At the beginning of the year 2026, Mihai Priboi, member of the "Space Settlement" team and finalist of the "100 Youngsters for Romania's Development" campaign, edition 2024, was awarded with a fellowship of excellence offered by Coca-Cola HBC Romania, as a partner of the campaign run at national level by the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania. The award marks the continuation of the business environment's commitment to support young Romanians who contribute to the country's development through innovation, education and research.
Mihai Priboi is one of the 12 students of the "Tudor Vianu" National College of Informatics in Bucharest who won the Grand Prize of the international NASA Space Settlement Contest in 2024. The Romanian team thus became the second in the world to win this trophy twice, confirming the Romanian school's reputation for excellence in science and technology.
Their project, Project Nova 2, was chosen as the best out of more than 5,200 applications submitted by 29,000 students from 28 countries. The space station designed by the Romanian team was envisioned as a permanent colony orbiting Mars, capable of supporting more than 2,000 scientists, tourists and colonists. The project impressed the NASA jury with its complexity, sustainability and technological vision.
With this scholarship, Coca-Cola HBC and the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania are reconfirming the importance of partnerships between the private sector and educational initiatives. "100 Youngsters for Romania's Development" is one of the largest national campaigns dedicated to young performers, annually selecting and supporting pupils and students who, through their projects, make a real contribution to national progress.
"Supporting young people with high potential is not only an investment in the future, but also a shared responsibility. The results of these young people show that Romania has exceptional human resources, and the business environment can play a decisive role in making the most of them", stated the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania.
Coca-Cola HBC is continuing a series of initiatives to support education, innovation and entrepreneurship among the younger generation. By collaborating with programs that promote performance, the company is helping to create a generation of young people capable of combining academic excellence with practical thinking and creativity, essential values for a modern society.
About Coca-Cola HBC Romania
Coca-Cola HBC is a growth-focused consumer goods business and a strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. We open up moments that refresh us all! We create value for our stakeholders and support the socio-economic development of the communities in which we operate. With a vision to be the leading beverage partner 24/7, we offer beverages for all occasions, around the clock, and work with our customers to serve 740 million consumers across a broad geographic footprint of 29 countries. Our portfolio is one of the strongest, broadest and most flexible in the beverage industry, with leading consumer beverage brands in the categories of carbonated soft drinks, carbonated adult beverages, juices, water, sports, energy drinks, ready-to-drink tea, coffee and premium sodas. They include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Kinley, Costa Coffee, Caffè Vergnano, Valser, FuzeTea, Powerade, Cappy, Monster Energy, Finlandia Vodka, The Macallan, Jack Daniel's and Grey Goose.
We promote an open and inclusive work environment for our 33,000 employees and believe that having a positive impact on the environment is essential to our future growth. Coca-Cola HBC consistently ranks among the top sustainability performers in ESG assessments such as the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index, CDP, MSCI ESG, FTSE4Good and ISS ESG.
A leader in the local beverage industry, with 3 factories, in Ploiești, Timișoara and Poiana Negrii, Coca-Cola HBC Romania is an important contributor to the development of the local economy and society. Coca-Cola HBC Romania has an average of 1,500 employees.
According to the study "The socio-economic impact of the Coca-Cola System in Romania", based on financial data from 2023, the presence of this system on the local market generates an added value of 793 million euros, equivalent to 0.24% of Romania's GDP. More information on www.ro.coca-colahellenic.com/ro/
