SPIRIT Slovenia opens its doors to researchers at the Podim Conference 2026

SPIRIT Slovenia is once again supporting the international Podim Conference 2026, the largest startup ecosystem event in Slovenia. The conference will take place on May 12 and 13, 2026, in Maribor.

As part of this year’s program, SPIRIT Slovenia will support the Deep Tech Frontier track, primarily aimed at researchers. This segment will highlight opportunities for research teams to successfully present their innovations to investors and develop them into market-ready solutions. At the same time, the Builders Stage program will showcase successful startups and fast-growing companies from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

One of the key objectives of the measure C3.K8.RA “Operation and management of the RRI system,” implemented by SPIRIT Slovenia under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), is to strengthen collaboration and networking among stakeholders in the Slovenian innovation ecosystem. For this reason, they aim to attract as many Slovenian researchers as possible to the conference—especially those who are developing or have already developed solutions with clear market potential.

To support participation, a public call has been published, under which up to 10 researchers will be selected to receive free conference passes for Podim 2026. The application deadline is April 22, 2026. The public call and the link to the application form are available here: https://www.spiritslovenia.si/razpis/460

Researchers who wish to present their ideas to the broader startup community, investors, and potential partners thus have an excellent opportunity to break into the market and establish key connections in the region.