More than 300 ideas: ENT demonstrates the strength of its innovation culture through the 2026 Innovation Challenge
June 12, 2026
The final event of the internal ENT 2026 Innovation Challenge competition was held as part of Ericsson Nikola Tesla’s strategic ENT2030 direction, with the goal of fostering the development of innovations based on artificial intelligence.
This year’s Challenge once again confirmed the strength of the company’s innovation culture. More than 300 ideas were submitted from across the organization, covering a wide range of applications, from improving business processes to developing new products and services with market potential.
Through several evaluation rounds involving the company’s business and technology experts, the initiatives with the greatest potential to create additional business and societal value were identified. Five teams advanced to the final round, where they presented their solutions on 12 June in a format focused on concrete business potential and practical applicability.
The finalists were evaluated by an expert jury that ensured both relevance and breadth of perspective: Jelena Jurišić, ENT CTO and Chair of the Jury, Irena Weber, CEO of Croatian Employers’ Association, Prof. Vedran Bilas, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Dragan Petric, Editor-in-Chief of Bug magazine, and Siniša Krajnović, PhD, President of the Management Board of ENT. The composition of the jury underscores the importance of connecting industry, academia and the business sector in driving innovation.
Third place was shared by three teams whose solutions use artificial intelligence to support employee competency development, ensure compliance with Croatian and EU regulations and apply digital twin technology in emergency response systems. Second place was awarded to a solution that leverages geospatial infrastructure and user mobility data for advanced analytics, opening new opportunities for monetization and optimization in both the public and private sectors. The winning solution comes from the domain of mission‑critical systems.
President of the Management Board Siniša Krajnović emphasized that the strong participation and high quality of ideas confirm that ENT is a knowledge‑driven company where innovation plays a key role. He thanked employees for their engagement and teamwork and announced continued discussions on further development and implementation of the most promising solutions.
The ENT Innovation Challenge 2026 once again demonstrated that innovation at Ericsson Nikola Tesla does not end with the final event. A number of ideas that did not reach the finals were recognized as relevant for further development and potential application in future projects, thereby strengthening the company’s competitiveness and contributing to broader societal progress.
