The budget of the Ministry of Science increased by 60 percent

The budget of the Ministry of Science for the next year is the largest so far, and it has been increased by 60 percent, which will enable the start of the planned activities defined in the new Strategy, Minister Sanja Damjanović announced. In response to questions from journalists at the conference on the presentation of the Draft Law on the Budget for the next year, she said that investment in science and development in Montenegro is still at a lower level compared to the European Union (EU) average, especially the level of private sector investment in research. That is why the goal of the Ministry of Science for the next year, as emphasized by Damjanović, is to encourage investment from the private sector, as well as the use of international funds, through the implementation of activities. "When it comes to the EU program Horizon 2020, starting this year we have significantly better results and involvement in several major scientific projects, so this year we achieved a net positive return on invested funds. This is a sign that we are on the right path," said Damjanović. According to her, the Ministry of Science recognized the challenges and clearly defined three goals - improving human resources and research capacities through the employment of young people, doctoral students, at universities, but also in the economy and enabling work on research and innovative projects that will have an active internationalization component. "Thus, we will influence the reduction of the outflow of talent, but also the opening of research positions in the private sector", emphasized Damjanović. Another goal of the Ministry of Science for the coming year is, as she said, the financing of scientific research and innovative projects that will be directed towards larger, development projects and aim at the technological recovery of Montenegro. "We will use national funds, which should be used as leverage for the use of international funds, especially from the EU program Horizon 2020, and for this realization it will be important to connect to leading European scientific infrastructures that enable networking, as well as the transfer of knowledge and modern technologies," stated Damjanović. Due to the consequences of the transition, as she pointed out, the technological level of the Montenegrin economy is below the level of developed countries. "For this reason, we initiated the establishment of a large scientific infrastructure of the International Scientific Institute, which will represent the flywheel of a new cycle of development of our economy, scientific and technological recovery of the region, economy based on knowledge, which will benefit society as a whole. All this would prevent not only the outflow of talent, but the region would become a place that would attract top experts," explained Damjanović. According to her, Montenegro must be oriented towards innovation in order to realize opportunities on the global market. That field, she added, is attractive for young people who increasingly see a chance for employment here. "The goal is to create better conditions for self-employment through the establishment of an innovative startup ecosystem, for which it is necessary to remove barriers through legal changes, and for which we have secured the support of the European Commission, which will help to implement such a policy," announced Damjanović. She said that by providing new financial instruments, as well as a working environment, the further implementation of the Science and Technology Park will improve the synergy between economy and science.