CONNECTO 2023: Academic community and the real sector – perspectives and collaboration opportunities

Tomorrow marks the beginning of yet another exceptional three-day event, CONNECTO 2023. On the very first day, the conference will commence in the Europa Hall at INTERA Technology Park, where numerous successful individuals and projects will be presented.

Of course, the main guiding principle of the CONNECTO conference is to connect the diaspora and local forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of intensifying collaboration, improving connectivity, and fostering the flow of people and ideas. This also entails creating better conditions for cooperation and partnerships between the diaspora and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, in order for business connections and investments from the diaspora to materialize, significant changes must take place on the domestic economic front. This is precisely why the real sector in our country, as well as the region, needs to become more visible and receive all forms of support to become potent and attractive to foreign investments, and consequently, investments and collaboration from the diaspora.

In this endeavor, the collaboration between the academic community and the real sector is of immense importance. Although it is often believed that there are few good examples of such cooperation and that the academic community and the real sector coexist on separate tracks in our country, there are still positive examples that we will not miss the opportunity to present through a panel discussion.

Participating in the panel are Prof. Dr. Darko Petković from the University of Zenica, Prof. Dr. Mirella Muhić from Umeå University in Sweden, and Dr. Nebojša Gnjatović from the University of Belgrade.

The panel will be moderated by Nedeljko Milosavljević, one of the leaders of Laben Ventures, a regional leader in providing support and opportunities for numerous projects and startups, with a special emphasis on the academic community and projects and ideas that emerge there, among teams of experts and their students. In support of the collaboration between the economy and the academic community, the Innovation Voucher Scheme will also be presented and opened at the conference.

This panel, of regional significance, which will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of this year’s CONNECTO 2023 event, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 25th, as part of the conference in the Europa Hall at INTERA Technology Park. You can still register your participation through the provided link.

This year’s edition of the conference is organized by INTERA Technology Park through the BOOST project. BOOST is part of the Innovation and Digitalization of Small and Medium Enterprises in BiH/EU4DigitalSME project, jointly financed by the European Union and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ), with the aim of developing the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a specific focus on digital transformation. The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

24.7.2023.