Newest headlines
STP Niš Commencing the Implementation of a 1.7 Million Euro Project as Part of the Digital Europe Program
The Science and Technology Park Niš presented a new four-year project Serbian European Digital Innovation Hub on AI – S4AI_HUB, which will be implemented in cooperation with 22 key partners from various institutions in Serbia, which will work together on the process of digitalization and application of artificial intelligence in business.
In addition to project partners, the event was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technological Development, Prof. Miroslav Trajanović, PhD, and Nikola Bićanin, Acting Assistant Minister for Information Society and Information Security of Innovation at the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications. In their address, they emphasized the importance of digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, as well as the application of artificial intelligence in that process.
“Thanks to exceptional proactivity and a well-designed project, together with the formed consortium, STP Niš managed to obtain funding worth 1.7 million euros from the Digital Europe program. It should be noted that STP Niš has already developed an innovation hub that, in addition to startups, brings together 9 regional innovation startup centers and 4 academic incubation centers. This project will be a huge step towards a digital innovation hub, which will enable broader cooperation, especially in the field of artificial intelligence,” said Trajanović. As an initiative supported by the European Commission, this hub will provide support in understanding, integrating, and applying AI technologies, so that the business sector in Serbia can remain competitive and sustainable in the era of accelerated technological development. “Our goal is to provide SMEs, startups, and the public sector the means to understand, integrate, and implement solutions based on artificial intelligence and Industry 5.0, helping them to improve their products and services, increase competitiveness, and ensure long-term sustainability in conditions of accelerated technological development,” said Ivan Pavlović, Assistant Director at STP Niš and Project Manager of S4AI_HUB.
Assistant Minister of Information Nikola Bićanin pointed out that this project is part of a broader initiative launched in 2023, when Serbia became a full member of the Digital Europe program – “In cooperation with other institutions, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications is working intensively on further improvement, on further digitalization; we are expanding the services that are available to our citizens through the e-Government portal, and this only shows that we are paying attention to the services that we can provide to citizens in this manner, because consequently, their lives are made significantly easier,” added Bićanin.
S4AI_HUB will provide four key services: connectivity and collaboration, capacity building, test before invest, and securing investments. This way, users will be able to complete the entire cycle – from the initial idea to the final implementation – which has not been possible in our ecosystem so far.
The project is funded through the Digital Europe program (Project: 101191029 — S4AI_HUB — DIGITAL-2023-EDIH-04), with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications. By implementing this project, Serbia will take a significant step towards digital transformation and strengthening the domestic innovation ecosystem.
*The project “Serbian European Digital Innovation Hub on AI – S4AI_HUB” is co-financed by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this document are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
