Representatives of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia headed by Dr. Milicom Djurić-Jovičić, Fund’s Acting Director, visited the Institute of Physics Belgrade in order to discuss the experiences within the institutions’ previous programs with the Institute’s administration and researchers.
Dr. Milica Djurić-Jovičić pointed out that, looking at the Science Fund programs success, the Institute is among the first three scientific research institutions in Serbia considering approved project-based funding.
As stated by the Science Fund, 124 researchers from the Institute have been supported through 8 programs within 24 approved projects so far, with the total value of 3.64 million euros. The Institute of Physics is extremely active regarding scientific development and international cooperation, and it systematically supports its researchers to apply for national and international calls. The Institute’s scientific teams develope patents and foster cooperation with the business sector within the projects supported by the Science Fund.
“However, one of the most important results is that one of the Institute’s researchers, Dr. Jakša Vučičević, was supported within the Fund’s PROMIS 2020 program, after which he received the prestigious ERC grant to continue his research. We want to work on even greater empowerment of researchers and institutions in the future so that we could also have a larger number of ERC projects, patents, successful technology transfers and the development of commercial solutions for the economy in addition to top scientific publications. This is precisely why meetings with scientific institutions are extremely important to us – to exchange experiences and map the needs and development opportunities of the scientific community”, said Dr. Milica Djurić-Jovičić after the meeting at the Institute.
Dr. Aleksandar Bogojević, the Institute of Physics’ director, emphasized that the Science Fund team did a great job in a very short time and built an important institution that is continuously growing.
“The Institute of Physics leads the Serbian scientific sector in terms of competitiveness in projects, researchers’ mobility, scientific infrastructure and the number of experts who came back from the diaspora. Although we have achieved great success in the Science Fund previous calls, it is in our interest that as many researchers as possible apply in the upcoming calls. The Institute is very interested in institutional cooperation with the Science Fund. It is particularly important to us that our researchers are satisfied with the cooperation with the Fund, and the general opinion is that the Fund has shown patience and flexibility”, Dr. Bogojević said.
The PIs and members of the project teams financed under various Science Fund programs attended the meeting. The researchers talked about their experiences in the project submission and realization process in an open conversation. They spoke positively about the Fund activity, with some comments and suggestions for improving programs and procedures.
Photo: Bojan Džodan
