Minister Damjanović takes part in MAINTENANCE FORUM 2017

Minister of Science of Montenegro Dr Sanja Damjanović participated in the international conference MAINTENANCE FORUM 2017, which took place on 24–26 May in hotel “Splendid” in Budva. On the occasion, the Minister familiarized the participants with the initiative to establish an international scientific institute for development of sustainable technologies in South-eastern Europe with the mission of “Science for Peace”.

The panel also included Prof. Vladimir Popović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Science of Republic of Serbia, Jasmin Komić, Minister of Science and Technology of Republic of Srpska and Urban Krajcar, Director General of the Directorate for Science of Republic of Slovenia.

MAINTENANCE FORUM brings together leading experts in the field of mechanical engineering, transport, energy, economy, ecology and quality. The aim of the conference is to highlight the importance of the partnership of science and profession and to inform the public about global trends and best professional practices. The conference is organized by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Belgrade in cooperation with the Technical Systems Maintenance Society (DOTS) and the European Fund for Maintenance Management Systems.

Given that the region is facing numerous scientific, economic and social challenges, the Minister of Science stated that she was pleased to see all the prominent experts gathered at the conference with a view to jointly define the priorities aimed at improving living standard and reducing unemployment. In this regard, one of the conclusions of the panel was that the strengthening of regional cooperation, linking technology parks and using intellectual capacities ought to be among the priorities in the field of science policy.

In her address, Minister Damjanović pointed out that the region had strong potential for economic growth that ought to be used wisely, as well as that the participants of the conference had the opportunity and responsibility to jointly respond to these challenges and formulate the best economic and scientific policy, because the European process to which we all aspired represented an opportunity for the region to utilize joint projects to enter other markets.

In this context, Minister Damjanović presented the initiative to establish an international institute for the development of sustainable technologies in South-eastern Europe, which was designed by Prof. Herwig Schopper, former Director-General of CERN, with the support of the UN, UNESCO and CERN, and which is underpinned by common interests, taking into account primarily economic, cultural and social aspects.

The Government of Montenegro was the first among the governments of the countries of the region to support the initiative, and given that, inter alia, the political support of other countries of the region is necessary to successfully implement the initiative, the Minister invited the participants to join further implementation of the initiative.

Minister Damjanović pointed out that such a project would significantly boost economic development, improve the living standard and reduce unemployment, which is one of the answers to questions posed in the conference in Budva. In addition, the Minister presented the next steps that are necessary to implement the initiative, such as the organization of training programmes for young scientists and researchers to be working on the project.

Furthermore, Minister Damjanović explained that at a meeting held last week in Brussels the initiative was supported by Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, which is a powerful incentive for its further development.

Finally, the initiative was recently presented to the Minister of Education and Science of Republic of Croatia Prof. Pavo Barišić, as well as to the Minister of Education, Science and Sport of Republic of Slovenia Dr Maja Makovec Brenčič, who expressed strong interest and readiness for further cooperation on the issue.

The event was attended by more than 300 participants, professionals and members of the academic community and representatives of institutions from Germany, England, Belgium, China, Canada and other countries.