Minister of Science Talks About the Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and the Challenges Ahead

When it comes to responding to the economic impact of this crisis, which will have long-term consequences, it has been shown that there is a solid foundation for implementing the digital transformation of the economy, as well as other areas of life, such as education – said the Minister of Science, Sanja Damjanović, in an interview with Pobjeda.

The response to the coronavirus pandemic was timely and adequate. Everyone acted in a coordinated and efficient manner. Now, the great challenge ahead is how to overcome the upcoming financial crisis, and innovation and strengthening the IT sector should play an important role in this – said Minister Damjanović in an interview with Pobjeda.

In the long term, according to our interviewee, we should rely on the Smart Specialization Strategy, a document that our government, the first after EU member states, adopted last year.

It is necessary to activate some traditional economic sectors with the help of science and innovation in a way that creates higher value products, along with ways to more efficiently market them both domestically and internationally – emphasized Damjanović.
Diaspora

Speaking about the importance of valuing scientific and research work, which particularly became evident during the coronavirus pandemic when numerous scientists around the world, among other things, worked on discovering the vaccine, the Minister said that she does not believe in the possibility of instant changes in our habits or patterns according to which not only Montenegrin society, but the world globally functions.

If we open ourselves more to knowledge as a source of improvement, if we make space for those who truly know their job and have proven themselves not only domestically but also internationally, people who truly create quality, offer solutions, and are capable of delivering them, I believe that our society and the global community will slowly change – said Damjanović.
Our scientists in the diaspora have, she added, become very visible to the public during the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and among them, there are epidemiologists, immunologists, molecular biologists.

I believe that some of them will be involved in coronavirus-related projects that we will support – said Damjanović, adding that the Ministry of Science’s network database contains about 300 diaspora members.
Scientific Excellence

Regarding the Ministry of Science’s competition for scientific research projects, according to our interviewee, there is great interest both for the general part and for the segment in the fields of medicine and social sciences, i.e., projects focusing on the coronavirus. A total of 200,000 euros has been allocated for this special segment of the competition.

The general part of the competition has been concluded, with 62 projects submitted from various scientific fields. We see great motivation and an increasing level of project application quality, which was our goal – said Damjanović.
As announced, the international evaluation process follows, and they expect projects that push the boundaries of scientific excellence.

I also expect projects that are practically oriented, in terms of new knowledge applicable in collaboration with the economy and providing impulses for the economy to create new products and services, add value, and increase competitiveness – said Damjanović.
Speaking about research related to the coronavirus, she said they expect to receive projects that will lead to conclusions and recommendations in the field of medicine and healthcare, based on lived experience and clinical practice.

We also expect projects that take an interdisciplinary approach to this situation and offer new knowledge and development solutions for different groups of users: the government and institutions, the economy, and citizens. This crisis can be viewed more broadly, as a crisis situation in general, which is an interesting research topic that offers space for many creative solutions – evaluated Damjanović.
Location for the International Institute at Ćemovsko Field

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has also affected the project for establishing the International Institute for Sustainable Technologies in Southeastern Europe, specifically the regional center for hadron cancer therapy. Minister Damjanović explains that they had to cancel two events, but despite that, they made efforts to maintain the planned work pace in the second phase – the design study.

The planned location in Podgorica, she said, is part of Ćemovsko Field across from the Aluminum Plant, which is also the planned business zone of the city.

We have excellent cooperation with the capital, which has implemented several administrative steps, primarily related to planning documentation, opening up space for the construction of the institute. Although technical conditions have not yet been published, we must begin preparing our campaign so that we have it fully ready at the time of application. The location in Podgorica we are opting for currently has very good conditions: spaciousness, communications, the possibility to develop green infrastructure (solar power plants, etc.) – explained Damjanović.
This year, Southeastern European countries are expected to offer locations for the International Institute for Sustainable Technologies.

Minister Sanja Damjanović says that an expert commission has been formed that is working on a special report containing all the necessary technical and administrative conditions required for the selection of the location.

This report will be submitted to the governments of the countries in the region. The decision about the location will be largely political, and a series of meetings on this topic at the highest political level are expected. Recently, the project received official political support from the Swiss government, which will help in the field of scientific diplomacy – said Damjanović.
She hopes, as she emphasized, that the countries of the region will decide on the future location at the beginning of 2021 and added that Switzerland has offered a neutral ground and mediation for these meetings.

A very important step is the possible inclusion of the project in the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI Roadmap), which consolidates projects of pan-European importance. With the expert team, we are preparing the application, and the deadline has been postponed until September, which is favorable considering the complexity of the application procedure and the need for important political agreements to be made beforehand – said Damjanović, adding that this would be the first case of a project from Southeastern Europe being included on this list, which would open doors to significant future financial resources from EU funds.
International Cooperation

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) recently donated material to Montenegro for the validation of coronavirus tests. Minister of Science Sanja Damjanović says that practically all the instruments of the ministry she leads are involved in international cooperation, which, according to her, guarantees quality and provides a unique opportunity to follow modern standards and quickly adopt contemporary knowledge and technologies.

In addition to bilateral exchanges of advice in the fight against the epidemic, concrete help has been provided to our teams in 3D printing projects – said Damjanović.
The European Union, as she added, is funding 18 major thematic projects through the Horizon 2020 program, and they have also organized a pan-European hackathon, to which several teams from Montenegro have applied.

Source: POBJEDA

Author: Jasmina Beharović