BISC-E 2026 Slovenia National Competition: Student innovations that are changing the world
WHEN: June 8, 2026, at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Department of Wood Science and Technology, UL BF, University of Ljubljana, large lecture hall
What is BISC-E?
BISC-E – Bio-based Innovation Student Challenge Europe (https://biconsortium.eu/about-bisc-e) – is a pan-European student competition that promotes the transition to a circular bioeconomy and encourages students to take an entrepreneurial approach to designing bio-based solutions. The program enables the development of ideas with a high environmental and social impact and brings visibility both in Slovenia and across Europe.
Who can participate?
The competition is open to all undergraduate students and first-year doctoral students. It is recommended, but not mandatory, that teams include students from different disciplines – natural sciences, technical sciences, social sciences, and arts. Student teams should consist of at least three and no more than six students, and they must also have a mentor, who may come from the business or academic environment.
How does the competition and national contest work?
Each participating team develops a bio-based product or process based on renewable biological resources and environmentally friendly technologies. The solutions should contribute to the circularity of production systems and climate change mitigation, but should not negatively impact the food chain or biodiversity. Student teams will present their projects or bio-based innovations at a national competition before an expert committee, which will select the three best innovations and announce the winning team. The winners of the national competition will participate in the European Bisc-E 2026 competition.
How does the European Bisc-E 2026 competition work?
The European final will take place in two parts, between September and October 2026. In the first round, the winning student teams from the participating countries will present their business cases and solutions to a panel of experts at an online event. The jury will evaluate the proposals in terms of innovation, impact on sustainability, technical feasibility, and economic viability. The jury will also assess the teams' presentation skills and their responses to questions or comments from the panel, which will be conducted in English. The top 5 student teams will qualify for the final event, where they will present their innovative solutions in the form of a video and a lecture to industry experts, who will evaluate the proposals according to the same criteria, with an emphasis on scalability and business potential. The final event is expected to take place in Brussels. All BIC members will have the opportunity to evaluate the video presentations of the top 5 teams through online voting. The combined results of the first and second rounds will determine the European winners of BISC-E 2026.
All student teams that qualify for the first round will receive professional training on how to prepare an effective presentation. The top 5 student teams that qualify for the final round will also receive professional training on how to make a video to present their innovative proposal. All videos will be posted on the BIC website, where you can also view entries from previous years.
Who can participate?
The competition is open to all undergraduate students and first-year doctoral students. It is recommended, but not mandatory, that teams include students from different disciplines – natural sciences, technical sciences, social sciences, and arts. Student teams should consist of 3 to 6 members and must also have a mentor, who may come from the business or academic world.
Why participate?
Financial awards for the top three teams
Mentorship from industry and involvement in the work process of companies
Opportunity to present ideas at the European level
Annual membership in BIC (Bio-based Industries Consortium) for winners and their universities International promotion of projects and networking opportunities
Bisc-e 2026 competition timeline
March 30, 2026 – Deadline for team registration
June 8, 2026 – National competition at BF UL
July 15, 2026 – Handover of winners to European coordinators of Bisc-E 2026
September and October 2026 – European final of Bisc-E 2026 (dates to be announced later)
Contact
The national coordinator of the competition in 2026 will remain SRIP – Circular Economy (contact person: Polona Zakrajšek, SRIP coordinator, polona.zakrajsek@stajerskagz.si), in cooperation with the University of Ljubljana (contact person: Prof. Dr. Primož Oven, Biotechnical Faculty, primoz.oven@bf.uni-lj.si).
More information
https://biconsortium.eu/about-bisc-e
https://srip-krozno-gospodarstvo.si/bio-based-innovation-student-challenge-europe-bisc-e-2026/