Biotech Hackathon Held in Pančevo. The first local event on synthetic biology in Serbia
As part of the European initiative Read Write Grow – Biotech Hackathon 2025, organized by the BioCatalyst Foundation, the organization Cirkuliranje, in cooperation with the Regional Talent Center “Mihajlo Pupin” Pančevo, held a local event dedicated to synthetic biology – a field that connects biology, engineering, technology, and creativity.
The event took place on November 14th, 2025, at 12:00 PM, at the premises of the Talent Center in Pančevo, and represented a local node within the European Biotech Hackathon network, which is being held simultaneously across several cities in Europe.
Jury and mentors
This gathering marked the conclusion of a process that officially began on November 10th, during which students, mentors, and researchers developed ideas and projects in the field of synthetic biology.
Two projects were presented as a result of teamwork, mentoring, and creative collaboration between participants.
The hackathon participants were two teams:
- Uroš and Andrej Popović ,
- Vladislav Petković and Danilo Živković.
Participants
Expert feedback and valuable comments were provided by biology mentors and associates from the Talent Center: Mira Fiškalović, Vesna Hlavati Širka, Tamara Ristić, and Milan Surla, while Vladislav Petković represented Cirkuliranje.
The projects were presented in the demo–pitch deck format, followed by Q&A sessions and constructive suggestions from the panel, which participants immediately applied to further improve their ideas.
This event represented the culmination of a week-long process that included idea generation, project structuring, and the creation of new collaboration models in biology and biotechnology.
Although the projects are still in development, the participants demonstrated great motivation and creativity, confirming that a new generation of young innovators in Pančevo is emerging.
It was emphasized that this is an important step in establishing sustainable models for projects in the field of biology, as well as in promoting science among young people. Synthetic biology encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including bioengineering, biotechnology, bioinformatics, and genetic design, all of which form the foundation of modern bioeconomy.
With this event, Pančevo officially joined the network of European cities participating in the European Biotech Hackathon 2025, while Cirkuliranje continues to strengthen its collaboration with partners from Romania – Radu Ticiu, the Bio CoderDojo team, and the SynBio competition from Timișoara, all of whom have already achieved notable results in the field of biotechnological innovation.
📍 This meeting demonstrated that through joint efforts between educational institutions and organizations such as Cirkuliranje and the Regional Talent Center “Mihajlo Pupin”, we can build the foundations for further development of bio-innovation, research, and youth education in the region.
🔗 More about the initiative: Join Read Write Grow 2025 – European Biotech Hackathon
🔗 Project and team registration: rwg.bio
