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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Wages at scientific institutes ten times higher than in 2000

Belgrade, 18 July 2005

Serbian Minister of Science and Environmental Protection Aleksandar Popovic spoke for today’s issue of daily Blic about scientific work in Serbia, the status of scientists, and steps the government has been taking to improve their position.

Aleksandar Popovic

The Serbian government’s official website brings excerpts from the interview.

Current state of affairs in Serbia’s science:

- I cannot be dissatisfied with the current state of affairs in Serbia’s science when I take into account what our country has been through. I think that Serbia’s science has displayed strength and vitality in the past years and decades. It is now necessary to increase investment in science and to find ways to better define and organise the use of these funds.

Who has the status of a scientist in Serbia at the moment:

- They are people who do research work and who are employed at scientific institutes. The new law on scientific research work will require the registration of researchers, which is not obligatory at the moment, and it will also require all scientists to register and re-register every year in order to take part in programmes funded by the ministry.

Forms of financing scientists in Serbia:

- Wages at scientific institutes are not high enough, of course, but they are now ten times higher than in 2000. There is no such thing as magic and we must do everything step by step. It is also necessary to note that some fields of science are more market-orientated and some are less so and that scientists’ incomes vary in accordance with their success and the success of their institute in the market. The state finances projects carried out by scientists employed at research organisations or institutes, universities, and the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences. We are trying hard to avoid the leveling of wages and we will distribute funds among scientists based on their titles as well as their achievements and the success of projects they are engaged in.