The EINSTEIN Stars 2025 competition has been successfully completed, marking an important milestone in supporting early-stage researchers and fostering innovation within the academic and research ecosystem.
Applications and Evaluation Process
A total of 8 applications were submitted in response to the call. Following the administrative eligibility check, one application was deemed ineligible, while seven eligible applications proceeded to expert evaluation.
The seven PhD students advancing to evaluation were:
- Stefan Tapavica (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
- Ostoja Jeftić (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
- Nebojša Mrkaić (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
- Lenka Brestovački (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
Zdravko Gotovac (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad) - Milica Abeer (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
- Jelena Đerić (BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad)
- Hima Zafar (Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad)
Final Pitch Competition
The competition culminated in a final pitch event held on 12 December 2025 at the Science and Technology Park Novi Sad (STP NS), organized as part of the fourth in-person consortium meeting. All foreseen preparatory and competitive activities under the action were fully implemented. Each finalist was allocated 10 minutes to present their research idea, followed by 5 minutes of questions and discussion with the jury and evaluation of their presentations.
Jury Panel
The final presentations were evaluated by a professional jury composed of representatives from partner institutions and the University of Novi Sad:
- Dr Firoz Babu Kadumudi, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark
- Prof. Dr Renger F. Witkamp, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), The Netherlands
- Dr Mihai Irimia-Vladu, Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), Austria
- Prof. Dr Nataša Simin, Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad
- Prof. Dr Nataša Jovanović Lješković, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Novi Sad
Results
The awarded participants of the EINSTEIN Stars 2025 competition are:
- Lenka Brestovački
- Hima Zafar
- Milica Abeer
The successful completion of the EINSTEIN Stars 2025 competition confirms the program’s role in empowering young researchers, strengthening innovation capacity, and supporting the translation of scientific excellence into impactful outcomes.
Hima Zafar
Jelena Djeric
Lenka Brestovacki
Milica Abeer
Nebojsa Mrkajic
Ostoja Jeftic
Stefan Tapavica