Artificial intelligence, drones, and space technology aren’t just buzzwords, they are the driving forces shaping our world, revolutionizing the way we live, work, and interact. Bounding Box is here to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs—who push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our vision is to create a truly unique event, here in beautiful Slavonia, where cutting-edge technology topics meet unforgettable gastronomy experiences. Together, let’s shape the future—one breakthrough at a time.
The conference is organized by Protostar Labs, R&D company focused on artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies.
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Born in Zagreb in 1979, Izet Ždralović took a global path—high school in Cairo, then off to the US for a double dose of coops & degrees from RIT in Applied Science and Innovation.
He kicked off his career in telecom, ICT, and hospitality with stints at Amis Telekom, Iskon Internet, and Hyatt Hotels before co-founding Microblink and Photomath (now part of Google).
Today, Izet is a partner at Silicon Gardens Fund, fuelling the Adriatic startup scene by backing bold, early-stage innovators. Off the clock, Izet is all about family adventures, travel, and basketball—he’s a proud dad of two and a junior varsity coach.
Matija Kopić is a co-founder and Board member at Gideon, a Visual AI Robotics company developing autonomous mobile robots for warehouse logistics, funded by companies like Koch Industries and Toyota Industries Corporation. He began his entrepreneurial journey in 2010 by founding Farmeron, the world’s first SaaS platform for managing industrial dairy farms, which was acquired by Virtus Nutrition in 2016. He is currently starting a new venture: coming from a Slavonian farming background, he is passionate about regenerative agriculture as a way to heal local economies and help tech professionals balance their busy lives.
What he’s most proud of, however, isn’t the companies he built, but the fact that he managed to build them while staying married to the same wonderful woman for almost 10 years — all while raising two kids who grew up knowing their father.
Aleksandar serves as the Vice President of AI for Bridgewest Group, where he leads AI transformation strategies, helping the organization leverage advanced technologies to drive business growth. He is also a Board Member of Pontis Technology, a subsidiary of Bridgewest Group, where he contributes to AI innovation and the development of cutting-edge solutions. With a strong background in business transformation, M&A, and post-merger integration, Aleksandar brings extensive experience in aligning AI technologies with business goals while ensuring compliance and ethical considerations.
Srdjan is a Co-Founder and CEO at Orqa, World’s #1 FPV company. Orqa is on a mission to advance the state of art in the fields of unmanned technologies and remote vision. In his previous life, Srdjan was a senior finance professional, with more than 10 years experience in financial industry, specifically asset management. He was a Chairman of the Management Board in Croatia’s €150m sovereign equity fund, and a Head of Risk Management and Compliance in Croatia’s largest asset management company. Srdjan earned academic degrees from University of Oxford (MSc in Mathematical Finance) and University of Zagreb (dipl.ing. in Mechanical Engineering). He is a Certified Pension Fund Manager and Certified Investment Advisor.
Systems (LARICS) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. He teaches courses in robotics and automation.
From 2022 to 2024, he served as Vice Dean for Research and Innovation at UNIZG-FER. His research interests include autonomous multi-agent systems and aerial robotics. He is the co-author of four books and more than 240 scientific papers. He has participated in over 30 research projects as both a researcher and coordinator. He has supervised more than 350 undergraduate and graduate theses, as well as 12 doctoral dissertations—currently mentoring five PhD candidates.
More about his past and current projects can be found through the LARICS group at the University of Zagreb.
Deni works at the Innovation Center Nikola Tesla (ICENT), supporting and managing the commercialization of innovations. Within ICENT, he acts as the CTO/founder of the deep tech venture builder Nuqleus and works as a service manager of the European Digital Innovation Center (EDIH) Crobohub++.
Through Nuqleus, he has helped create and grow 25 deep-tech startups and (academy) spinouts. He is an EIC Accelerator jury member and one of 19 Technology Scouts designated by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Youth. He holds a master’s degree in research physics and is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Science (PMF) in Zagreb. He volunteers as a member of the arbitration council of the association Penkala, whose members are Croatian early-career researchers.
Miroslav is an embedded vision engineer with deep expertise in camera systems, FPGAs, and computer vision technologies. As the founder of Photon Logic, he develops high-performance embedded imaging and perception solutions for robotics, industrial automation, medical systems, and aerospace applications.
He holds a PhD in stereo vision and brings over 20 years of experience in digital system design, image processing, and embedded software development. His interest in FPGAs began during university and has since become a central part of his engineering work, enabling real-time, efficient processing in demanding vision applications. A long-time photography enthusiast, Miroslav combines technical depth with a personal passion for imaging to build systems that deliver both performance and precision.
Marin is an educator, entrepreneur, and engineer passionate about designing innovative learning environments that inspire and empower learners globally. Driven by the vision of bridging the gap between education and industry, he co-founded Stemi, an edTech company dedicated to creating a robust infrastructure and ecosystem that connects classrooms directly with cutting-edge technological industries.
Through Marin’s relentless pursuit to empower educators and equip young minds with the critical skills necessary for the jobs of tomorrow, Stemi’s industry-based STEAM programs have successfully expanded into over 1,000 schools across Europe, the USA, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, positively impacting thousands of students worldwide.
Petra is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Technology (FERIT) Osijek. Her scientific and teaching interests revolve around robotics and robotic vision, with a particular emphasis on leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence. Her research primarily involves the development and implementation of algorithms for vision-based robotics, and more recently, for agricultural robotics applications. Beyond her academic pursuits, she actively promotes science literacy through diverse activities designed to engage and educate people of all ages, from children to adults. Personally, she enjoys observing, exploring and staying engaged with the latest advancements in AI and technology.
Denis received his PhD in 2020 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb (FSB UNIZG). He has been employed at the Karlovac University of Applied Sciences since May 2015, and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2024. He also works as an external associate at the Zagreb University of Applied Sciences. He was elected to the scientific title of research associate in 2022. He served as the coordinator of research activities for the EU project “Research and Development of Specialized Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (KK.01.1.1.04.0092) and currently holds the same position for the EU project “Enhancing Autonomy: Concept of a Multipurpose Ground-Aerial Robotic System – cAMGARS” (NPOO.C3.2.R3-I1.05.0357). Since February 2023, he has been working part-time at FSB UNIZG as a researcher on the HORIZON project “Strengthening Research and Innovation Excellence in Autonomous Aerial Systems – AeroSTREAM” (GA ID 101071270).
Petar received his PhD in 2017 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb (FSB UNIZG). He has been employed at FSB UNIZG since March 2011, and was appointed Assistant Professor in 2020. He also works as an external associate at the Zagreb University of Applied Sciences. He served as the coordinator of research activities at FSB UNIZG for the EU project “Research and Development of Specialized Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (KK.01.1.1.04.0092) and currently works as an external associate on the EU project “Enhancing Autonomy: Concept of a Multipurpose Ground-Aerial Robotic System – cAMGARS” (NPOO.C3.2.R3-I1.05.0357). Since July 2022, he has been the coordinator of research activities at FSB UNIZG for the HORIZON project “Strengthening Research and Innovation Excellence in Autonomous Aerial Systems – AeroSTREAM” (GA ID 101071270).
