The kick-off meeting was held in Podgorica on February 8, 2010 and gathered national mobility stakeholders, the government, EU high officials, and guests from EC and the region.

Vision of the UoM’s Future Research Profile

The Evolunimont project, financed under call FP7 REGPOT-2008-2, has been completed recently at the UoM, resulting in the adoption of UoM’s research strategy for the period from 2010 to 2013. The plan positions research as an equal to teaching and provides an institution-wide research plan and actions to meet university goals to transform itself from a comprehensive university to a more research-intensive institution with a stronger research profile. The plan attempts to address key issues such as strengthening the research culture, building research capacity and capabilities, adapting infrastructure and designing training opportunities, increasing the involvement of undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the research enterprise, increasing research funding and promoting interdisciplinary and international research, strengthening and expanding research partnerships and establishing a fully operational research administration and research priorities.

Author: Mira Vukcevic, University of Montenegro.

Flash news from Montenegro

The Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science was engaged in normative development in the period from November to March 2010. New rulebooks for the financing of research activities, licencing of research institutions, maintenance of the register of research institutions, the nomination of evaluators and the procedure for evaluating national projects were developed and adopted.

The annual call for co-financing scientific-research activity was announced in April. The instrument covers stimulations to participate in FP7, career development of researchers through short mobility, and stimulations for scientific output, science promotion and cooperation with the diaspora. One part of the call for research equipment is also going to be announced in 2010, while there will be no funding for new national projects this year.

Slavoljub Stijepovic – AppointedMinister for Education and Science

Slavoljub Stijepovic, who has graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Montenegro (UoM), was appointed Minister of Education and Science in April 2010. From 1991 to 1996 he was a high official in the Parliament and Government of Montenegro. Since 1996 he has been holding four different ministerial mandates, science being in his portfolio for the first time now, in 2010.

Continuation of CEEPUS Ensured

In March 2010, the Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science in cooperation with the Central CEEPUS Office organised the 16th Ministerial Conference within the Central European Programme for University Studies. At the conference, the agreement on the 3rd phase of the programme, which guarantees the continuation of this very successful mobility scheme between 14 participating countries in the period until 2018, was signed.

The call for proposals for bilateral projects between Montenegro and Slovenia resulted in 14 projects approved for financing in 2010 and 2011. The call for proposals for bilateral cooperation with Croatia was announced in May, while the call for Austria is expected to be announced in autumn 2010. See also: http://www.mpin.gov.me/ministarstvo/konkursi

Author: Branka Zizic.