BUILDING EUROPE'S CAMPUS FOR GLOABL HEALTH
The University of Novi Sad (UNS) is one of the largest educational and research centres in Serbia. It belongs to the group of comprehensive universities as it provides education in nearly all fields of science. With 14 faculties, 3 research institutes and nearly 250 laboratories, the university has a well-developed research infrastructure and great potential for innovation. The Science and Technology Park Novi Sad, located in the UNS campus, represents a place of connection and knowledge exchange between researchers and businesses. It provides support to its members, commercialisation of innovative products and services, with the aim of implementing the development of new technologies. The University of Novi Sad supports the implementation of scientific research activities through organisational units such as the Central Library, the Danube Center for Technology Transfer and common laboratories. The University of Novi Sad adopted a scientific research programme that includes a plan for enhancing scientific potential of its researchers, supporting researchers in the implementation of scientific research activities and a plan for the future development of science at UNS.
Structure and Support Mechanisms
The University of Novi Sad has established the following supporting structures for knowledge transfer:
- Research and Project Management Office: provides information and consultancy services for academic staff and researchers in writing proposals, application procedures, implementation and administration of national and international projects. Thanks to its long-standing presence in the scientific research scene, as well as the activities of the faculty and researchers at the University of Novi Sad, UNS has positioned itself as a renowned participant in national and international educational and research projects, taking part both as a coordinator and as a partner institution.
- Danube Office for Technology Transfer provides the opportunity to researchers to enhance their ability in commercialising inventions. The goal of the office is to promote the relevance of scientific research by creating new products that are essential to industry and/or society at large, and supporting the foundation of spin-off and start-up companies. The TTO supports in the identification, legal protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property generated (patents) within the University of Novi Sad and its members.
- Institutional repository: used for depositing the scientific and artistic work of UNS researchers. The institutional repository is one of the prerequisites for adhering to the principles of open science, which aims to strengthen the University’s research position and visibility, both nationally and internationally. The digital repository also serves as a platform for technology transfer and collaboration between higher education, industry, and society.
- The University of Novi Sad also supports the implementation of scientific research activities through organisational units such as the central library, common laboratories and scientific centres.
Facilities and Resources
Several facilities to foster innovation exist at the University of Novi Sad:
1) The Science and Technology Park was founded by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in order to provide support to its members focusing on the commercialisation of innovative products and services. Members of the Science and Technology Park are tech companies engaged in innovative activities, start-up companies and start-up teams, as well as research and development institutes.
2) The Business Incubator Novi Sad is a place where ideas become successful business ventures. The goal of the Business Incubator is to help young companies find their way to the market. The focus of the Incubator is to provide support to projects and ideas based on knowledge and new technologies, whose potential market has the capacity for high scalability. The Incubator specialises in working with teams in the field of information and communication technologies and creative industries by organising training sessions and workshops, as well as offering co-working spaces.
3)The BioSense Accelerator – Building a thriving community of innovators and designing the future of farm to food value chain. The accelerator provides AgTech entrepreneurs and teams with an intensive personalized 8-week acceleration programme. Team receive individually tailored support from selected international and local mentors. Together they work on customer development, fine-tuning value proposition, focusing on marketing channels and tools that will drive customers to your doors. Team also gain access to BioSense resources, niche expertise, network and community.
4) IDEALab is a unique creative workspace designed for students and young researchers from all faculties of the University of Novi Sad. As a non-profit organization, IDEALab offers interested students and members free training programmes to encourage entrepreneurial spirit, support in realizing innovative ideas, networking opportunities, and mentoring by experienced entrepreneurs. The vision of IDEALab is to organize students and young researchers as potential founders of fast-growing companies, contributing to the spread of the entrepreneurial spirit and making use of their great knowledge potential.
Partnerships and Collaboration Models
The University of Novi Sad collaborates with industry and society through various partnerships and collaboration models:
1) The Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia is a public organisation that supports science and research. It was established in March 2019, with the aim of providing funding and creating an enabling environment for the continuous development of scientific and research activities in the Republic of Serbia, which are in turn the conditions necessary for the progress of a knowledge-based society. The Proof of Concept Program is designed to support activities at the stage of turning research outputs into commercial or socially valuable proposals. Applicants are expected to define a hypothesis (concept) that has arisen from previous activities and developments that can create a product, process or technology that could be marketed. This programme is there to provide insight into whether the concept described can have a practical application. Every team with a project accepted for funding will engage its own business adviser from the list provided and published by the SF.
2) The Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia is the key state institution supporting innovative activities and managing funding for stimulating innovation. Active since 2011, the Innovation Fund has been a pioneer in the institutional implementation of this imperative - primarily by increasing the capacity of start-ups and available resources for their growth. The Fund is thus part of a broader state innovation strategy in Serbia. Researchers from the University of Novi Sad apply for appropriate financial, technical and advisory support instruments to empower innovative enterprises and strengthen the link between research and development on the one hand and the business sector on the other.
3) In cooperation with the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the University of Novi Sad, participates in a yearly Science for Industry Fair, showcasing faculties, research institutes and industry representatives with the aim of presenting various knowledge transfer solutions and creating new, commercially viable and innovative products and services. Participants of the Fair have the opportunity to explore existing and potential collaboration between the scientific research community in Vojvodina and entrepreneurs who are ready to innovate their businesses through cooperation with scientists and researchers.
4) Through a joint initiative between the Ministry of Science and Technological Development and the Faculty of Technical Sciences, the Competition for the Best Technological Innovation in Serbia was established in 2004. From the very beginning the competition was envisioned as a high-tech entrepreneurship school with training sessions aimed at acquiring skills such as: how to attract investors, how to adapt to customers, how to find new applications for technology, how to creatively solve problems, how to describe, present, sell and protect the new product.
Impact and Success Stories
Innovative functional food against Anemia – FeJuice – 100% natural, innovative and functional food for preventing and treating anemia, easily consumable on the go as a snack bar, powder drink, puree, freeze-dried snack or smoothie with scientifically proven efficiency.
Noise and Vibration Hub – No&Vib Hub –is a central unit established as a virtual platform at the University of Novi Sad for launching and facilitiating strategic cooperation among key stakeholders engaged in Noise & Vibration fields from academic and non-academic sectors.
Vinaver medical – spectral X-ray imaging allows for significantly reduced tumor margins during treatment, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
AgroSense is a digital platform that provides support to farmers and agricultural companies in monitoring the growth of crops and planning of the agricultural activities. It was developed by the BioSense Institute and represents an important step in digitisation of agriculture and an increase in efficieny and competitiveness of Serbian producers.
Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technologies in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security – ANTARES – strives to boost research excellence at BioSense Institute, to deliver disruptive digital solutions to the European farming sector, stimulate entrepreneurship and employment at the regional level, and secure enough safe food for the growing global population.
Contact
For questions regarding knowledge transfer at UNS, please contact eugloh@uns.ac.rs