The 18th International Exhibition of Inventions, ARCA 2020 was held in Zagreb 15 – 17. October 2020

ARCA 2020, The 18. International Exhibition of Inventions under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Zoran Milanovic, was held in Zagreb 15 –

17. October 2020 by Union Of Croatian Innovators (UIH).

This year’s installment of the exhibition was traditionally supported by the Ministries of Economy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Science and Education, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, and the University of Zagreb. Of special notice is that this year’s ARCA, although held in a somewhat reduced format, still took place like in the years before in the spaces of the National and University Library. This year, the organization and logistics were additionally challenged by the pervasive conditions of safety procedures dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Having in mind that ARCA 2020 is listed as one of the Main IFIA Events, the number of presented innovations was significant, presented both by domestic Croatian inventors as well as international ones, mainly from Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Turkey, Northern Macedonia, China, and Poland.

In total, more than 200 innovations were exhibited, with the majority aimed at prevention or fight against the Corona epidemic.

A marked number of innovations presented was contributed by youth, comprising students of technical secondary education institutions, as well as university students. For the youth, including the youngest group of elementary school age, ARCA 2020 featured a separate program of STEM workshops.

Under the umbrella of ARCA 2020, a separate panel “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Time of Corona” took place, concerning itself with the sustainability of innovative entrepreneurship in the newly arisen circumstances.

In addition to the usual gold, silver, and bronze awards this year marks the first time that WIPO Awards For Innovation were featured, going in the Youth category to the innovation “Smart Beekeper’s Scale” developed by the young innovator Matija Hrzic. In the Senior category, the WIPO Award was awarded to the innovation “Mobile Corona Quarantine Tehnix 4/8” of a technological company in good standing, Tehnix Ltd.

The traditional IFIA Award went to the innovation “OXIECO-General Use Disinfectant Generator Using Electrolysis” by the innovator Franjo Trumbetas.

Since the pandemic proved itself to be the cause of a foundation of a number of start-ups associated with innovations targeted at fighting the Coronavirus crisis, one of such start-ups, Kristalna Ideja Ltd. used the ARCA as an opportunity to launch the product “I Therapy”, an automated compact wall-mounted air purifier which won the ARCA 2020 Grand Prix. The product is already available at both the Croatian domestic and international markets and has garnered numerous international acclaim. The company Kristalna Ideja Ltd.

headed by the innovator Inga Kovacic Sindic has gone on record saying that it sees the participation and exhibition at international innovation expos like ARCA 2020 a key in effective networking with foreign partners and distributors.