Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić opened the Third AFA Week of Innovation last night at the residence of the Finnish ambassador and assessed that investments in that area promote greater economic growth and a better quality of life for citizens and contribute to one of the Government's goals towards creating an economy based on knowledge and innovation. Prime Minister Brnabić said on that occasion, among other things, that the goal of the government is the transformation of the Serbian economy in which growth based on investments would grow into growth based on innovation, creativity and added value, and added that this is a way for Serbia to grow and progress at a much faster rate than the current one.
The host of the opening of the Innovation Week, Mr. E. Ambassador of Finland Kimo Lahdevirta greeted the attendees, pointing out that Finland strives for the development of artificial intelligence to be based on trust and focused on people, with a focus on efficient application in the domain of business and public services. "As a small country, Finland cannot compete with the big players. For this reason, we have to focus on the areas where our strengths are and in which we can be competitive," said Ambassador Lahdevirta.
Prime Minister Brnabić emphasized that Serbia wants to position itself as a regional leader and lay the foundations for continuous improvements, and that is why the Government is investing approximately 90 million euros in the programs planned by the Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence. According to her, the Strategy was adopted at the end of December 2019, making Serbia the first country in Southeast Europe and the 26th in the world to have such a document. "The goal is to speed up the development of the innovation system, which is the key to more efficient and dynamic growth, and that is what Serbia and the region need," explained the prime minister. Brnabić reminded that in the last four years, the Government has done a lot in the field of infrastructure investments, which are more than 100 million euros. "We have invested in infrastructure for the development of innovation and research, the development of startup companies and science," said the Prime Minister, recalling that the science and technology parks in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Čačak have been completed. The Prime Minister pointed out that work is also underway on the construction of an additional building for the Faculty of Electronics in Niš and the Faculty of Technical Sciences, and announced that the construction of a new building for the BioSense Institute in Novi Sad will begin next month. "It is important to encourage young people and enable them not to be afraid to innovate, to start their own companies where they can engage in science and research, and that is why it is a key component of education reform," emphasized Brnabić and added that investments in education imply the transformation of education in order to young people were taught how to think, not what to think. She reminded of mandatory programming in primary schools and announced that next year the first generation will emerge who will know programming and coding and will be significantly more prepared for the world than previous generations. "There is the digital world - a new subject from the 1st grade of primary school based on the example of Finland, specialized departments for informatics are being formed in secondary schools, which annually enroll 1.000 students, of which more than 40 percent are girls," Brnabić presented. "It is important," she added, that the Master 4.0 program was introduced to the faculties, cooperation with the private sector and foreign universities was established, legal certainty and transparency were ensured, and a clear signal was given as to what type of companies would be supported. We want it to be a driving force for development, reform and growth, said the Prime Minister and added that the establishment of the National Science Fund will also contribute to this, and the reform of the legal environment for knowledge-based industries has also been implemented: laws on intellectual property, e-commerce, funds and corporate law." Brnabić also reminded that IT is the fastest growing sector in Serbia, whose annual growth is more than 20 percent, while even during the pandemic it was 4,5 percent.
Ambassador of Finland in Belgrade Kimo Lahdevirta stated that the country strives for the development of artificial intelligence to be trust-based and human-centered, with a focus on efficient application in the domain of business and public services. Lahdevirta stated that the Government of Finland is working on the "Aurora" program, the goal of which is to create an artificial intelligence that will participate in the selection of public services, such as when someone is looking for a new job.
During the evening, the CEO of Telenor Mike Michel addressed the audience by video message with a presentation entitled "Supporting future generations for inclusive, future development driven by innovation" and Teemu Roos from the University of Helsinki speaking on the topic "Elements of artificial intelligence".
This year, Innovation Week will be held from September 21-25 and the theme will be "Meeting the Future" with a special focus on raising awareness of how fast-growing technologies affect the changing economy, society and the way we work and live. Attached to the announcement, we are sending a photo and an agenda for the upcoming events within the AFA Innovation Week 2020.
Source: Nord Communications press release, Vanja Kovačev
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