A CERN physicist has been appointed as the Minister of Science in Montenegro, which has increased the hope that scientists will have an improved status in the small Balkan country, writes the international magazine Fiziks World (World of Physics).
Sanka Damjanović (44), who also worked at the German Center for Heavy Ion Research in Helmholtz, which operates within the German Scientific Institute (GSI), began her mandate last month after Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković formed a cabinet after the October elections.
Damjanović says that her priority will be connecting Montenegro and the European Network for Scientific Research.
"Initial steps towards a new strategy have already been taken, in order to establish active cooperation between existing scientific research groups in Montenegro and renowned international institutions such as CERN and the European Laboratory for Molecular Biology, as well as many others," Damjanović told Svijet Physics. "This will improve the visibility of Montenegrin science, increase the degree of success in financing projects from the European Union (EU) and have a strong impact on the recognition of our country in EU integration."
Her appointment was welcomed by many Montenegrin officials and scientists:
"It is encouraging that the Minister of Science is someone who does scientific research and who understands what it means to be and live as a scientist", said the spokesperson of the University of Montenegro (UCG) Dejan Lučić. "We expect good cooperation and support from this ministry."
Dejan Šuškavčević, a research analyst at the American University in Rico, with a project from Montenegro, shares the same opinion.
"I am glad that an internationally accomplished scientist was appointed to that position," he said. "I hope that it will be successful in promoting international cooperation for scientists in Montenegro, which, in my opinion, is the best and easiest way to improve science in our country."
Scientist and President of the UCG Scientific Committee Vladimir Pešic said that the scientific community is counting on Damjanović to re-establish a competition for financing national scientific projects, which has not been implemented for the past three years. Such national support, according to Pešić, is mandatory if state scientists want to become competitive at the European level.
"We are a small scientific community and we cannot be competitive in all areas," he said. "Therefore, projects must be financed by the state in order to form scientific research teams, if we want to enter the European scientific market." But instead of everyone getting a piece of the cake, Pešić believes that state grants should be allocated to the best, to help create scientific centers of excellence.
Montenegro formed the first ministry dedicated to science in 2011, five years after becoming independent. The first and only minister was Sanja Vlahović with a professional background in tourism management. She signed numerous agreements on international cooperation and prioritized initiatives for scientific communication. But her tenure has been marred by a spat with the state's Academy of Arts and Sciences over the academy's independence and funding, as well as a plagiarism scandal.
It remains to be seen whether the new minister, who is not a member of the party, will meet the expectations of the academic community and manage to deal with the complex political landscape of Montenegro.
"The new minister is a successful experimental physicist with a positive ambition to revitalize Montenegrin science," said physicist and CERN scientist Dragan Hajduković. "In a normal state, that would be an excellent starting point for a successful minister."
However, he is not optimistic that she will be able to demonstrate skills within the current government, which was formed by the same party that has dominated state politics since the early XNUMXs and has been accused of corruption.
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