The Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia was established in December 2018, and one of the goals of its work was to connect science and business. At the beginning of 2019, the Government of Serbia appointed Dr. Milica Đurić Jovičić as acting director of this national institution. This doctorate in electrical engineering with more than ten years of scientific and research work in the fields of biomedical engineering and information technology was previously the director of the Innovation Center of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade.
The Science Fund finances scientific research projects within the framework of several programs, and the money for financing is provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, the World Bank and the funds of the European Union. In an interview with Biznis.rs, Milica Đurić Jovičić talks about the work of the Fund, scientific research in our country and cooperation between science and business.
At what level is the development of science in Serbia? Where are we in relation to the region and Europe?
“Science in Serbia has been developing intensively in recent years, and it is particularly important that the Republic of Serbia recognized the importance of science development as one of the long-term strategic goals that will contribute to the overall development of the country. We expect that in the future we will have even more opportunities and potential to support researchers and significant projects, as well as that we will expand the boundaries of science on a global level in cooperation with international partners.
The Science Fund has achieved a lot in four years of work, which is also recognized by significant international institutions that deal with the financing of scientific research. It is especially important to us that we participate as a member in the work of the Science Europe organization, which brings together the most important science funds and research agencies from over 30 countries. We are recognized as an institution that advances, develops procedures in accordance with international standards and ensures the highest quality selection of funded projects, and consequently competitive scientific results of Serbian scientists compared to their colleagues from abroad. This is just another indicator that Serbia is going in the right direction when it comes to the development of science.
The Science Fund will continue to work on the development of procedures and programs and the implementation of a system that allows important ideas to find their way to realization and the creation of significant scientific solutions that will contribute to the well-being of all of us.”
What does the cooperation between science and business look like?
“Scientific research provides solutions that can find application all around us, enabling successful overcoming of global challenges and improving the quality of life. When it comes to the programs of the Fund for Science, projects that have already started their practical and commercial application have been financed through our programs. Within our programs, scientists have developed important solutions such as a biological preparation that controls pests on corn without the use of pesticides, a new diagnostic tool for the detection of different types of cancer, new bakery products that do not contain additives, an algorithm that allows determining the right dose of a psychiatric drug, computer a system that connects the brain and computer to help with stroke rehabilitation, a new type of battery that does not use lithium, and many others that will improve all aspects of our lives.
Also, the Science Fund recognized the importance of cooperation between science and business in the field of environmental protection and reducing the pollution of our planet. That’s why we opened the Green program of cooperation between science and business, which with 3.5 million euros provides support for the implementation of 20 projects of our scientists. Within these projects, researchers will develop patents, technical solutions and other forms of intellectual property that, through cooperation with business partners, will be able to find their practical application through production.
Research aims to reduce air, water and land pollution through the reduction of harmful substances, from organic pollutants, through microplastics, pesticides, dangerous chemicals, heavy metals to electronic and plastic waste, which will contribute to the restoration of degraded ecosystems. The projects will also be aimed at sustainable industry and the development of business models that reduce pollution while increasing energy efficiency and reducing the emission of harmful gases. We hope that this will be just one in a series of programs that will encourage cooperation between our scientists and the economy.
During this year, the Science Fund will open the “Proof of Concept” program, which will also be aimed at encouraging cooperation between science and business. This program is intended for research that has the potential for commercial application. The program includes research and testing of scientific ideas, hypotheses or assumptions, which, if proven technically feasible, would represent the basis for future commercial products and services. We believe that this program will represent another important step towards strengthening cooperation between science and business in Serbia and creating opportunities for the commercial use of scientific results.”
What is the annual budget of the Science Fund?
“The funds for financing the program of the Fund for Science in 2023 are provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, as well as based on the joint investment of the Government of Serbia – the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, a loan from the World Bank and non-refundable financial support from the EU, which are part of the SAIGA Project . This year, the Science Fund is opening four new programs, of which four million euros have been provided for PROMIS 2023, one million euros for Proof of Concept, three million euros for Diaspora 2023 and 25 million euros for Ideas 2023.
The Fund for Science has so far provided 74.5 million euros for eight programs in implementation, which during four years of work contributed to more than 2,000 scientists getting the opportunity to carry out scientific research.
What kind of support is available to scientists and researchers through Science Fund programs? What programs are current, in addition to the recently announced competition for PROMIS 2023?
“Researchers in Serbia, through the programs of the Fund for Science, provide the financial resources they need for the realization of scientific ideas. They strengthen their professional capacities, connect with colleagues from abroad, publish publications in international journals, invest in capital equipment and equipping laboratories that will remain for future generations of scientists, develop patents, and achieve cooperation with the economy. The programs are designed to empower the scientific community in Serbia to compete in other domestic and foreign competitions.
The programs of the Science Fund enable the development of artificial intelligence, the empowerment of young researchers, the strengthening of cooperation with the Serbian diaspora, the realization of excellent ideas, the preparation of a timely response to global crises, such as the corona virus pandemic, and now we also have a program to study different identities in Serbia, such as a special program intended for social sciences and humanities, as well as a program of cooperation between science and business in the field of environmental protection.”
What is the most significant thing that the Science Fund has done since its establishment until today?
“One of the greatest results of the Science Fund is program support for young researchers and scientists in the early stages of their careers. We gave them the opportunity to become independent in their research work, to build and manage their own teams, strengthen their capacities to compete at the European and world level and develop new ideas. Through the first PROMIS program, we empowered a young generation of researchers, and we plan to do so through PROMIS 2023, which was recently opened.
Our project financing programs are extremely competitive. The quality of projects is guaranteed by procedures that were developed based on the practices of successful EU science funds. Project selection procedures are based on equal competition conditions for all researchers with a transparent, independent and objective project selection process. The quality of the projects is assessed by more than 1,300 independent international evaluators from over 60 countries. Foreign evaluators evaluate all project proposals based on three criteria known to researchers in advance: excellence, impact and implementation. So far, 2,669 project proposals submitted during open public calls for Science Fund programs have been evaluated.
Through the programs of the Fund for Science, 318 scientific research projects were supported, while 74.5 million euros were provided for the realization of projects and 33 million euros for four new programs that will be opened in 2023.
“Funds for financing the program and building the capacity of the Fund for Science and Reform of Scientific Research Institutions were provided on the basis of a joint investment of the Republic of Serbia (Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation), through a loan and technical support from the World Bank in the amount of 34 million euros. And non-refundable financial support from the EU in the amount of 31.5 million euros, which are part of the “Project for Accelerating Innovations and Encouraging the Growth of Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Serbia” (SAIGE Project), dedicated to strengthening scientific research and innovative entrepreneurship.
We are especially proud of the results of the projects so far within the program of the Fund for Science. Our scientists have so far published a large number of publications as part of the projects, i.e. 1,685 publications in journals and at conferences. 1,028 papers were published in international publications, of which 290 papers were in top international journals (categories M21 and M21a). Also, researchers leading projects funded by the Science Fund receive prestigious international awards and significant international grants for further research in their fields.”
What are the Fund’s plans for the next period?
“The Science Fund will continue to work on the development and opening of new programs that will enable an even greater number of researchers to get the opportunity to implement their significant scientific ideas through projects. In addition to the PROMIS 2023 program, for which the Public Call for Project Applications is open until July 10, we are opening a new cycle of support for cooperation with the scientific diaspora, a new cycle of Ideas that will finance projects from all scientific fields, as well as a new Proof of Concept program aimed at testing of scientific ideas, hypotheses and assumptions with possibilities of commercial application.
We continue to work with the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, the EU, and the World Bank on the development of our institution, while cooperation with the scientific community in Serbia is particularly important, with whom we exchange experiences, receive proposals and work on further improvement of our procedures and programs.
Also, our plans are aimed at further strengthening international cooperation, which opens up the possibility of launching joint projects that will connect scientists on a global level. We will continue to strengthen cooperation with foreign agencies that deal with financing scientific research, as well as with representatives of foreign embassies and educational and scientific institutions of other countries, with whom we expect to create bilateral cooperation programs in the future that will provide support for scientific research.”
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