Prof. Gotovac Atlagić in the EUA team for innovations

The European University Association (EUA), a body that gathers more than 900 higher education institutions Europe-wide, recently formed a new Expert Group for innovations.

The goal of this body, comprised of experts from all around Europe, with Prof. Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, PhD, from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics one of them, is to create recommendations in the field of education, innovations and employment of youth, with particular focus on the influence of future policies of the European Union.

At the first group meeting held on 2 April 2025 in Brussels, they discussed key questions of significance for the development of universities in the European space: models of financing innovative research, the role of startups established by students and professors as a measure of university’s success, higher inclusion of the alumni in the industry, and strategies to keep the young talents in the domestic of the wider European economy.

Special attention was dedicated to the development of incubators and startup “hubs”, where the Innovation Center Banja Luka was shown as an example of good practice, as it created over 400 jobs over the past ten years. An additional push in this field is expected through the construction of the Scientific-technological Park of the Republic of Srpska within the protected area of the University Campus of the UNIBL.