Representatives of NALED and Philip Morris International visited UDG, NCC Montenegro, and CoE FoodHub
Representatives of NALED (National Alliance for Local Economic Development), Serbia, and Philip Morris International visited the University of Donja Gorica, where they presented their leading projects — StarTech, Empower Innovation, and particularly PMInnovia — aimed at connecting science and industry, promoting the concept of open innovation, and supporting researchers and innovators in developing ideas to improve products, processes, and the competitiveness of the economy.
During the visit, the representatives of NALED and PMI were introduced to the research and project activities of UDG, the National Competence Center for Supercomputing (NCC Montenegro), and the Center of Excellence for Digitalization of Food Safety Risk Assessment and Precision Certification of Food Product Authenticity (CoE FoodHub), particularly in the areas of HPC and AI technology applications and support for digital innovations in smart agriculture, personalized medicine, monitoring the authenticity of Montenegrin food products, and bioinformatics for genomic profiling.
The delegation also toured the Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D Printing Laboratory, where student projects showcasing the connection between technology, robotics, research creativity, and industrial relevance were presented. They also visited the Food Safety and Quality Laboratory, where modern methods and equipment for physico-chemical and microbiological analyses were demonstrated, as well as the Entrepreneurial Nest, where they learned about business initiatives supporting innovation and students, such as UDG’s StartUp program and the Entrepreneurial Ideas Exchange.
The professional discussion focused on mapping regional expertise, biotechnological innovations, and exploring potential collaboration within interdisciplinary teams sharing a common vision of advancing the innovation ecosystem and the economic development of the region.