19 December 2018 - Minister of Science Sanja Damjanović paid an official visit to Slovenia, where she met with newly elected Minister of Education, Science and Sports Jernej Pikalo for talks on the regional project of setting up the South-East Europe International Institute for Sustainable Technologies (SEEIIST).
Minister Damjanović stressed the significance of the SEEIIST project as one of the most prominent examples of "Science for Society" projects because of its medical application regarding using the most modern method in treating a wide range of cancer. She also highlighted its scientific dimension, pointing out that this project would be unique in the world precisely because 50% of the time would be devoted to biomedicine research. It is a development project that would enable the involvement of the economic sector, as the goal is to involve enterprises from the region in the construction of this modern technology, which would encourage technological transfer. As the project is now entering an active phase, active involvement of partners is needed, with Slovenia being one of the first countries to support the project. The first next step in this regard is the establishment of a joint body, which would apply for additional resources to finalise the "Design Study Phase."
Minister Pikalo agreed that such a project is needed for the region of Southeast Europe, but also for Europe in general, especially emphasising that within the Horizon Europe, the next EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, within the second pillar "Collaborative Projects," "children's cancer" is on the list of missions' funding, so that the topic is currently in the context of the use of funds from this programme.
The two officials commended the excellent bilateral scientific and technological cooperation between the two ministries. They also voiced a willingness to reach an agreement on the future steps towards the SEEIIST project, which is of paramount importance for the implementation of the "Preparatory Phase."
During the mid-September, the SEEIIST Project was introduced in Montenegro. On this occasion, minister Damjanović concluded that the SEE region needs a major scientific research infrastructure that would trigger scientific excellence, prevent the outflow of talents, and stimulate innovation, mobility, internationalisation, and transfer of knowledge, as well as other complementary technologies. All of these necessities are methods of improving socio-economic conditions and enabling an attractive environment for young people, in which they want to work and create within their own country. This project, added Minister Damjanović, although fifth in Europe, will be unique in the world because it predicts that 50% of the project timeline will be spent on research, which will attract researchers from Western Europe.
