Participation of IMP-EEN Serbia at business meetings in Varaždin
Clients of IMP EEN participated on March 28, 2019 in Varaždin, Croatia, at the international Voogle Conference 2019, where businessmen, entrepreneurs, researchers and students gathered. We had the opportunity to listen to the lectures of eminent experts from the United States, as well as the EU. One of the speakers was Director of the COSME program and H2020 SME instrument, Luisa Prista. The themes of the presentations were related to business ideas and acceleration of business, building a global market, smart growth and cross-sectoral cooperation, as well as entrepreneurship.
An integral part of the conference was the so-called Startup Battle 2019. Eight selected startups from the region presented their business ideas and / or products to potential mentors, business partners and investors in very quick 3 minute presentations, followed by Comission’s questions and their answers. One of the participants in this competition was our client company Whisperr. We also visited EEN colleagues at their premisses in the Varaždin Technological Park.
All conference participants had the opportunity to arrange B2B meetings, and three our companies had successful meetings with potential partners from abroad, so we hope to see official EEN business agreements in near future.
EEN – B2Bs in the frame of Freja Forum
In Belgrade from 9-11.11.2018, in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the 12th Freia Forum was held, an international conference, with the basic themes of equal opportunity, democracy, and this year's special topic related to the challenges of the digital future.
As in the previous years, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) team of the Institute Mihajlo Pupin, has used its own, and the participation of its clients from the Association of Business Women of Serbia at Freja Forum, for holding business talks. This year, Serbian business representatives were businesses from Sweden and Turkey. Since this year's forum for the main topic had digitization as our (present) and future, the majority of participants were interested in possible cooperation in information and communication technology activities, so the Institute was the right place for holding these talks. Djuro Kutlaca addressed the participants in front of the Institute, and briefly presented the situation of ICT sector in Serbia. Results of B2Bs - should soon be known.
On the 12th Freja forum, one of the seminars was devoted to the Digital Possibilities and Challenges with Robotics in Society, where the panelist was our expert in the field of robotics, Aleksandar Rodić.
Edu-lab project – the beginnings of dual higher education
One of the key activities in the Edu-lab project is the initiation of a dual education system in higher education institutions in the Danube region. Partner organizations from Serbia Institute Mihajlo Pupin and Serbian Chamber of Commerce have worked on pilot activities aimed at analyzing the feasibility of dual high school education through cooperation between facultie FEFA and Gorenje. After completing the practice at Gorenje, students from faculty FEFA on 21.9.2018 presented the results of their work, which was of significant mutual benefit, both for the students and for the company Gorenje.
Regional Conference of Enterprise Europe Network
In Podgorica, Montenegro, from 12-13.9.2018 was held the regional conferences of South-East Europe countries, members of the Enterprise Europe Network. At the conference, besides the representatives of the consortiums of all regional EEN, representatives of the EU participated: Natalia Martinez Paramo, European Commission, EASME, Head of Unit COSME and István NÉMETH, European Commission, DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, as well as Marija Popović , project manager for all EEN projects of the consortiums from SEE.
Annual regional conferences are of great importance to all who work as associates of organizations from the region of the former Yugoslavia on the EEN project, since cooperation and achievement of the results on the project are the most intensive among the countries in the region (which is evident not only in SEE but in other European regions ). During the conference, experiences and ideas for new common tasks and improvement of work with clients are exchanged.
In front of the EEN CIRNT team, Đuro Kutlača had a presentation on the importance of the Enterprise Europe Network to work on the preparation of the smart specialization strategy in Serbia under the title "Smart specialization: challenges and opportunities for SMEs in the Western Balkans and the role of EEN in capacity building and SME support in implementing the S3 priorities ".
PRESENTATION OF THE EDU-LAB PROJECT IN MONTENEGRO
On the second day of the 25th conference Technology, Culture and Development held in Tivat, Montenegro (28-30.8.2018) on the agenda was the presentation of works and discussions on the topic "Education of engineers - current situation and key problems in the Western Balkan countries". Within this theme, we presented the EDU-LAB project - "New Danubian Governance in Labor-Market Relevance of Higher Education". For the project it was very important that we are in direct contact with the participants of the conference, who are mainly from the higher education sector (as one of the three sectors of the triple helix, whose cooperation is encouraged by the project), and that we can promote the main goals and the expected results.
Promotion of EDU-LAB project on the conference “BRIDGING THE GAPS IN RESEARCH, SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN DANUBE REGION”
Prof. dr Đuro Kutlača presented EDU-LAB project and its results on the conference "BRIDGING THE GAPS IN RESEARCH, SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN DANUBE REGION". The conference was held on March 1st 2018 at the Faculty of economics in Belgrade.
The event was organised within DTP project Excellence-in-ReSTI with the aim to foster discussion among relevant stakeholders in the Danube region about overcoming the main barriers for raising the quality of research, social and technological innovation (ReSTI) project management.
Participants of the conference were representatives from the policy-making side, universities, other R&D&I organizations, as well as successful innovation project managers. During the discussion, participants were trying to use their knowledge and experience in order to help young project managers in the Danube region to turn their ideas into socially and economically fruitful projects.
Company mission of SMEs from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Belgrade
EEN partners, CIRNT - Institute Mihajlo Pupin and the B&H Chamber of Commerce organized on 2.2.2018 the company mission of SMEs from B&H in Belgrade, in which B2B - business talks and workshop " How to achieve better quality of life through Work-Life" was held. This event is one of the results of the first conference on women entrepreneurship in B&H and the brokerage event held in December last year in Banja Luka.
The company mission of B&H colleagues in Belgrade was successful because the brokerage event has already resulted in a partnership agreement between Eko Teh from Sarajevo and Milovanović doo from Prijepolje.
EEN – Comapny mission of Dalarna in Sweden
The Science and Technology Policy Research Center - IMP hosted the colleagues from the Entreprise Europe Network - EEN from Dalarna in Sweden and several their client companies as well as representatives of the Swedish Embassy in Belgrade on October 24th, 2017. On behalf of the Institute Mihailo Pupin, the guests were welcomed by Mr. Jovan Kon, the General Director Assistant. The main objectives of this mission were mutual introduction, exchange of information and business talks between Serbian and Swedish companies which business activities were related to the various environmental aspects. The talks were very successful and according to the impressions of the Serbian companies, they were useful for their business. We hope that some of the established business contacts will lead to the deeper business cooperation in the near future.
Innovative women’s and youth entrepreneurship in the Danube region
International Conference and Business Meetings within the Danube Business Forum
The International conference "Innovative women's and youth entrepreneurship in the Danube region" was held on 05th October, 2017. in the crowded grand hall of the Master Center in Novi Sad, where entrepreneurs and young people from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Hungary took part. After the conference, business meetings were held. The conference and B2B meetings were organized by the Institute Mihajlo Pupin and EEN – Enterprise Europe Network of Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina - Republika Srpska, supported by the Association of Business Women of Serbia.
Successful young and experienced female entrepreneurs from the region have shared their good examples of practice with the attendees, information on incentives, sources of funding, association. Representatives from municipalities and institutions have given examples of how entrepreneurship of young people with multiple effects on the economy can be encouraged at the local level. Useful information was presented by guest speakers from Hungary, Monika Mesaros, official evaluator of SME instruments H2020 and vice president of AGRO IT Cluster. She gave instructions on how innovative programs are attractive to the EU funding committee. Jovana Stanojevic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce talked about the new project for the improvement of young companies in Serbia. Adam Polgar shared his experience of Ujbuda Municipality from Budapest and Vladimir Nikić presented the Erasmus program for young entrepreneurs, Business Incubator Novi Sad. Emilija Skočibušić from the Science and Technology Park Varaždin has shared experiences from two projects: one dedicated to encouraging youth entrepreneurship and the other that is aimed at supporting women's companies to make greater use of EU funds through the use of a special program „SME instrument“ available to innovative companies within the Horizon 2020 program.
- I am satisfied with the attendance at the conference because the hall was filled to the last place, and a great number of realized B2B meetings make me especially proud because our efforts to connect entrepreneurs are obviously recognizable. Exchange of concrete good practices and information has met our goal. I believe that the participants went fromthe conference with a lot of usefull information that they will be able to apply in the business, inspired for new ventures, and many with new business partners and agreed cooperation - said Dr Sanja Popović Pantić, Research Associate at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Coordinator of the Sector Group for Women Entrepreneurship of the Enterprise Europe Network.
Enterprise Europe Network Regional Conference
28-29. September, Portorož-Slovenia, Enterprise Europe Network Regional Conference Within the Enterprise Europe Network project, a regular regional conference of all consortiums from the Balkan region was held. On behalf of the Serbian consortium and IMP, the presentation was given by Dr. Sanja Popović-Pantić and Dr. Đuro Kutlača. Dr. Sanja Popović-Pantić presented the synergy of activities on the EEN project and the New Genration Skills project for young entrepreneurs and also implemented by the Center for Science and Technology Research in the framework of the Danube Transnational Program.
Presentation of Dr. Sanja Popović-Pantić: The Case study of the Synergy between Danube Transnational Program and COSME program in the EEN project at the regional level
Dr. Kutlaca presented the IMP's activities in the field of the Smart Specialization Strategy, referring to the current policy of the European Commission, which recently puts a focus on industrial innovation policy, rather than an earlier approach, when industrial policy is separated from innovations.
Dr. Djuro Kutlača: Preparations for the introduction of smart specialization in Serbia
Informal gathering of the IMP team with Mr. Joze Puipel, Director of the COSME Program
