On 17 – 18 October 2019, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia Vladimir Popović accompanied by Assistant Minister Victor Nedović and a group of Serbian scientists visited the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

The visit of heads of the Ministry took place during the 5th regular session of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on JINR-Serbia Cooperation. The Serbian party at the event was represented by Coordinator of JINR-Serbia Cooperation, Deputy Director of the “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences and a member of the JINR Scientific Council Nebojša Nešković, as well as members of the Committee, scientific staff members of the Institute of Physics Belgrade Dimitrije Maletić and Mira Aničić Urošević.

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The delegation started its work in Dubna on 17 October with participation in the Meeting of the Working group under the CP Chairman on financial issues of JINR. Participants signed a roadmap on cooperation between JINR and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for the next five years. State Secretary Vladimir Popović delivered a welcoming speech in which he said the following: “With more intensive access and presence in JINR, our country is being offered a chance to engage a greater number of experts of research and technical profile thus slowing down the leaving of academic staff from our country. Knowledge in using the latest equipment in JINR, new technologies and methods, their implementation and the experience in working with highest-level experts would be transferred faster to our country. Benefits of JINR membership for our country can be multiple because cooperation is not exclusively linked to physicists i.e. scientists – economists can also take part in it with a possibility of research implementation in medicine, biotechnologies, new industrial technologies and other fields. I hope that the Roadmap on cooperation signed today with JINR will strengthen long-term links between JINR and Serbia providing opportunities to enhance cooperation in the fields of research, staff training, education, innovations and knowledge exchange.”

The JCC meeting focused on the discussion of practical steps to implement the Roadmap on Cooperation. The Committee agreed to hold the JINR Open Day in Belgrade in the spring of 2020 at the highest level for promoting cooperation among researchers and decision-makers in Serbia. The Committee agreed to hold some joint scientific and educational events next year, including events on the platform of the Novi Sad University heads of which had visited JINR in September 2019.

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The Committee decided to expand the bilateral thematic cooperation plan. In the nearest future, the cooperation in the fields of accelerator technologies is expected to be intensified, as well as joint projects on radiobiology and IT will be developed.

In the frames of the meeting, members of the delegation were acquainted with the development of the JINR scientific infrastructure in FLNR, VBLHEP, and FLNP.

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Final milestones of the visit of the Serbian delegation were summed up on 18 October at the meeting with JINR Director Academician Victor Matveev. JINR Vice-Directors Mikhail Itkis and Richard Lednický, JINR Chief Scientific Secretary Alexander Sorin, Chief Engineer Boris Gikal, Head of the International Cooperation Department Dmitry Kamanin and Secretary for JINR-Serbia Cooperation Yulia Polyakova took part in the meeting. The parties discussed with satisfaction the results of the Committee and confirmed mutual interest in active cooperation development. One of the highlights of this cooperation is the creation of a postgraduate training programme and the development of the mobility of the Serbian scientific youth in JINR. Vladimir Popović highlighted that an opportunity to learn about the JINR scientific infrastructure is of crucial importance for young Serbian scientists and that it is necessary to foster the widespread of information about JINR among leaders of Serbian science. In this regard, the efficiency of the JEMS training programme implemented in JINR was noted.

At the end of the meeting, JCC co-chairmen signed the Committee’s decisions. A three-lateral Memorandum on cooperation between JINR, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia was signed as one of the first practical steps towards implementation of the Roadmap. The document concerns the joint development and the use of accelerator technologies in JINR and the “Vinča” Institute, the high-tech industrial involvement, as well as training of engineers in accelerator technologies.

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At the end of the meeting, Vladimir Popović commented on the milestones of the Joint Committee in a following way to the JINR media: “The most significant document signed at the JCC meeting is the Roadmap on cooperation. In fact, it is a complex agreement that unites all other our arrangements and covers almost all the fields of our cooperation, including scientific collaboration, educational programmes, etc. Two other signed documents are of practical character and relate to industrial involvement. Thus, in November, we expect a visit of a JINR group on accelerator technologies under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia to find opportunities for cooperation with Dubna. After that, particular proposals will be formulated. One of the most important fields of cooperation development is the training of young scientists without whom our cooperation has no future.”

Photos by Igor Lapenko