26.1.2017
- Jokić, Ph.D., emphasized in his keynote lecture that there was a large number of wonderful individuals and invited all gathered geeks, freaks, both the good and the bad, to start building a better Croatia together
A new, a more appealing, and a better world was created by the participants of yet another Bug Future Show held under the general sponsorship of Hrvatski Telekom in the packed Zagreb-based Europa Cinema, headed by “architects” whose tools are technology, knowledge, and goodness. The technology show focused primarily on Croatian teacher heroes who defy the outdated education system, adjusting science, programming, electronics, and mathematics to the youngest pupils, using future methods. The motto of this year’s show was "Building a Better World", focusing primarily on directing new generations towards STEM competencies. Hence, those involved in education of digital generation have become a part of the Croatian technological community, accompanied by frequent laughter, applause, and unrivalled geek atmosphere, as well as a wide range of lectures, discussions, and music and visual programmes included in this unique event. Bug Future Show 2017 programme was simultaneously presented in two halls where around 50 educators and technology experts provided an overview of a better future through a 20-hour long programme.
The event commenced with a keynote lecture delivered by Boris Jokić, Ph.D., from the Institute for Social Research, who pointed out that politics has the crucial position in all the countries, yet in Croatia it is particularly flawed, since the Minister of Education is incidentally selected one day prior to the appointment of government members.
All those who have been involved in the governance of this country during the last 26 years, irrespective of the political party they belong to, do not contribute to Croatia becoming a knowledge-based country. Consequently, Croatian pupils achieve poor results upon important comparative international research and even at final secondary school examinations in a large number of subjects, not only mathematics. There is a large number of wonderful individuals both in the public and in the private sector, excellent representatives in the educational system, as well as among the general public. Moreover, all of you participating in this event, as well as geeks, freaks, programmers, fakers, both the good and the bad, let’s build a better world together, a better Croatia, noted Boris Jokić, Ph.D., during the lecture.
“The greatest amongst the great” architects of the better future, Toni Milun, a Mathematics professor, has subsequently presented the Croatian teacher heroes – Ksenija Blagec, a teacher at the Zagreb-based Srednjaci kindergarten, Marlena Bogdanović, a class teacher at Tučepi elementary school, Dejan Nemčić, a Geography teacher at Braća Radić elementary school in Botinec, and Nikola Dmitrović, Computer Science teacher at the Zagreb-based XV Grammar School, asking them about their motives and the obstacles encountered whilst defying the system and “selling” young people love towards learning and knowledge using modern technologies.
In addition to this media specialised in this area, all those interested in issues concerning a better future for young people have been increasingly addressing the issue of STEM competencies. This show primarily addressed the topic of the future of education and what the future holds, concerning co-existence with artificial intelligence and technology tailored to meet human needs. A fantastic audience turnover in both packed halls has yet again confirmed the fact that Bug Future Show is a successfully developed concept for those yearning for interesting ideas and aiming to simultaneously also have some fun – commented Miro Rosandić, Editor-in-Chief of Bug and Project Manager of BFS 2017.
The leading regional start-up companies also attended the show and hence the winners of Idea Knockout, STEMI from Rijeka, provided comprehensive information about the success they achieved as exhibitors at the recently held CES 2017, a global consumer electronics and consumer technology trade show. Furthermore, the Montenegrin start-up Clockwork Briefcase and the Split-based Gammachef also presented their extraordinary projects, having ranked second and third respectively at Idea Knockout, the largest regional start-up competition.
Bug Future Show normally provides a broad range of entertaining programmes. Consequently, towards the end of the programmes for the first time in history during the panel discussion addressing the issue of future superheroes Superman, Batman, and Spiderman confronted one another – before their obvious retirement – revealing the current idols of young people against the backdrop of the times when technology pushed the limits of imagination towards artificial intelligence, gig-economy, and robotics, amongst others. The superheroes have hence summarised the show, concluding that all the technological trends that have been addressed throughout the recently held event, along with forthcoming generations, will inspire young people into STEM.
Irrespective of the fact that we saw teacher heroes, lecturers, panellists, moderators, and people participating in the organisation of this year’s Bug Future Show, they were a homogeneous team that actively used the cutting edge technological achievements in order to build a better world. I am delighted with the fact that all of them shared their experiences with the visitors in a relaxed, friendly, and unforgettable atmosphere which will be remembered throughout the year, encouraging them to inspire love towards learning and new technologies, as well as tolerance, goodness, and striving towards the innovative and the different, amongst forthcoming generations in an equally gratifying and effective way, stated Dragan Petric, Executive Editor of Bug and Programme Director of BFS 2017.
Bug Future Show 2017 was held under the general sponsorship of Hrvatski Telekom, and it was also sponsored by HTC, Sony, Zagrebačka banka, Algebra University College, Span, and Polycom. The partners of this year’s technology show were the Zagreb-based Commercial Service of the US Embassy, HBO, Entrio, and Maxima Communications.