The lecture “From Idea to Prototype” organized as part of the Innovation Incubator of the Institute of Physics Belgrade on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, aroused the great interest of young researchers, especially students of the Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, as well as students of several faculties of the University of Belgrade.
The goal of this lecture was to provide research teams new to entrepreneurship, as well as young researchers and students interested in innovation, with relevant information on the key steps for developing an idea to a prototype.
Welcoming the numerous audience and guests of the Institute, Dr Saša Lazović, Deputy Director for Innovation and Commercialization, stated that the Innovation Incubator project enables the Institute to connect with the wider community. According to him, during 2023, innovations and commercialization made a measurable contribution to the financing of the Institute – about 10 percent of the budget.
Speaking about these activities, Dr Lazović said that the Institute has two spin-off companies of importance for the Serbian defence system, as well as that it has established several accredited laboratories that cooperate with the economy. The Institute also established a successfully functioning Innovation Center that brought together important experts. Talking about the elements that contributed to the growth of innovation activity and commercialization, Lazović added that the Institute of Physics Belgrade is very successful in winning innovation projects of the Serbia Innovation Fund. Looking back at how the Institute established an Innovation Incubator that attracted new people and competences, he emphasized the importance of the support provided by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation in this area.
The lecture “From idea to prototype” was held by Dr Miloš Milošević, scientific and business advisor at the Innovation Center of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade. Dr Milošević leads the Center for rapid prototyping and has participated in the development of seven patents, one of which is international.
During this meeting, Dr Milošević spoke about his experiences from the birth of an idea through the protection of intellectual property to the production of the zero series, focusing on the challenges that arise along the way.
In a lively discussion, the participants were approached with experiences in how to identify, validate and plan the development of innovative ideas. Strategies for forming an effective team with a special focus on intellectual property protection, including strategies for obtaining an international patent, were presented.
The Innovation Incubator of the Institute of Physics Belgrade is a project that the Institute implements with funds won within the Program for the Formation and Development of Innovation Incubators in Scientific and Research Organizations of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation. The role of the Innovation Incubator project, managed by Dragana Perović, is to provide support mechanisms that will enable innovation created in a scientific laboratory to successfully generate new techniques, products and processes.