Students at Intervela: entrepreneurial skills, sails, and sailing experience in practice
Students at Intervela: entrepreneurial skills, sails, and sailing experience in practice
A visit to Intervela, OneSails Slovenia, and a conversation with director Željko Perović enabled students to make a direct connection between entrepreneurship, sailing, modern technology, and practical sailing experience.
On Thursday, July 2, 2026, students from the School of Economics and Business of the University of Ljubljana visited Intervela, OneSails Slovenia, as part of the Entrepreneurial Skills for Recognition project, and learned about the operations of a successful company in the field of sail manufacturing for competitive and touring sailboats. The visit took place as part of the Problem-Based Learning of Students in the Work Environment project, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Sailing Federation of Slovenia, mentored by Prof. Dr. Boštjan Antončič and Eldina Domazet. The purpose of the visit was to provide students with a direct insight into entrepreneurial practice, the development of a specialized company, and the importance of knowledge, technology, quality, sustainability, and recognition in the sailing environment.
In Materija, the students were welcomed by Željko Perović, director of Intervela, who is himself closely associated with top-level sailing. As a former European champion in the Cadet class and European vice-champion in the Soling class, he presented the students with a valuable perspective on the integration of sports experience, entrepreneurship, and company development. He presented the development path of Intervela, its involvement in the OneSails group, and its operations in the field of production of quality sails for various types of sailboats. He particularly emphasized the importance of using modern technologies, sustainability approaches, constantly adapting the offer to customer needs, and close cooperation with sailors, clubs, experts, and other stakeholders in sailing. The students thus learned that success in such a specialized industry is based on a combination of technical knowledge, user understanding, quality performance, trust, and long-term cooperation.
The visit also had an important experiential dimension. The students learned firsthand the basics of sailing on a larger cruising sailboat and sailed around the Bay of Piran. This gave them a direct experience of the user experience associated with sailing and a better understanding of the environment for which Intervela develops its products. The professional visit offered the students a valuable connection between entrepreneurship, sports, technology, and practical experience at sea.
