Info day held on the EUREKA programme: application and participation

   

On 3 July 2019, the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro and the Ministry of Science of Montenegro organised an info day titled “EUREKA programme: application and participation”.
The event primarily aimed to familiarise the interested representatives of the business sector and universities with the benefits, experiences and the manner of participation in the programme.

In the introductory address, Prof. Mladen Perazić, Director of the Department for Education and Quality of the Chamber of Economy explained that EUREKA is a European programme of international cooperation of business entities, scientific research centres and universities of the programme’s member states. It is a pan-European network for market-oriented industrial research and development. Through its flexible and decentralised network, EUREKA offers project partners quick access to the latest information, scientific achievements, knowledge, skills and experience from Europe, opening access to national, public and private funding sources – Perazić said.

Marijeta Barjaktarović Lanzardi, MSc, Head of the Section for Innovation and Infrastructure, indicated that the Ministry of Science of Montenegro had significantly financially supported the participation in EUREKA projects ever since 2012. Since 2016, when a legislative strategic framework for innovation has been established, the Ministry has further strengthened its activities in this segment. In the light of the recently adopted Smart Specialisation Strategy and the three priorities of Montenegro’s development, EUREKA will now gain a different type of significance, given that all future investments in projects and programmes from the national budget will be directed precisely at the aforementioned priorities – Lanzardi said, adding that this year the budget has been increased by EUR 30,000 and that the Ministry has EUR 90,000 at its disposal through the call for co-financing scientific research and innovative activities for EUREKA this year.

Dr. Ivan Tomović, Independent Adviser from the Section for Innovation and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Science of Montenegro, presented the EUREKA programme. Indicating its importance, he pointed out that ever since the beginning of the implementation of EUREKA back in 1985 more than 7,100 projects had been financed through this programme, worth a total of more than EUR 43 billion at the global level. EUREKA is aimed at: growth of innovation capacity of companies, international cooperation, globally competitive new products and services, international market placement (export) and European technological competitiveness – Tomović said, emphasising that an institution / company – project coordinator or partner – could only exercise the right to co-financing by the Ministry of Science with regard to one EUREKA project in 2019. The duration of the projects is up to three years, and eligible costs include honoraria, equipment, expert services, travel, and other development costs. Applicants for participation in the EUREKA programme – micro, small, medium and large enterprises and scientific and research institutions have to be registered in the Register of Innovative Organisations – Tomović stressed.

Experience from the successfully implemented Eureka project “Eldoro” was presented by Mr. Radovan Sekulić, Eureka Project Manager, MG Soft d.o.o. The project has resulted in an application implemented at a medical faculty in the Czech Republic, enabling doctors to have all the necessary information on their patients on a tablet device. Sekulić said that the EUREKA project proved to be very useful as it enabled long-term cooperation with partners, facilitating the adoption of new technologies and access to finance for research and development. Based on the Eldoro project, the project of ezdravlje.me was implemented – Sekulić said.