Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia holds 4th position in Europe concerning number of female scientists

Belgrade, 9 March 2009

Following the meeting with Ivana Pesic, a scientist awarded the L’Oreal UNESCO scholarship for Women in Science, Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic said that Serbia holds the 4th position in Europe regarding the number of female scientists.

Ivana Pesic and Bozidar Djelic

Apart from Ivana Pesic, Djelic also hosted other female scientists, who make up 43 % of the overall number of scientists in Serbia.

The Minister pointed out that the position of female scientists is very difficult, as Serbia does not invest enough in this respect, specifying that only 0.3% of GDP is set aside for science.

Djelic stressed that the government must pay special attention to this issue, as a large number of talents may migrate to other countries.

Minister Djelic recalled that the government will start negotiating with the European Investment Bank over a €200 million loan for the development of science on March 16.

He said that he expects that the whole society will support efforts to obtain further funds for the development of science in Serbia, adding that the budget revision will not reduce funds for science.

He stressed that only 15 “Women in Science” scholarships are awarded annually in the world and only 3 in the region, and Ivana Pesic received one of the three regional scholarships awarded this year, adding that Ivana Pesic will work at a German institute where she will do research to help the prevention and early diagnosis of kidney diseases.

Djelic said that the Ministry of Science will award a scholarship worth RSD 80,000 to successful young mathematician Teodor Von Burg.

Doctor of Medical Sciences at the University of Nis Ivana Pesic is the first person to receive this prestigious $40,000 UNESCO scholarship. The scholarship programme for young women researchers studying for a doctoral or post doctoral degree began in 2000 in order to encourage them to advance their expertise and to give them access to the international scientific community.

The meeting was attended also by representative of the Foreign Ministry’s national committee for cooperation with UNESCO Jasna Zrnovic and Director General of L'Oréal Balkan Brigitte Streller.