Final Conference of the V4+WB RMA Network Project

The final conference within the V4+WB Network of Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) project was held on 30 and 31 March 2022 in Budapest.

The conference held in Budapest under the title „Research Managers and Administrators: Key Expertise to Boost the Regional Excellence and Innovation Potential“ gathered about 70 participants from the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, and beyond. University of Banja Luka was among the members of the consortium of this project, and the conference in Hungary was on behalf of the University of Banja Luka attended by: Secretary General Đorđe Markez, MA, Head of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer Centre Anđela Pepić, MA, Senior Research and Development Associate at the University, and Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Law Asst. Prof. Bojan Vlaški, PhD. The event was attended by the Head of the Department for Scientific Research and International Cooperation Branka Savić on behalf of the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska.

The focus of the conference was on the profession of research manager and administrator, i.e., its recognition, current status and challenges in the Visegrad Group countries and the Western Balkans. The conference aimed to network, exchange knowledge and develop skills of research managers and administrators, but also to present the results and achievements of the project itself. Another goal of the conference was to enable dialogue between regional and national decision makers (competent agencies, councils and ministries, but also institutional leaders) in order to create more favourable conditions for the work and development of research managers and administrators.

Through this project, in which the Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer Centre of the University of Banja Luka has been participating as a partner institution since November 2020, altogether 12 webinars dedicated to various aspects of participation in the Horizon Europe programme were organized, which were also available to the University of Banja Luka employees. This project of the consortium led by HETFA Research Institute in Budapest was financed from the International Visegrad Fund, and the organization of the final conference was additionally supported by the Central European Initiative and the BME FIEK Center for University-Industry Cooperation from Hungary.