The Institute of Physics Belgrade (IPB) has won a Twinning project entitled ‘Twinning for Excellence of the Serbian Research Centre for Quantum Biophotonics’, which will be realized in the following three years, at the Photonics Centre, one of the centres of excellence at the Institute.
Twinning is a prestigious programme of the European Union that, as a part of the Horizon Europe programme, promotes excellence in research utilizing networking and training. The concept revolves around strengthening an institution through experience and expertise exchange with leading research organizations. The IPB partners in this project are the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the Faculty of Biology of the University of Belgrade.
‘The goal of the project is to raise awareness and boost IPB’s standing in all research, management and administrative aspects relevant for international activities,’ says Dr Dušan Arsenović, head of the Photonics Centre at IPB, adding that the ultimate goal is the establishment of a quantum biophotonic centre, which is to primarily characterize the excellence in science.
The first meeting of partners in the project took place at the Institute of Physics, on Tuesday, 8 November 2022, where the project was launched by the representatives of all partners.
The Friedrich Schiller University Jena was founded in 1558, and in 1934, it was named after Friedrich Schiller, who was its lecturer at the time when Jena was an important hub of German intellectuals. As many as six researchers from this institution have received the Nobel Prize.
The National Research Council of Italy (CNR), established in 1923, is one of the most distinguished scientific centres in this country, and one of its roles is to promote cooperation in the fields of science and technology with institutions from abroad. The Faculty of Biology of the University of Belgrade is a long-term partner of IPB, and on this project, it will cooperate with IPB biologists during the selection, preparation and cultivation of bio-samples.
‘I wish success to all participants in the project, and I strongly believe that this is only the first, important step in long-term cooperation,’ states the IPB director, Dr Aleksandar Bogojević, at the opening of the first project meeting, further noting that the Photonics Centre is an important research unit of the Institute.