The Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Marija Gabriel, together with the director of the Institute Vladimir Crnojević and the coordinator of the ANTARES project Vesna Bengin, by cutting the ribbon, symbolically marked a new chapter of this institution, but also a new chapter for science in Serbia.

 

The new facility, located on an area of more than 6,500 square meters, is unique in its architecture, as it has an anti-vibration core that floats on four cushions, which enables the most sensitive scientific research in the field of micro and nano technologies. In addition, in the new building of the institute there are so-called clean rooms, laboratories equipped with the state-of-the-art equipment for multidisciplinary scientific research, a data center as well as a specially created space for startups. All this together, makes the BioSense Institute a unique institution of this type in Serbia.

 

This project has been supported with 34 million euros invested in the team of dedicated people working at BioSense, the building and the equipment. European Union’s support is worth 14 million, while the Republic of Serbia invested 20 million euros. Thanks to this support, new capacities and highly sophisticated equipment will enable strengthening the institute’s potential as a European Center of Scientific Excellence, which is capable of implementing the most advanced projects applicable at the world level.

 

“Serbia has shown that it can be a center of excellence in digital agriculture, and that is the synergy between technology and agriculture, which is necessary in times of climate challenges. We want to ensure that agriculture is sustainable, that it produces better results, that the state, with the help of science, provides adequate support to our farmers so that they can be competitive in the future,” said Prime Minister Brnabić.

 

EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel pointed out that the opening of the BioSense building celebrated a new symbol of the strong partnership between Serbia and the EU.
“The BioSense shows that agriculture and biotechnology are an essential sector of our daily life. With the new way of innovation, we can better connect science with innovation and education, all through the Center for Excellence, Leadership and Talent,” said Commissioner Gabriel at the opening.

 

“Today we are opening a new chapter with new laboratories for cutting-edge work in the field of micro and nanotechnology, phenotyping, we also have a large data center that will support artificial intelligence, satellite images, bioinformatics and everything that the future brings,” explained the importance of the new facility and everything in it, the director of the BioSense Institute, professor Vladimir Crnojević.

 

Coordinator of the ANTARES project, funded by the European Union, through the Horizon 2020 programme, professor Vesna Bengin, emphasized the importance of this institute in preventing the outflow of scientists from Serbia, that is recognized as a scientific destination.
“Top researchers from all over the world come here and build their careers here. Students in Serbia are changing their educational profiles and choosing majors in order to get a job at the BioSense Institute,” said professor Bengin.

 

Today, the BioSense Institute has more than 140 employees, and thanks to the new infrastructure and state-of-the-art equipment financed through the ANTARES project, the institute is expected to fully fill its capacity of 250 employees.