ICT Cortex and The Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce are organizing a meetup on the topic of innovation laws
ICT Cortex meetup Vol 8 will be organized on the 25th of May in hotel CUE at 18h, with the purpose to resolve doubts related to the legislative framework that encourages innovation activity: the Law on Innovation and the Law on Incentives for the Development of Research and Innovation. Incentives and measures arising from innovation legislative framework related to subjects of innovation activity: companies (regardless of the sector in which they operate), startups, spin-offs, researches institutions, centers of excellence, and higher education institutions that perform innovative activities, inventors, innovators, freelancers, and other natural persons, which together represent an important segment in the development of the innovation ecosystem of Montenegro and they are a generator of the Montenegrin economy development and society in general. In an organization with the Chamber of Commerce, the cluster aims to bring together all participants of the innovative ecosystem: representatives of public administration, the academic sector, businesses, corporations, SMEs, startups, and the ICT community, but also all stakeholders who want to get answers to the question how to achieve the benefits offered by the application of the mentioned laws: redirection of profit tax to innovative projects, exemption from paying part of the tax for startups and freelancers, exemption from the real estate tax, creation of spin-off companies, etc. The organizers of the meetup announce a quality and interesting discussion that aims to launch an “innovation wheel” that will be based on the application of these laws. The interested auditorium will have the opportunity to receive answers to questions from eminent experts in this field:
Notification on the status of the Competition for the co-financing of innovative activities in 2022
In connection with the status of the implementation of individual program lines that are part of the Public Competition for the co-financing of innovation activities in 2022, the innovation community is informed of the following: Program line of support for EUREKA projects Total budget €120,000: €45,000 (ongoing EUREKA projects), €45,000 (Danube Call), and €30,000 (Network EUREKA) Ongoing projects. Funds in the amount of €30,000 were allocated (two projects). The remaining funds in the amount of €15,000 were not allocated. Special Multilateral Public Call for financing EUREKA projects for the Danube region. €15,000 (one project) will potentially be awarded, while €30,000 will not be awarded. The financing of a positively evaluated project is conditioned by the official acceptance of the project by the EUREKA network. Network EUREKA projects: funds in the amount of €30,000, which were available for 2022, have not been allocated. Registration for EUREKA projects for 2022 is closed. Contact person (NPC for Eureka): Aleksandra Mugoša, te. 405 335, e-mail: aleksandramugosa78@gmail.com, invozije.gov.me@gmail.com Program line for stimulating the protection and development of inventions The total amount available was €20,000. Funds in the amount of €9,382 (6 inventions) were allocated. The amount of funds that have not been allocated is €10,618. The new deadline for submitting applications is December 12, 2022, by 2:00 p.m.; Contact person: Nevena Radović, tel. 405 335, email: nevena.radovic@mntr.gov.me and invojcije.gov.me@gmail.com Program line for encouraging innovation culture The total amount available was €20,000. Funds in the amount of €16,000 (8 projects) were allocated. The amount of funds that have not been allocated is €4,000. The new deadline for submitting applications is December 12, 2022, by 2:00 p.m.; Contact person: Aleksandra Mugoša, tel. 405 335, e-mail: aleksandramugosa78@gmail.com and invojcije.gov.me@gmail.com Program line for the implementation of educational programs in S3 areas The total amount available was €30,000. Funds in the amount of €30,000 (4 projects) were allocated. The program line is closed. Program line to support participation in the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation “Horizon Europe” – Pillar III Innovative Europe The total amount available is €40,000. Funds in the amount of €5,000 were allocated (1 project). The amount of funds that have not been allocated is €35,000. The new deadline for submitting applications is December 12, 2022, by 2:00 p.m.; Contact person: Aleksandra Mugoša, tel. 405 335, e-mail: aleksandramugosa78@gmail.com and invojcije.gov.me@gmail.com At the link https://www.gov.me/clanak/obavjestenje-o-statusu-konkursa-za-sufinansiranje-inovacione-djelatnosti-u-2022-godini you can view the entire announcement and download the content of the competition.
Innovative activity as an imperative of economic growth
The need to intensify innovative activities for the economic and social progress of Montenegro is the main message of MeetUp Vol 8, which was held on May 25, and organized by the ICT cluster Cortex and the Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce. Comprehensiveness and sufficiency of the legislation adopted to establish and develop innovative activities, how the benefits and possible reasons for insufficient use of the potential offered by this legislative framework, as well as proposals on how to systematically improve and intensify innovative activities, were topics about which the panelists and participants had a constructive dialogue. Questions and concerns in this area, in a dialogue with the participants, were answered by panelists, who were active participants in the process of adopting, implementing, and using the incentives of this revolutionary innovative legislative framework: Marijeta Barjaktarović Lanzardi – Ministry of Science and Technological Development, Nenad Novović – President of the Assembly in ICT Cortex, owner of IT company Amplitudo, Velibor Bošković – Science Technology Park, Saša Ivanović – consultant UNDP, Bojana Femić Radosavović – Innovation Fund and Đorđije Brkuljan – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis. A lot of potential beneficiaries of benefits as well as measures arising from the innovation legislative framework, namely: companies, startups, spinners, and other legal entities, scientific research institutions, centers of excellence and higher education institutions that perform innovative activities, inventors, innovators, and freelancers have been participants of this event. The conclusions from this successfully organized Meetup will be discussed and adopted at the working meeting, which will be held next week, in which the most important subjects of the innovation community will take a part. The topic of the meeting will also be the consideration and definition of priorities for the improvement of the ICT sector, and the entire innovative ecosystem, which will be presented to key decision-makers. If you were not able to follow Cortex meetup Vol 8, you can find a video of the event on our YouTube channel.
Over a million euros for the development of the IT industry in Montenegro – MER and ICT Cortex signed a contract worth over a million euros
Minister of Economic Development Jakov Milatović, Ministry of Economic Development, signed today the contract on co-financing the ICT Cortex cluster with CEO Tarik Zaimović. ICT Cortex is the winner of the Contest to support the development of the strategic priority of the Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro – Information and Communication Technologies. The total amount foreseen for the implementation of the work program of the ICT cluster Cortex for three years amounts to over one million euros. The program will be supported by the Ministry of Economic Development of over 500,000 euros, while the same amount will be contributed by IT companies and members of the cluster. “In the previous period, the government invested great efforts in creating both an institutional and an appropriate program framework, which together will enable a more adequate involvement of the innovation community in the process of planning and implementation of the innovation policy, but also create preconditions for the continuation of the implementation of smart specialization in Montenegro,” he said. Minister Milatović. “In such a reform-strengthened institutional and programmatic framework for innovation, innovation infrastructures play a special role, and cluster organizations are certainly among them. Aware of your role in the innovation ecosystem, we decided on targeted support that represents the initial impulse of your further growth and development,” the minister said. “I am particularly pleased to be here today and to have the opportunity to support the ICT Cortex program. I am happy that ICT Cortex is already operational, that it has received support through several projects, has a development strategy, and is slowly positioning itself as a niche of technology companies, which further encourages the Ministry that this story will be successful and that during the period of cooperation on this program to open up other numerous opportunities for cooperation”, said the minister. On that occasion, he said that the Government will continue to work on improving the framework and ecosystem that is necessary for providing digital innovations in industry and education, and that he sees ICT Cortex not only as a user of one of the programs but also as a credible partner in the creation of Government policies. The State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development, Milena Lipovina-Božović, said that this sector is the easiest because there are no inherited problems, but also the most challenging. After all, it is at the very beginning and a lot of effort is needed from all actors in the community to feel significant progress. “These are processes that require a lot of time and the results cannot be seen in such a short time,” said Lipovina-Božović. When it comes to that innovation ecosystem, the Government wanted to strongly support the innovation community with the funds it allocated for the Innovation Fund of EUR 1 million. “We see this story with ICT Cortex as something that will give additional strength and incentive to make everything we envision happen much faster and with better quality in the coming period,” said Lipovina-Božović. According to her, the benefits of the program relate to the strengthening of the administrative capacities of the cluster organization, education programs that will include the strengthening of digital skills, participation in the strengthening of an innovation culture, and the creation of partnerships. The executive director of the ICT Cortex cluster welcomed those present and expressed his gratitude that MER made an important step towards the creation of an innovation ecosystem that will be based on the synergy of public-private partnerships. “I think that the innovation community should be the main engine of the development of our economy and that it is our most valuable resource. I believe that every euro invested in knowledge, technological development, innovation, and young and capable people will be returned many times over,” said Tarik Zaimović, executive director of the ICT Cortex cluster. The president of the ICT Cortex assembly presented the results of the cluster, which gathered around four main goals: education, internationalization of business through increased exports, digitization of CG society, and philanthropy through the establishment of the Cortex Foundation. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to open a new chapter through cooperation with the state by signing today’s contract. Concrete results have already been achieved by doubling the membership, establishing the Foundation, tangible help in digitization processes, as well as the launch of the large Cortex Academy.” – said Nenad Novović, president of the ICT Cortex assembly. ICT Cortex was founded by the innovative IT community in March 2021, to be a leader in the digital transformation of the economy and public administration, and to improve the framework and ecosystem necessary to provide digital innovations in industry and education. The association will contribute to the strengthening of the IT sector and the creation of conditions for the IT sector to become the backbone of the future development of Montenegro and a strong economic activity that will create the country’s leading export products.
