Laboratories that are to be opened by IEC Tehnopolis during this and the next year, have been presented on October 16, 2019 at the EU4TECH regional conference dedicated to unveiling Serbia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy and exploring the role of incubators, accelerators and S&T Parks in delivering sector specific support in the Western Balkans and South-East Europe. Ms. Miljana Pekovic, the assistant on the project activities, spoke about the support to hardware start-ups that Tehnopolis will be providing after the laboratory for innovations in agriculture (FILA laboratory for industrial design) is opened.

The focus of the presentation was on the process that preceded to the selection of the equipment and functioning models of the laboratories which will be adjusted to the needs of the future consumers, as well as the overall innovative ecosystem in Montenegro. Initiatives of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia were presented during this session and Miljana spoke about the expected effects of the work of both laboratories on the development of the innovative awareness in Montenegro and the region, as well as about the lessons learned in the process of their establishment.

IEC Tehnopolis will open the laboratory for innovations in agriculture until the end of 2019 through the FILA project which is co-funded by the EU through the Interreg IPA CBC Italy – Albania – Montenegro programme. The laboratory for industrial design will be opened in the second half of 2020, and it is funded through the “Improvement of research and innovation related infrastructures that can be used in support for SMEs development” contract, which refers to the Financing agreement concerning Country Action Programme for Montenegro for the year 2016.