Q:
A:
Science and technology necessary for competitive economy
Novi Sad,
2 September 2009
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic said today that the Serbian economy will not be able to compete on the global market without a firm partnership between the economy and science and technology.
Author:
Tanjug
Djelic, who is taking part in a public debate on the national strategy for the development of science and technology for the period from 2009 to 2014, said that the next five years should be used to realize important projects and initiatives so that science in Serbia undergoes essential and necessary changes.
He said that the key question, which was also discussed with the IMF delegation, is what Serbia has that they can sell to the world. He stressed that science and technology must play a bigger role in the Serbian economy because this will lead to a more prosperous society.
He said that very few enterprises in Serbia today employ scientists and that a larger number of technologically advanced businesses should be present at the various science faculties in the country.
He stressed that this is best illustrated by the fact that ever since the best technological innovation award was introduced, not a single award winning project has been accepted by a domestic company due to the risk factor.
Furthermore, during 2008 the Serbian scientific community submitted only four patents, which shows that the intellectual property issue is not discussed enough in Serbia. Therefore the solutions offered by the strategy envisage that scientists’ ideas remain within the institutions they belong to, Djelic explained.
He said that the two key points in the strategy are partnership and focus, meaning that Serbia lacks the funds to be present everywhere and must therefore focus on certain areas where it can reach critical mass.
Increasing and diversifying funding resources up to 1% of GDP, as well as infrastructure investments of €300 million are the preconditions for this strategy’s success, Djelic concluded.
Scientific and research workers from institutes and faculties in Vojvodina, expert committees from the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development and the expert group from the Vojvodina Capital Investment Fund also took part in the public debate.
He said that the key question, which was also discussed with the IMF delegation, is what Serbia has that they can sell to the world. He stressed that science and technology must play a bigger role in the Serbian economy because this will lead to a more prosperous society.
He said that very few enterprises in Serbia today employ scientists and that a larger number of technologically advanced businesses should be present at the various science faculties in the country.
He stressed that this is best illustrated by the fact that ever since the best technological innovation award was introduced, not a single award winning project has been accepted by a domestic company due to the risk factor.
Furthermore, during 2008 the Serbian scientific community submitted only four patents, which shows that the intellectual property issue is not discussed enough in Serbia. Therefore the solutions offered by the strategy envisage that scientists’ ideas remain within the institutions they belong to, Djelic explained.
He said that the two key points in the strategy are partnership and focus, meaning that Serbia lacks the funds to be present everywhere and must therefore focus on certain areas where it can reach critical mass.
Increasing and diversifying funding resources up to 1% of GDP, as well as infrastructure investments of €300 million are the preconditions for this strategy’s success, Djelic concluded.
Scientific and research workers from institutes and faculties in Vojvodina, expert committees from the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development and the expert group from the Vojvodina Capital Investment Fund also took part in the public debate.
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