Slovenia presents annual innovation awards to 48 companies, innovators
Novartis's reformulation of a drug for breast cancer treatment, Open DAQ's digital solution and Elan's high-performance skis are among this year's best innovations in the country. Presenting annual innovation awards, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) praised the diversity of Slovenia's development environment but also called for further improvements.
A total of eight gold, 27 silver and 13 bronze accolades were presented in Brdo pri Kranju to companies and innovators active in Slovenia, both foreign- and domestically-owned, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
The gold awards went to electric motor manufacturer Domel and the electrical industry development centre Nela for a high-performance electric motor for dynamic torque control in sports cars, and to LynxCraft for the LynxCraft copilot, an AI tool that serves as project designer and leader in construction projects.
Pharma company Krka was recognised twice for preventing blood clots - for advanced synthesis and a sophisticated pharmaceutical formulation of anticoagulant rivaroxaban, while Novartis received the gold award for a new formulation of a drug for the treatment of breast cancer.
Open DAQ received recognition for Open DAQ SDK, its open platform for measurement data acquisition, and sporting goods manufacturer Elan won the award for the Elan ACE skis, which utilise active suspension technology to improve edge grip.
Ultralight aircraft maker Pipistrel's R&D company Pipistrel Vertical Solutions was recognised for Nuuva V300, an autonomous hybrid vertical take-off and landing cargo system.
A special award for innovation challenge was handed out to Eksetera, Infotim Ržišnik Perc, Mikrobium and Valter Skupina for Aquamind, a platform supporting real-time predictive monitoring of drinking water.
A total of 49 regional gold innovations were in the running for the national gold innovation awards, shortlisted from 235 entries that involved more than 1,100 innovators. This is proof of "the exceptional diversity of Slovenia's development environment," GZS director general Vesna Nahtigal said, adding that each of the innovations taking part in the competition provided a concrete solution.
According to her, Slovenia needs to be faster in turning knowledge into new products, technologies and higher added value. She stressed the importance of promoting coordinated government action and more ambition among companies.
Slovenia ranks among moderately innovative countries with more than half of its companies considered active innovation-wise. This was the 24th national innovation awards ceremony, known also as Innovation Day.
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