Testing and validation
Infrastructure to formulate, characterise and artificially age materials, with clinical testing — what most companies do not have, and need on the way to market.
University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine · Research, Innovation and Science Center
Idea Incubator2026
Bringing science and industry together. Companies bring development problems, researchers bring the methods to solve them — and you leave with the name of a person to talk to, not a leaflet.
- DateThursday, 15 October 2026
- Programme13:00 – 16:00
- Networkinguntil 18:00
- VenueWESPA Business & Lounge, Green Gold, Zagreb
Attendance is free. Places are limited and every registration is confirmed by the organiser — we send confirmation by email.
Why attend
Three hours that end in a concrete agreement
The Idea Incubator is not a symposium. The core of the afternoon runs both ways: researchers present what they can do, companies state what is holding them back, and the conversations continue at themed tables.
Funding and legal framework
Concrete instruments for financing joint projects and clear models of engagement: licensing, contract research, spin-off.
A meeting within 14 days
You leave with the name of a person, not a leaflet. Marija Putanec, Head of Business Development, arranges meetings within two weeks.
Speakers
Five perspectives on the same thing
From infrastructure and the service catalogue, through commercialisation experience and the investor's view, to funding instruments and the question of who owns the results.
Danijela Marović
Vice-Dean, University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine
What the Research Center offers industry
Infrastructure, service catalogue and the path from idea to validation — with one named contact person for every collaboration.
Dora Adanić
COO of a spin-off company
From laboratory to market
What the path from a research result to a product actually looks like, told first-hand.
Mirna Marović
investor perspective
What makes an academic project worth investing in
What investors actually look at, and the mistakes researchers most often make when seeking funding.
Miro Hegedić
EIT community officer for Croatia
Funding instruments
Concrete programmes open to Croatian consortia — EIT Health, innovation vouchers and others.
Željko Bihar
intellectual property and technology transfer
Who owns the results
Licensing, contract research and spin-offs — one slide per model, and how quickly an agreement is signed.
Programme
Schedule
The event is held in Croatian; slides may be in English.
12:30 – 13:00
Registration and welcome coffee
13:00 – 13:10
Opening
Welcome address by the Dean.
13:10 – 13:28
What the Research Center offers industry
Danijela Marović, Vice-Dean
13:28 – 13:43
From laboratory to market
Dora Adanić, COO of a spin-off company
13:43 – 13:58
What makes an academic project worth investing in
Mirna Marović
13:58 – 14:13
Funding instruments
Miro Hegedić, EIT community officer for Croatia
14:13 – 14:28
Intellectual property and technology transfer
Željko Bihar
14:28 – 14:58
Moderated panel discussion and questions from the floor
14:58 – 15:08
Break
15:08 – 15:55
Idea Incubator — two-way presentations
Researchers give a four-minute capability pitch; companies give a reverse pitch — their own development problem. Themed standing tables led by research group leaders follow.
15:55 – 16:00
Closing
A single named contact point and the follow-up mechanism: meetings within 14 days.
16:00 – 18:00
Informal networking over drinks
Conversations continue without a formal frame.
What the Research Center offers industry
From idea to validation
The School of Dental Medicine holds research infrastructure for testing dental materials and related products. Beyond the dental industry, it serves the food and beverage sector — especially developers of sugar-free products — manufacturers of oral hygiene products, and manufacturers of curing lights and 3D printers.
Five models of engagement
Contract R&D
Our scientists run the development project on the company's behalf — from designing a custom composite material to characterising it under oral-cavity-like conditions, still at the in vitro stage.
Collaborative R&D
A joint development project with small and medium enterprises, aimed at product development and characterisation.
Analytical services
Data collection, analysis and testing on our infrastructure, including professional training for your teams.
Access to infrastructure
Use of selected instruments at a fixed hourly or daily rate — for experienced scientists and supervised by our staff.
Consultancy
Materials development expertise for the dental industry, manufacturers of curing units, the food industry and manufacturers of oral hygiene products.
Methods we offer
- Degree of conversion and polymerisation kinetics (real-time FTIR)
- Mechanical properties — microhardness and flexural properties
- In vitro simulation of ageing and material degradation
- Optical properties: light transmission, colour and colour change
- Ion release and pH measurement
- Chemical surface mapping
- NIST-referenced light intensity and spectral characterisation
- Real-time temperature change measurement
- Formulation of experimental composites (asymmetric centrifugal mixer / vacuum)
- Clinical trials
- Regulatory compliance for composite materials
What can be tested
- Composite restorative materials — commercial and experimental
- Ion-releasing composite materials
- Pit and fissure sealants
- Composite and orthodontic cements
- 3D-printed inlays, onlays, overlays and crowns
- Orthodontic aligners
- Dental curing lights and 3D printers
- Beverages — natural and sweetened juices, artificially sweetened products
- Toothpastes, mouthwashes and dental varnishes
After the event
We are open to collaboration with companies across different industries, according to their development needs. Every collaboration has one named contact person: after the event Marija Putanec, Head of Business Development, arranges meetings with matched participants within 14 days.
Register to attend
The registration form asks one question more than usual: which development problem or topic you are bringing. We use it to suggest, in advance, who you should meet.
Every registration is confirmed by the organiser. Once we receive your registration we email you a confirmation with practical information.
Knowledge · Innovation · Partnership