzword used to keep people on their toes, and the sheer speed at which things are moving is sometimes alarming.

That’s where CROBOHUB comes in.

CROBOHUB wants to enhance development and research in robotics and describes itself as a “one-stop-shop” when it comes to digitization. It helps Croatian and other companies from across Southeastern Europe develop in a digital sense by orchestrating business support, research institutions and other stakeholders in the ever-expanding ecosystem of robotic innovation.?

Facilitating access to sufficient funding, contact with potential investors and more, this non-profit connects businesses and works to create synergy—combined action and resources—across the board, increasing Croatia’s global visibility and competitiveness. It is a crucial player in the country’s emerging tech sector, the likes of which very few could have imagined just a decade ago. Making a very significant contribution to the Croatian high-tech industry is the main aim for CROBOHUB, and in doing that, it utilizes the extensive knowledge in robotics research groups via the engagement of 50-plus researchers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb.

CROBOHUB also offers educational training and workshops to better acquaint companies with the field of robotics and automation, particularly in logistics. It then goes on to introduce end-users and digital innovation suppliers from Croatia and Southeastern Europe.

Collaboration between academia and industry

The need is paramount for the academic and business sectors to connect more closely and to bridge gaps that still cause tremendous issues between the two fields and CROBOHUB advocates for cooperation. It encourages the participation of private Croatian companies in international research and development projects that spotlight innovative solutions and fosters that same sort of cooperation with research institutions.?

Such organizations help, bit by bit, to repair Croatia’s now infamously disjointed approach to, well, almost everything.

The synergy required to succeed in the very demanding, quickly developing world of robotics is the polar opposite of what Croatia has unfortunately become known for. Talent (of which this country has plenty) is simply not enough when administrative bodies are stuck in the dark ages and demographic issues continue to see remarkable Croatian minds jump ship and head abroad.

It’s time the gap between the blooming Croatian research, development and innovation system and that of other European countries was closed, and Croatia jumps on this train before it is left behind for the thousandth time.

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See more about Croatia here in Dispatches’ archives.

This article was written by Lauren Simmonds. Read more from her here.