SUM hosts activities of the European University Association: Workshop on EU Projects Held

The University of Mostar hosted the second Eutopia workshop on the design of project applications within the European association Eutopia More and the Rector's Forum of Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans. The workshop was attended by twenty participants from eight universities: Babeș-Bolyai University, St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, University of Rijeka, University of Banja Luka, University of Ljubljana, University of Mostar, University of Pristina, and University of Sarajevo. During the two-day activities as part of the international Eutopia event, the focus was on a workshop on EU funding opportunities for universities, networking, partnership and consortium formation, and the activities took place at the University Television and the University Gallery in the Campuses of the University of Mostar.

Representatives from the University of Mostar, the University of Rijeka, Babeș-Bolyai University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and the University of Ljubljana presented practices related to applying for EU projects, and participants actively engaged and discussed the establishment of a regional network of scientists.

The Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Mostar, Prof. Dr. Sanja Bijakšić, emphasized that this conference focuses on European projects, their writing, and implementation, and highlighted the importance of participating in such events to learn from the experiences and best practices of partner institutions. She also emphasized that this workshop aims to foster greater connectivity and collaboration among partner institutions. "Together with the Universities of Ljubljana and Rijeka, we are members of the Rector's Forum of Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans. In the previous rector's forum, we offered to host and organize this workshop. The University of Mostar, along with the Universities of Ljubljana and Rijeka, is organizing this conference, and I hope that in the near future, we will embark on new projects that we can jointly work on," Vice-Rector Bijakšić stated.

Professor and former Rector of the University of Ljubljana, Prof. Dr. Ivan Svetlik, stated that the goal of this workshop is to exchange experiences. "We are part of an alliance called Eutopia, which includes ten universities from Europe, and a part of the program we implement involves sharing experiences with other regions and universities. We are particularly focused on the Western Balkans, where there are many excellent universities and scientists, and we aim to bring them together, unite them, and seek synergy in these activities. Thus, this workshop is envisioned as an exchange of experiences gained at our various institutions. Additionally, through this workshop, we want, in a way, to learn from each other and promote activities in the field of research," said Prof. Dr. Svetlik.

The Vice-Rector for Science and Art at the University of Rijeka, Prof. Dr. Gordan Jelenić, emphasized how the University of Rijeka sees the necessity of connectivity among European universities for individual and collective progress. He added that there are funds for research and innovation in European funds. "Looking back over the ten years of Croatia's membership in the EU, we regret that we haven't made better use of the opportunities for financing scientific research projects and, in general, for enhancing capacity for scientific development. Therefore, we would like, and this is one of the goals of the Rector's Forum of Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans, currently chaired by the University of Rijeka, to raise awareness about the importance of integrating all countries in this region into a common European research space and, ultimately, the European Union," said Vice-Rector Jelenić.