Eric Zhu is a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research. His current project is AutoGen (github.com/microsoft/autogen), an open-source framework for building AI agents and multi-agent applications. Prior to that, he worked on many aspects of database research, including time series analytics, data lake metadata management, and query processing.

Nikola Mrkšić is the Co-Founder and CEO of PolyAI, the premier developer of customer-led voice assistants for enterprise contact centers. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Ph.D. in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing, and was among the first engineers on the Siri development team for Apple. Nikola was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2021 for his work with PolyAI.

Nino Antulov-Fantulin is head of research at Aisot Technologies AG, ETH-Zurich Spin-off and a privatdozent at ETH-Zurich. Currently, he works on research and development of novel financial machine learning systems for asset management.

Previously, he was a senior researcher at ETH Zurich, where he worked at the intersection of complex systems, finance, and machine learning. Results from his research were covered by New Scientist, American Physical Society, ACM TechNew, and others. He acts as a reviewer for IEEE, ACM, Nature Communications, Nature Scientific Reports, ICML, ICLR, ECML-PKDD, and NeurIPS.

He obtained a habilitation degree (Doctor habilitatus) from ETH Zurich in 2023 with a dissertation thesis: “Structure, dynamics and predictability in techno-socio-economic systems”. Nino got his Ph.D. in 2015 from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, where he worked in the interdisciplinary field of complex systems combining tools from computational statistical physics, mathematics, and theoretical computer science. Besides ETH Zurich, he worked at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, as a visiting scientist at the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin) & Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (New York) and as Supervisor & Panel member of PhD Program in Data Science, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa.

Tvrtko Tadić is an Applied Scientist in Microsoft Search, Assistant and Intelligence, a division that supports search and other intelligent solutions for Office 365. He graduated from the University of Zagreb and earned his PhD from the University of Washington in Seattle. Throughout his career at Microsoft, Tvrtko has contributed to projects involving Bing Maps and local search, the digital assistant Cortana, knowledge mining, and graphs induced by connections in Office 365. Currently, he focuses on supporting advanced file search for M365 Copilot. Additionally, he is a Visiting Scientist at the University of Washington and a board member of the Croatian Mathematical Society.

Matija Piškorec earned a PhD at the University of Zagreb and is currently a research associate at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute in the Laboratory for Machine Learning and Knowledge Representation, and a postdoc at the University of Zurich in the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies group. His current research interests are at the interface of applied machine learning and distributed ledger technologies and has teaching experience from both fields. He is also active as a science popularizer through Society for Out-of-Frame Education.

Igor Mijić is a senior engineer and lecturer with a longstanding research background in various applications of deep learning, like speech processing, computer vision and natural language processing. Throughout his career he had a special interest in Affective Computing, and related to the interplay of human emotions and computers, while in his engineering work he’s passionate about dockerizing all the developmental components of the models he develops and deploys.

Nikita Fedkin is a Solution Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Munich. He graduated from the Russian State University of Oil and Gas with a master’s degree in applied mathematics. Since his career began, Nikita utilised his academic knowledge to solve cutting-edge business problems.

He started as a Data Science developer more than 10 years ago. Afterwards, he moved to the compute infrastructure field, became a System Architect of distributed payment gateway system, and finally became Head of Infrastructure of an International Auction house. Now he shares his knowledge with the world as a Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services.

Mladen Fernežir is the Lead Data Scientist and Co-founder of Velebit AI, a specialized ML/AI service agency based in Zagreb. Mladen has nearly a decade of professional experience in Data Science, Deep Learning, NLP, Computer Vision, and general Machine Learning. Some of the projects he’s worked on are building systems that understand images and text for better recommendations in online marketplaces, AI weather forecasting, medical image understanding, fine-tuning language models for specific tasks and domains, implementing AI for mathematical document understanding, 3D object detection, and Graph Neural Networks for enhancing longevity and understanding human biological processes. Before Velebit AI, he worked in the corporate environment and as a lecturer for the Advanced Machine Learning Methods class at Algebra University College.

Throughout her lifetime, Valentina has been working in the field of machine learning and computer vision. She obtained her PhD in AI at the University of Zagreb in 2017 focusing weakly supervised learning and traffic safety. After that, she joined Rimac Automobili to work on scene understanding models and later Gideon to work on autonomous mobile robots. At Gideon, she was in charge of the product team developing the entire autonomy stack for the autonomous mobile forklift Trey. In her free time, Valentina enjoys trying out latest research papers and playing Super Mario Kart with kids.

Matej is Omnisearch’s Chief Technology Officer, and an expert at every level of the computing stack – from hardware to web applications. Matej was one of the earliest employees at Memgraph (Techstars ’15), where he built much of the core database infrastructure.

He is also known for his involvement in competitive programming, and he served as the chair of the Technical committee for the Central European qualifiers for the ACM ICPC World Finals during the three years they were held in Zagreb.

As the Deputy Executive Director in CRM at PBZ, Mario is deeply involved in AI topics and projects, focusing on how diverse AI use cases can enhance customer understanding and provide superior experiences and services. Before this role, he spent 12 years at Intesa Sanpaolo’s International Subsidiary Division, where he worked on implementing and scaling machine learning use cases across various banks and markets. With a technical background as a graduate from FER, Mario brings a deep understanding of both AI technology and its practical applications in the financial sector.

Mario has seen quite a few POCs go live and plenty others that did not quite make it. He is really interested in figuring out how to turn that initial buzz into real-world applications, ensuring that innovations lead to tangible business value and customer satisfaction.

Mario believes that the key to success lies in aligning AI initiatives with clear strategic goals, a robust operating model, and measurable outcomes.

I am a committed and detail-focused data analyst/scientist with a degree in Applied Mathematics, currently applying my expertise in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) office at PBZ. With a robust mathematical background and a keen analytical mindset, I have adeptly leveraged theoretical concepts to meet real-world challenges, creating solutions that enhance our understanding and predictions of customer behaviours and trends.

At PBZ CRM, my primary responsibility is generating insights into customer behaviours, needs and trends, aiming to unlock the full potential of customer interactions and phenomena. This role involves crafting predictive models and conducting various analyses, ranging from clustering to trend decomposition. One of the significant challenges I’ve addressed is the development of effective strategies to draw valuable insights from limited historical sales data for newly launched products, with the specific objective of boosting sales of our new life insurance product.

Hrvoje Abraham graduated in theoretical physics from the University of Zagreb, after which he continued to expand his core research and engineering skills at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. He has been involved with software throughout his entire educational and professional life, having had the opportunity to work in the financial sector, lead a technology startup company, and currently serves as the Department Manager for Advanced Simulation Technologies at the Austrian technology giant AVL.

Radovan Bacovic is a Staff Data Engineer at GitLab, living, enjoying and coding in Novi Sad, Serbia.

An experienced Data Engineer and “wanna-be” the best bad Conference speaker. Forever eager to discover new data technologies in the fast-changing environment. He armored himself with a profound application development background in large international companies around the globe. Strongly advocated for the open-source community and open-core approach.

Without any doubt – a fervent data geek delighted to share his long mileage and experience with a broader audience.

He was trapped in the Data world for 20 years.

Passionate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.

Tom Vazdar is a cybersecurity and artificial intelligence expert, serving as the CEO and Founder of Riskoria Advising & Professional Services LLC. He specializes in helping organizations navigate the complexities of data protection, risk management, and AI integration. His extensive expertise includes developing robust security compliance strategies, managing complex information systems, and implementing enterprise risk management solutions on a global scale.

At Riskoria, Tom leads AI-driven solutions and cybersecurity initiatives that empower businesses to protect their digital assets and optimize operations. He is also deeply involved in academia, where he leads the MSc program in Enterprise Cybersecurity at the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) and mentors future cybersecurity leaders.

An active thought leader, Tom speaks at global industry conferences and advises organizations on AI ethics, cybersecurity culture, and digital transformation. As a lecturer and mentor at MindStudio Academy, Tom plays an active role in shaping the next generation of AI professionals. He collaborates with MindStudio AI as an implementation partner to integrate innovative AI and cybersecurity solutions into business processes.

He is pursuing a PhD focused on cybersecurity culture in organizations and holds advanced certifications, including CISSP and AI expertise.

Seasoned business leader with a product management background leading a tiny, efficient and very experienced team of Velebit AI that implements B2B solutions and delivers AI services for online marketplaces, publishing, e-commerce, gaming, biotech and many other industries. Serial entrepreneur starting in the early internet days but also spent five years in academia and 15 years in the corporate environment in various roles across industries like telecommunications, online publishing, and technology transfer. Driven to understand how AI will interact with humans and change our livelihoods in the years to come.

Digital Transformation leader and management advisor with international experience, strong information technology background and analytical skills coupled with astute business acumen. Specialized in forward-looking business development, ensuring that enterprise’s digital strategy is optimal, given current and emerging digital realities, opportunities, and threats.

Track-record of achievements in creating market advantage and value for customers and shareholders in Telecommunications, LifeSciences, Information Technology and Services, Public sector and Financial industry.

Currently assumes position of Chief Digital Officer at JGL dd including ownership of AI implementation program. He is also Supervisory board member of Pontis Technologies, a member of Bridgewest Group.

Božidar has extensive experience on both sides of the fintech world. After more than 20 years in banking, where he held executive positions, he decided to trade security for excitement and started a challenging venture with a global fintech startup.

Currently, he is committed to supporting the local startup community through conferences, mentorship, and angel investments. In recent years, he has also been actively engaged as a partner with the newest Croatian VC fund, AYMO Ventures.

Andrea Čović Vidović has over 15 years of professional experience in EU affairs, diplomacy, communication, management and mentoring. Since July 2022 she has been Head of Media at the European Commission in Croatia and Deputy Head of Commission Representation since February 2023, with the role of Acting Head of Representation since 1 July 2023. She was in charge of public relations for the European Parliament in Croatia since its inauguration in February 2013 until July 2022. She worked at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs as a diplomat on Croatia’s EU membership negotiations and as EU policies lecturer. Thereafter she headed EU sectors at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy. During her studies, she was a freelancer on international cultural projects at the Institute for International Relations and Development in Zagreb, before being recruited as regional coordinator of international ICT projects for UNIQA insurance.

She holds a Master’s degree in contemporary European Studies from the Sussex University in the UK, as well as in German and English Studies from the University of Zagreb. She studied International Relations and German Studies at the Technical University of Dresden and conducted her PhD research in Comparative Politics at the University of Zagreb and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Relations in Washington DC. She is alumna of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the US Fulbright Programme and the British Chevening Programme. A volunteer in several non-profit organisations, she is the author of projects „Women in the Lead“ for the Academy for Political Development and „AI in PR: Educating the Next Generation of Communicators“ for the Croatian Public Relations Association.

Tomislav is a founding Partner at investment management firm SQ Capital based in Zagreb. The company deploys multiple investment strategies trough several hedge funds and venture fund vehicles. He is a venture investor with a focus on Pre-seed and seed companies from Balkan region. He has extensive experience in asset management industry having worked as a trader, portfolio manager and running an investment arm of a large Croatian Bank. Since co-founding SQ Capital, Tomislav helped facilitate numerous successful investments in various private and public companies.

Patrik is Data Science Team Lead at the leading Croatian fintech company Aircash. In this role, he established the Data Science department based on a series of successfully managed and completed projects in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, in collaboration with other departments (IT, Sales, Compliance, Customer Support, Risk). Examples of successful projects in production include face recognition and liveness detection, personal document data extraction, multilingual digit recognition, and user segmentation. These projects have reduced fraudulent account takeovers, accelerated customer support, reduced new user onboarding time, decreased costs and required resources for user verification, and enabled the targeted acquisition of new users. Throughout his studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Croatia, Patrik founded a strength training optimization application for Android called SmartLift AI. He also participated in machine learning competitions on Kaggle and achieved remarkable results.

Nenad Mijić received his M.S. degree in Physics from the University of Zagreb in 2017. He is currently working on his PhD under the supervision of Davor Davidović, Ruđer BoškovićInstitute, Zagreb. His research interests include code portability and eigenvalue solvers on heterogeneous distributed systems and high performance computing. Often wanders into ML territory as he develops an interest and passion for it. He currently works at the University Computing Centre SRCE, as part of the Advanced Computing Department team.

Slaven Mišak co-founded and led bonsai.tech, an AI solutions company that was part of the Span Group. Recently, Bonsai was fully acquired by Span, and now I’m the Chief Digital Officer there. In my new role, I focus on shaping our software services and AI offerings, working with key clients and helping Span grow and innovate in the digital space.

Fedor Pavlov is AWS Solutions Architect, working mainly with FSI industry. Serverless, GenAI, Typescript and Svelte enthusiast. For the last 15+ years Fedor has been building all sorts of IT-infrastructures, including classic data center on-premises and cloud infrastructures with AWS.

Viviane received her BSc and MSc degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from ETH Zurich in 2020 and 2022, respectively. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Digital Circuits and Systems group of Prof. Benini. Her research focuses on heterogeneous architectures for energy-efficient multi-modal AI fusion and the exploration of innovative data representation strategies to enhance the computational efficiency and adaptability on devices at the extreme edge, ranging from high-performance to resource-constrained environments.

Ema Puljak is a doctoral student at the University Autonoma Barcelona specializing in the interdisciplinary field of Quantum Computing and Machine Learning. She was conducting her cutting-edge research at CERN, one of the world’s most prestigious research centers, in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. Ema’s academic journey began at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb, where she earned her degree in computer science. Her path to advanced research was paved by a significant internship at CERN, where she worked on developing artificial intelligence algorithms aimed at enhancing particle discovery processes. This experience fueled her interest in the potential of quantum computing combined with machine learning to solve complex, real-world problems, leading her to her current research focus.

Jadranka Lovrić is an experienced technology and digital transformation leader with a background in both information technology and business development. She started her career at Vipnet d.o.o., part of the Mobilkom-Austria Group, where she led the development of innovative technology projects. As a co-founder of a tech startup, Jadranka introduced the development of new digital transformation strategies for mobile services and applications.

She has extensive international experience and has held key management positions in business development and marketing at Valamar Holiday Hotels & Resorts and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. At Croatian Telecom Inc. she led the Information and Communications Technology Business Team and drove key digital business initiatives.

Currently, as Senior Business Project Manager at European Digital Innovation HUB, she oversees the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises and the public sector. Her role highlights her expertise in strategic business development.

Izet Ždralović was born in 1979 in Zagreb, Croatia. He attended the American International School in Cairo, Egypt, for high school, and then pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science and Service Management at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Later, he earned an Executive Leader Master of Science degree in Innovation and Service Management from the same institution in Rochester, New York.

Before co-founding Microblink and Photomath (now Google), Izet built his career in telecommunications, ICT, and the service industries, holding roles at Amis Telekom, Iskon Internet, and the Hyatt Hotels group in the US. Currently, Izet is a partner at Silicon Gardens Fund, where he is dedicated to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem in the Adriatic region by investing in innovative pre-seed and seed companies.

With nearly 20 years of experience in sales, product marketing, and management, Izet has a comprehensive understanding of the business world, with a focus on innovative technologies that improve everyday life. He has a talent for integrating technology into processes and products to solve problems and enhance user experiences.

Outside of work, Izet enjoys spending time with his family and travelling; he is happily married and has two boys. He is also a basketball enthusiast and serves as a junior varsity coach.

Tomislav Bronzin is the founder and director of the IT company CITUS, an innovator and visionary. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing projects and creating innovative products, for which he and his team won over 100 international awards for innovation in IT, six patents, and numerous others. He is an expert in strategic IT consulting, specializing in using new and advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR), cloud computing, big data, and analytics. Tomislav holds the honorary title of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and is one of the few with the title of Microsoft Regional Director. He is the author of numerous professional and scientific works in information technologies, especially on software design and development, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, innovation, project and risk management, and entrepreneurship. He is a regular lecturer at IT conferences, a senior lecturer at Algebra University, an invited lecturer at other higher education institutions, and a mentor to many individuals and teams. Tomislav is the vice president of the Association for IT of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Directors of the IT Association of the Croatian Association of Employers, the president of the Association of Innovators of Entrepreneurs at the Association of Innovators of Zagreb, a member of the Thematic Innovation Council for Security within the Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) of the Republic of Croatia, and a member of the working group for ASOO curriculum – Agency for Vocational Education and Adult Education. He is a member of the National Council for Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia.

Emir Imamagic is the Head of the Advanced Computing Department at the University Computing Centre (SRCE), where he has been contributing for over 20 years. His expertise spans high-performance computing, distributed and cloud computing, as well as system management and monitoring. Emir oversees SRCE’s Advanced Computing services, including the national supercomputer Supek and the advanced cloud platform Vrančić, ensuring specialized support for users. He is actively involved in several European projects, such as EDIH CROBOHUB++, National Competence Centres in the framework of EuroHPC, Croatian Quantum Communication Infrastructure, and activities related to the European Open Science Cloud.

Tomislav Krog is a Data Science graduate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, where he worked on a variety of AI-related projects. His work includes predictive modeling, natural language processing, evolutionary computing, and optimization. During his studies, Tomislav developed strong skills in using machine learning techniques to tackle real-world problems. He is currently employed as a Data Analyst at Sofascore, where he focuses on providing meaningful insights from large datasets related to user behavior and sports data. Through his work, he aims to support better decision-making and enhance user experiences with data-driven solutions.

Marin is currently working as a Director of Data Science and Engineering and is a proud member of the Studenac team. He started his career in biology, catching bats and analyzing their ultrasonic sounds. He had no idea that years later, he would have the opportunity to play a role in the retail industry, working on complex analytics, developing AI solutions, and implementing BI dashboards.

Ana Barić is a PhD student at TakeLab FER, focused on NLP. Her research interests span from exploring model uncertainty in language models to tackling diverse topics in computational social science, such as sentiment analysis and bias detection.

Laura Majer graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing and has since worked on two research projects there. She is currently a PhD student at FER focused on NLP, working in disinformation research, sentiment analysis and other topics spanning from psychology to political sciences.

Juraj Malenica brings ten years of startup experience to his role as Head of Engineering at Mindsmiths, where he tackles AI challenges with a practical and direct approach. He’s adept at translating product needs into engineering solutions, ensuring his team is always aligned with the company’s goals.

Juraj believes in a collaborative work environment to get the job done. His leadership style is open and approachable, creating a positive atmosphere that encourages open dialogue and innovation.

In his free time, Juraj enjoys connecting with people, cycling and exploring new environments.

Nino Požar is a Product Owner and Data Scientist at BE-terna, specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for logistics and supply chain management. With a strong background in data analysis and automation, Nino playsa pivotal role in the development and implementation of Alisa AI, BE-terna’s intelligent assistant designed to optimize demand forecasting, replenishment, production planning, and inventory management. His expertise lies in harnessing data-driven insights to enhance operational efficiency, and he has worked closely with various clients to deliver tailored AI solutions that bring measurable business value. Passionate about leveraging technology for industry transformation, Nino is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve in modern supply chain management.

Maciek Ozorowski is an experienced insights professional with a strong background in data science and research innovation. Having graduated with master’s degree in Statistics and Actuarial Mathematics, Maciek completed post-graduate executive MBA course accredited by Harvard Business School. Over the course of almost 20 years in the industry, Maciek has built his expertise designing and implementing research solutions for international brands in Media, Technology, Financial Services and Retail sectors. Currently serving as the Global Head of AI Transformation at Ipsos, Maciek is responsible for company’s strategy and implementation of Artificial Intelligence across the full suite of research solutions.

In recent years, Maciek has played an active role in Ipsos’ success as the most innovative full-service research agency, as recognised by the GRIT report for five consecutive years. Maciek has been at the forefront of Ipsos’ adoption of generative AI, leading the development and implementation of Ipsos Facto, an enterprise-level AI-powered research platform that revolutionises research-related tasks. Maciek’s expertise in AI has been further demonstrated through development and delivery of Ipsos AI training programme, presentations at industry conferences, and active contribution to Ipsos thought leadership in that space.

Maciek’s dedication to research innovation is evident through his involvement in a range of experiments and pilots exploring the use of AI in research. With a passion for driving actionable insights and leveraging cutting-edge technology, Maciek continues to explore the future of market research.

Vlaho Hrdalo is a lawyer with over 15 years of experience, in 2008 he graduated from University of Zagreb, Faculty of law obtaining the master of law degree. He passed the bar exam in 2011 with an 86% score. In 2012 he founded his own law firm which after merging with Krnic Law became Hrdalo&Krnic Law Firm (HKOD.hr) which specializes in fintech, IT and new technologies. In 2016 he finished the interdisciplinary specialist studies in Diplomacy organized by the University of Zagreb and the Ministry of Foreign and European affairs of Croatia with the final thesis on digital privacy. He is teaching Consular law at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of law. Vlaho Hrdalo was the cofounder and is the current Chairman of Croatian association for blockchain and cryptocurrencies (UBIK.hr). He is the author of several research papers of which ‘Terrorism and insurance from that risk’ was introduced into the Library of the Croatian Parliament in May 2018. In 2019 he finished a course at the University of Pennsylvania on Privacy Law and Data Protection. In 2020 he inititated the establishing of the Legal tech working group with the Croatian Bar Association after which he was voted its first president, a role he still holds. He is a regular speaker at international conferences. Vlaho Hrdalo is an experienced executive who has been successfully running his law firm for over 12 years as well as an association of more than 300 members for the third consecutive term. Through UBIK he is also the organizer of a leading regional Web3 conference Blocksplit.net.

Adrian assumed his position of Director for advanced analytics and AI in the Fortenova Group in August. It is his responsibility to ensure data driven decision-making in the most important business processes with the help of modern data processing methods.

His entire career is related to the retail of the Fortenova group, that is, Konzum, where Adrian has been employed since 2006 as a data analyst in charge of customer segmentation, assortment optimization and point of sale analysis. In 2009, he advanced to the position of Supply Chain Planning Manager who forecasts demand, participates in automated replenishment of goods and supply chain planning, where

In 2017, Adrian assumed the position of Director of the Department of Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning, where he was responsible for inventory levels and inventory management, inbound and outbound goods flows, availability of goods to end consumers, and implementation and improvement of supply chain management processes and systems.

Adrian graduated from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics – University of Zagreb. In addition to the engineering degree in mathematical statistics and computer science, he has also earned the Master of Management and Master of Business Administration degrees from the IEDC Bled Business School and their Faculty for Postgraduate Management Studies.

For several years he was also an external associate at RIT Croatia as a lecturer and examiner in the course: Operations Management.

Veronika is a software engineer with experience in data science, first gained through her participation in Ericsson Nikola Tesla summer camp. For the past three years, she has been working on data science projects, primarily focused on the e-environment domain. Using Python and its ecosystem, her work includes data preprocessing, analysis, and building and evaluating ML models, with focus on Sentinel satellite images. She is also building experience in project deployment and leading a team.

Marko is an Engineering Manager at Google. Previously he worked at Photomath, Meta (Facebook), Styria, LEGO (as consultant), University of Zagreb and has entrepreneurship experience. He won many awards including the ones from Microsoft and NVIDIA. Marko is also lecturer at Algebra University. He is interested in ML research and practical applications in real life scenarios.

Kristijan Mrkalj is a valued member of the Advanced Computing Department at the University Computing Centre (SRCE), at the University of Zagreb.

His mission is to provide scientists and researchers with cutting-edge computational resources and comprehensive support to tackle demanding computational challenges. As part of SRCE team, Kristijan is instrumental in managing these resources effectively while also providing personalized workshops and assistance to optimize users’ utilization of our computing facilities.

Kristijan holds a graduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology. This educational background equips him with a profound understanding of the diverse needs inherent in scientific and engineering research domains. Through his expertise and dedication, Kristijan contributes significantly to empowering researchers in their pursuit of innovative solutions and breakthroughs.

Born in Split in 1978. After finishing law at University of Zagreb worked in as lawyer in Notary office, Addiko bank d.d. and was partner in law firm Bardek, Lisac, Mušec, Skoko, Šarolić d.o.o..

n 2013 Marijana incorporated her own law office and has been since then providing support to startup and technology companies in daily operations, investment, labour and regulatory framework.

For the last 10 years Marijana has been startup mentor in ZIP today ALGEBRA LAB and has actively participated as founder of CroAI (Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association) HOME | CroAI and founder and vice president of CRO STARTUP CroStartup – Croatian Startup Ecosystem.

Marijana graduated from Cotrugli Business School in 2014 as member of EMBA X generation. Since 2017 she has been active member of Croatian and regional Data Science and AI ecosystem giving lectures, panel participation and public appearances on AI regulatory framework and AI Ethics related issues and event gave a TEDx Zagreb talk on AI.

In 2016 Marijana cofounded PWMN CROATIA /PWN ZAGREB pwn.hr NGO that promotes gender balanced leadership in professional environment and she has been president of the organisation since then. In addition she has been active member of MBA Croatia and for the moment she serves her second mandate as Supervisory Board member.

Davor is the Co-founder/Chief Scientist at AIRT, an AI Technology company that helps finance companies to use big data techniques on (pre)process transactional data and dramatically improve accuracy of all predictive models created and used by the internal data science team.

Before co-founding DRAP in 2008, he co-founded PlayMedia Systems in 1997 and launched AMP MP3 technology on the global market, and helped launch BabyWatch (now called Bellabeat) in 2013, a digital health wearable company. He also teaches machine and deep learning at the HUB385 Innovation center.

As a PhD intern working with Yuri Gurevich at Microsoft Research, he worked on applications of the interactive ASM thesis on multiprocessor/multicore programing. He designed, implemented and transferred technology to a product group of a system for execution of structured concurrency, later named the Task Parallel Library of .NET framework. Received the SSCLI and Phoenix 2005 award by Microsoft Research as one of the best 16 research projects in international competition.

Inventor and lead developer of several DRM based and DRM free systems for digital audio distribution based of AMP® MP3 decoding engine for clients including DMX Music, STMicroelectronics and Napster.

Karlo is an AI Developer with over three years of experience at TIS Grupa, specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), Computer Vision, and traditional Machine Learning solutions. Karlo’s work spans a diverse range of innovative projects, and what he find most compelling is the duality of my role: the creative challenge of solving unprece- dented problems, coupled with the meticulous process of data collection that forms the foun- dation of effective AI models.

Ozren Kobsa is a results-driven attorney with over 15 years of experience in banking, finance, capital markets, and insolvency & restructuring. Known for his innovative approach to problem-solving, he thrives on navigating complex legal challenges and regulatory frameworks, both locally and globally. His career spans top-tier local and international law firms, as well as significant experience with an international financial institution. Currently pursuing an MBA, he combines a strong STEM foundation with his legal background. Driven by his experiences in the legal sector, he is committed to introducing innovation and technology through Ulpian to bring transformative value to the industry.

Matej Gjurković is a Ph.D. student and a research associate at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER). He has been involved in several national and EU projects as a research engineer.

His research interests focus on using natural language processing methods for personality prediction and analysis based on social media text.

Goran Gvozden is a Senior Data Science Consultant at Solvership (ex Poslovna inteligencija) and Lecturer at Algebra University College, Zagreb. He holds a PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER). His research interests are focused on visual perception, computer vision, sports analytics and IoT.

His cross-functional professional background includes consulting, engineering, managerial, entrepreneurial and sales roles. He is a Microsoft Azure certified expert in the field of artificial intelligence. As a data science consultant, he combines analytics-based insights with machine learning expertise to design, build and deliver optimized business solutions within cybersecurity, hospitality and financial domains.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and music producer in my free time—or maybe it’s the other way around. With 20 years of experience leading teams through the execution of complex web technology projects, I help clients achieve their desired outcomes. Over the past five years, I have focused on the digital transformation of leading companies in the region. Using a composable web approach, my team and I develop ultra-fast web solutions tailored to the specific needs of each client. Our solutions regularly incorporate AI technology, such as the AI chatbot developed for Podravka.

Ksenija Latković Kozarac, has over 20 years of experience across media, agency, and corporate roles, shaping media strategies and driving digital projects.

As the digital communications director at Podravka, Ksenija leads a team managing the company’s presence across more than 200 platforms in 20 markets. One of mher favorite projects recently was launching Croatia’s first AI-based virtual assistant, Superfood Chefbot by Coolinarika, which showcases Podravka’s commitment to innovation and pushing the boundaries.

Before joining Podravka, Ksenija held managing roles at Adris group and OMD Croatia, always aiming to develop strategies that deliver real results. She is passionate about working with teams, driving collaboration, and sharing insights at industry events to stay connected with the latest trends in business and technology.

Darije is skillfully balancing his business and technical leadership roles in the Customer Transformation domain. As an Associate Partner in IBM iX, Darije leads the consulting service line for Central and Eastern Europe, while simultaneously wearing the technical hat as an Executive Architect and CTO for Customer Transformation platforms.

His unwavering focus and passion lie in assisting clients throughout Central and Eastern Europe in reimagining customer and employee experiences. Spanning across Product, Marketing, Service, Sales, and Commerce domains, he is committed to cultivating value and fueling growth. His secret recipe? A winning combination of customer-centric vision, strategic planning, and a tech-savvy transformation approach grounded in human-centric design, digital platforms, AI and other emerging technological capabilities.

Petar Zečević, an IT veteran with over 20 years of experience, began as a Java developer and IBM consultant. He’s since excelled in Big Data solutions and authored “Spark in Action” (Manning, 2016). He completed his PhD in Computer Science at FER, University of Zagreb in 2024. Petar is a Senior Principal Consultant at Solvership on various data engineering and science projects.

Anja Barešić is research associate at Machine learning and Knowledge Representation Laboratory at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She obtained her PhD in computational biology at University College London and leads the group researching the role of regulatory genomics in human disease.

She coordinates Croatian European Digital Innovation Hub “AI for smart healthcare and medicine” (AI4Health.Cro) providing opportunity for improving digital maturity of small and medium enterprises and other stakeholders involved in the digitalization of healthcare sector, in Croatia and the rest of Europe.

Maša is a dedicated finance professional with experience in controlling, accounting, and financial analysis. Currently, she serves as the Head of Controlling at the Magdalena Clinic for Cardiovascular Medicine, where she enhances managerial reporting and develops financial business plans. In this role, she focuses on improving healthcare business processes and advancing digitalization by leveraging new technologies. She has successfully implemented Business Intelligence (BI) solutions using Tableau, enabling data-driven decision-making.

Previously, as a Financial Analyst at Biovega d.o.o., Maša managed financial reporting and secured EU funding for an entrepreneurship project. She also led controlling functions at Perfa Group, developing business policies and obtaining EU IPARD funding.

Maša holds a Controller’s Diploma from CA Controller Akademie and a specialist degree in financial markets from the University of Zagreb.

A public health resident at the Croatian Institute of Public Health, with years of experience in primary healthcare. He is a technology enthusiast and serves as an external associate at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Biomedicine and Health at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Medicine. As part of the Challenge event, he contributed to organizing and logistics, ensuring that participants had access to secure processing environments and could focus on their tasks efficiently.

Miha graduated Mathematics at the University of Zagreb. He is a PhD student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, employed at Ruđer Bošković Institute as a researcher. He researches machine learning algorithms in computer vision, drug discovery, and natural language processing. His research interests are focused on integration of AI algorithms in Croatian healthcare system emphasizing trustworthy AI. As part of the organizing team within the AI4Health.cro Innovation Competition 2024 he worked on setting up the rehospitalisation problem for the contestants, with the aim of encouraging innovation in healthcare.

Ena Aničić and Stipe Kabić are machine learning engineers at Atomic Intelligence. They hold bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and masters degrees in mathematical statistics from the University of Zagreb. They work on a variety of projects in AI, some of which are music source separation, document layout analysis and synthetic data generation for medical applications. Their work involves both research and generation of novel ideas and solutions, as well as engineering and efficient implementation of their results. Ena and Stipe are also actively engaged in the AI community, regularly participating in conferences and events to stay at the forefront of trends and advancements in the field.

Ivan Grubišić earned his master’s degree at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, and an assistant at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute in the Laboratory for Machine Learning and Knowledge Representation. His research interests are in testing characteristics of deep learning models beyond their performance, such as evaluation of their reasoning capabilities, robustness, uncertainty, and fairness. He is devoted to the development of comprehensive test environments for models in various computer vision and natural language processing tasks.

Ivan Rimac, the CIO at Barrage, graduated from the Department of Physics at the University of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek. He started in the ICT industry as a freelancer and co-founded and managed his first company, Studio 33, in Osijek.

Soon after that, as the market demand grew, in 2016, he co-founded Barrage to specialize more in custom application design and development. With an initial staff of around 15 employees, Barrage has a healthy growth and headcount of around 100.

Ivan’s domain is creating business processes, managing the software engineering teams, architecting cloud solutions, and implementing information and application security practices. He is always looking out for new technologies and how to apply them in a production environment.

On a more personal note, Ivan was a heart and soul athlete, which embedded him with just the right amount of discipline and competitiveness. Whether in the office or not, he does not go offline and never loses the drive, while tech talks with Ivan will result in a sublime experience.

Bogdan Okreša Đurić is an Assistant Professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics, specializing in multiagent systems, artificial intelligence, gamification, and computer games. He is an active member of the faculty’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and a member of the Confederation of Laboratories for AI Research in Europe (CLAIRE). With extensive international experience through Erasmus programs and research visits, he is dedicated to fostering global collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Matej Ciglenečki is a Machine Learning Engineer at TensorPix, working on building state-of-the-art models for video enhancement, optimizing model inference, and scaling the production infrastructure. Previously, Matej worked at Memgraph, Photomath, and Microblink, where he gained experience in computer vision, system design, and software engineering. In addition to his engineering work, Matej is passionate about building ML products from start to finish and improving the culture of startup companies.

Stevica is a visionary entrepreneur with a remarkable journey in the world of startups and technology. With a strong foundation as a developer and a serial founder, he has been a driving force in the regional startup ecosystem. His commitment to nurturing emerging businesses led him to establish Startup Camp in 2012, a pioneering program for early-stage startups. Under his guidance, dozens of startups flourished, collectively securing an impressive $4 million USD in funding.

In 2015, Stevica embarked on a transformative experience through the International Visitors Leadership program, a prestigious initiative by the U.S. Department of State. During this enlightening two-month sojourn in the USA, he forged invaluable connections with investors, startup luminaries, and visionary entrepreneurs from around the globe.

In that same year, Stevica founded Locodels, a startup that ultimately caught the attention of Croatian Post, resulting in its acquisition in 2019. His entrepreneurial spirit and ability to create and scale innovative ventures have left an indelible mark on the business landscape.

Today, as a partner at Fil Rouge Capital, Stevica continues to shape the future of technology and investment. Over the past five years, he has played a pivotal role in more than 150 strategic investments, offering his expertise across diverse domains such as software development, blockchain infrastructure, artificial intelligence, logistics, and fundraising strategy. Stevica’s journey is a testament to his unwavering dedication to innovation and his commitment to empowering the next generation of trailblazers in the startup world.

Lucija Modrić is an experienced project manager with a background of working in a startup focused on AI-driven software development. At Rearm, Lucija specializes in product management, delivery, and team coordination. With years of experience and a foundation in managing engineering projects, Lucija blends organizational expertise with leadership skills to deliver impactful results in fast-paced start-up environment.

Marko has over 15 years of experience in the local and regional ICT market, focused on enhancing cybersecurity. He is an active member of relevant professional associations, which allows him to gain insights into the latest trends and practices in the industry. In the security field, Marko has been working for just over 8 years, with a particular focus on critical infrastructure and OT environments for the past six years. As the Regional Director for Southeast Europe and Regional CISO at one of the leading companies in critical infrastructure security solutions, he has played a key role in ensuring the stable and secure operation of critical systems over the past three years. His expertise and dedication make him a valuable speaker, contributing to any discussion on cybersecurity.