CPME Team at the Round Table – Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategy

As part of the 12th REDETE Conference https://www.redete.org/, the CPME Research Team – Center for Project Management and Entrepreneurship of the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka – organized on Thursday, September 11, 2025, a USE IPM thematic round table and a presentation of current UNIBL projects, focusing on a synchronized approach and intersections in the field of fostering sustainable innovation, research, and development. Members of the CPME project team actively participated in a dialogue between academia, government, and the business sector, with a total of 23 participants in the round table, on the topic: “Draft Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategy for the Development of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, a project deliverable within the framework of the project “Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management – USE IPM”, supported by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

Based on the suggestions received from stakeholders at the roundtable, the Working Group will continue to integrate useful recommendations, proceed with drafting the Action Plan, and by the end of 2025, prepare for the regional roundtable, which will be organized at the Faculty of Economics on December 5, 2025. This event will gather representatives from partner universities who will present their own research and innovation strategies within entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems in Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania. The expected outcome of the regional meeting will be a harmonized approach to research and innovation strategies across four Western Balkan countries. Subsequently, the Scientific-Teaching Council of the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, will officially adopt the Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategy and Action Plan of the Faculty of Economics as part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

#USEIPM #Research&Innovation #RoundTable #REDETEConference2025 #EconomicsUNIBL

Published 12.09.2025 at 13:21

Study Visit of CPME Researchers to Samobor and Zagreb – Part II, August 16–31, 2025

The research team of CPME – the Center for Project Management and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka – Prof. Saša Petković, PhD, Prof. Mirjana Milijević, PhD, and Assist. Prof. Jadranka Petrović, PhD – participated in the second part of a fifteen-day study visit to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Samobor and Zagreb.

The host of the study visit was the International Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) in Samobor (https://entrepreneurship-institute.eu/), and the program was led by Prof. Marko Kolaković, PhD, together with his team of associates. During the two weeks, the researchers:

In working groups with the IIE team and members of the Department of Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb, worked on drafting the document “Blueprint for Improvement of CPME – Center for Entrepreneurship and Project Management, Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka” and the Strategic Directions of CPME – 2025–2035.
Visited the Student Incubator of the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb, and Libertas International University, where they analyzed the similarities and differences in entrepreneurial education at public and private higher education institutions.
Became familiar with the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Samobor in detail, including a presentation on economic policy measures for attracting investors and supporting entrepreneurial development delivered by the Mayor of Samobor, Dr. Petra Škrobot. The City of Samobor systematically and multilayeredly supports entrepreneurship — through financial incentives, tax reliefs, institutional and infrastructural support, as well as innovative measures aimed at specific groups (such as women entrepreneurs). This combination of measures has led to an increase in the number of newly established enterprises (158 in 2024) and positioned Samobor as one of the most entrepreneurship-friendly cities in the country.
Visited the entrepreneurial incubator Mali Tehnopolis Samobor (MTS) and the management of the Samobor Entrepreneurship Center Ltd., as well as startup tenants of MTS. MTS serves as a business incubator for startup entrepreneurs and those in the growth phase, offering rental of office space, coworking, training, consulting, mentoring, and access to innovative technical infrastructure. MTS is equipped with industrial 3D printers and scanners (e.g., HP Jet Fusion 580 Color and ProJet® 7000) that entrepreneurs can use to develop prototypes and innovative ideas. MTS is the result of adapting the premises of the former Taborec barracks into a multifunctional business center, with the program already fully occupied by 2022.
Visited Metal Forming CO Ltd., an innovative small company specialized in the production of exhaust systems, wind turbine components, and other metal products.
Toured Samobor’s entrepreneurial district and held discussions with local entrepreneurs.
Attended lectures by IIE representatives on Samobor’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and, in mixed working groups, exchanged experiences related to the process of drafting innovation and research development strategies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania.

A second group of CPME researchers will visit Samobor and Zagreb from October 17 to November 1, 2025, which will conclude a three-month stay of researchers from Banja Luka in five EU countries between December 2023 and November 2025. The experiences gained during the study visits will be used to strengthen the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the development of curricula for targeted trainings of students, faculty, and companies, scientific research and publication of scholarly articles, as well as the implementation of new project ideas.

The activities were carried out within the project “Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management” – USE IPM, supported by the EU (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

#useipm #IIE #HorizonEurope #cpme #efunibl #Samobor #Zagreb #innovation #entreprenеurialecosystem

Published 07.09.2025 at 22:27

ROUND TABLE

The Center for Project Management and Entrepreneurship (CPME) of the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, and parners of REDETE conference together with partners within the USE IPM project, is organizing a round table:

Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategy for the Development of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina

11 September 2025
14:30h
Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka – Hall 6

The event will bring together partners from institutions supporting the entrepreneurial infrastructure, as well as professors and associates of the host institution.

Four international projects and the Draft RResearch and Innovation (R&I) Strategy of the Faculty of Economics for the Development of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be presented, with the aim of developing the innovation ecosystem and strengthening cooperation between academia, the private sector, the public sector, and civil society.

More information about the project: https://cpme.ef.unibl.org/o-projektu/

The event is organized with the support of the European Union.

#USEIPM #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #BanjaLuka #EUProjects

Published 05.09.2025 at 15:45

Researchers from the Faculty of Economics in Ancona – July 2025

Researchers from CPME – the Center for Project Management and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, Prof. dr Saša Petković, PhD, and Prof. dr Mirjana Milijević, PhD, visited Ancona, Italy, from July 7th to July 11th, 2025, as part of the regular activities under Work Package 2 of the USE IPM project.

During the week-long stay in Italy, our host was Prof. dr Donato Iacobucci, PhD, Professor of Applied Economics at the Faculty of Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Marche and Rector’s Delegate for Entrepreneurship. Professor Iacobucci is the founder and current director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Univpm (CII), coordinator of the Fondazione Aristide Merloni, and a member of the EUA Expert Group on Innovation Ecosystems.

Professor Iacobucci presented the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem of the Polytechnic University of Marche, the city of Ancona, and the Marche region. Special emphasis in the presentation was placed on the functioning of the University, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Univpm, as well as on the impact of the adoption and implementation of the Regulation for the establishment of spin-offs of the Polytechnic University of Marche and for the participation of university staff in their activities. Additionally, the main elements of the university’s development and innovation strategy were presented.

In addition to CPME researchers, the presentation was attended by two representatives from each of the partner universities from Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania. Over the course of four working days, thematic workshops were organized for USE IPM researchers, focusing on topics such as open sustainable innovation, the functioning of university spin-off companies, startup financing, effective entrepreneurial education, legal regulations that foster innovation, the development of entrepreneurial and innovation infrastructure on the university campus, and innovation and research strategy.

We participated in the two-day conference Skillman 2025 (July 9–10, 2025) https://skillman.eu/as2025-academic-papers, where we presented the results of empirical research conducted during the first two years of project implementation. The CPME researchers presented the following papers:

Petković, S., Debarliev, S., Janeska Iliev, A., & Kolaković, M. (2025). Innovation Ecosystem Paradox: How Strong External Support Weakens the Project Management – Sustainability Innovation Link;
Milijević, M., & Marić, M. (2025). Cross-Country Analysis of Sustainability Attitudes: A Statistical Comparison Based on Likert-Scale Survey Data.

And as a conclusion, the visit to the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem of Ancona and the Marche region, along with the Italian experiences, will be invaluable for the continued development of the entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem in the Western Balkan countries.

The visit was carried out as a regular activity within the framework of the project "Up-skilling researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management"– USE IPM, supported by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

#useipm #HorizonEurope #eu #cpme #efunibl #sigurnonajbolji #Ancona #universityspin-off#innovation

Published 22.07.2025 at 14:05

USE IPM - launch of Research & Innovation Strategy Working Group

On Tuesday, 10 June 2025 (10:00 CET) the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka hosted a Kick-off meeting of the Working Group tasked with drafting the “Research & Innovation Strategy of the Faculty of Economics” and its accompanying Action Plan.

The group agreed on a roadmap, key milestones (situation analysis - vision & priorities - KPI framework) and stakeholder-consultation schedule stretching to December 2025.

Draft versions will be aligned with the University’s overarching R&I policy and the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Republika Srpska.

The event strengthens institutional capacity-building foreseen in Work Package 2 of the project “Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management” – USE IPM, funded by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

Thank you to all colleagues for their active engagement and constructive ideas!

#USEIPM #ResearchInnovation #Strategy #ActionPlan #EF_UNIBL #CPME #HorizonEurope #CapacityBuilding

Published 13.06.2025 at 15:19

USE IPM presentations – “Key insights from the study visit to Samobor, Zagreb & Dubrovnik (17–31 May 2025)”

10 June 2025, 11:00, Faculty of Economics UNIBL

Our researchers briefed colleagues and partners on best practices from study visit to Croatia:

Jadranka Petrović, PhD – “Setting-up a Student Incubator”
Showcased Zagreb’s innovation hubs – University Business Incubator, Libertas University and ZICER – highlighting 108 modular offices, a prototyping fab-lab and a €300 k start-up fund.
Ljubiša Mićić, PhD – “First-round secondment take-aways”
Analysed diversification within Mirnovec (fireworks, Etno Farma, Fun Park Biograd) and KPIs such as jobs created, export growth and market reach.
Milica Bogdanović, PhD – “Building entrepreneurial talent pipelines”
Drew lessons from the International Institute of Entrepreneurship and heritage brands Filipec Bermet and pastry shop “U prolazu”, stressing tradition-based innovation.
Prof. Mirjana Milijević, PhD – “Incubator infrastructure: physical & digital”
From the Forestry & Wood Tech incubator to Blachere Illumination, underlined how co-working, rapid prototyping and virtual platforms accelerate start-ups and circular-economy solutions.
Prof. Saša Petković, PhD – “From workshops to BEE 2025 stage”
Summarised the Samobor training led by Prof. Marko Kolaković and chairing the dedicated USE IPM session at BEE 2025 in Dubrovnik.
Milica Marić, MA – “BEE 2025 outcomes & next steps”
Reported on conference take-aways: AI in entrepreneurship education, global networking and students’ demands for mentorship, prototyping labs and seed funding.

Why it matters?
These lessons feed directly into the design of the student incubator model, that will be established at universities in the region as a part USE IPM project.

The presentations are regular outputs of the EU-funded project “Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management” – USE IPM (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

#useipm #HorizonEurope #EU #cpme #efunibl #Samobor #Zagreb #Dubrovnik #innovation #studentincubator

Published 13.06.2025 at 15:04

USE IPM – study visit to Samobor and Zagreb, and participation at BEE2025 conference, 26–31 May 2025

The research team from the Center for Project Management & Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics University of Banja Luka – Full Professor Saša Petković, Associate Professor Mirjana Milijević, Assistant Professor Ljubša Mićić, Assistant Professor Jadranka Petrović, Milica Bogdanović, Foreign Language Professor and Senior Teaching Assistant Milica Marić – continued their USE IPM secondment as follows:

26th of May May, Samobor: Expert panel and meeting with local entrepreneurs, including a visit to the company Blachere Illumination – Gospodari svjetla d.o.o.
27th of May, Zagreb: Visit to the student business incubator at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb.
29–31st of May, Dubrovnik: Participation in the 10th Business & Entrepreneurial Economics Conference;

31 May, during a special USE IPM session, the following papers were presented:

“What drives successful sustainable technology transfer in emerging open innovation ecosystems: Insights from Southeast Europe”, presented by Full Professor Saša Petković. Co-authors are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jadranka Petrović from our faculty as well as Full Professors Vesna Bucevska, Marija Radosavljević i Elona Pojani.
“Bridging the Skills Gap: The Role of Soft Skills in the Digital Economy”, presented by Milica Marić, Senior Teaching Assistant, with co-authors Assistant Professor Mirjana Milijević, Assistant Professor Ljubiša Mićić, and Foreign Language Professor. Milica Bogdanović.

These activities are regular outputs of the project “Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management” – USE IPM, funded by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

#useipm #BEE2025 #HorizonEurope #efunibl #Samobor #Zagreb #Dubrovnik #innovation

Published 05.06.2025 at 08:29

USE IPM – Study Visit to Samobor and Zagreb (Week One)

From May 17 to 23, 2025, all six researchers from the Center for Project Management and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, participated in the first week of a study visit within the USE IPM project (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01). The research team consisted of Professor Saša Petković, PhD, Full Professor (USE IPM Project Coordinator at UNIBL), Mirjana Milijević, PhD, Associate Professor; Assistant Professor Ljubiša Mićić, PhD, Assistant Professor Jadranka Petrović, PhD, Dr. Milica Bogdanović, Foreign Language Lecturer; and MA Milica Marić, Teaching Assistant.

The host of the study visit was the International Institute of Entrepreneurship (MIP) in Samobor (https://entrepreneurship-institute.eu/), and the program was led by Professor Marko Kolaković. During the week, the researchers:

• Attended an introductory lecture on strategic entrepreneurship and a tour of Samobor;
• Held a meeting with local entrepreneurs, including:
o Mirnovec Pyrotechnics (https://www.mirnovec.hr/en) / Ethno Village Mirnovec (https://www.etnofarma.hr/) – a leading pyrotechnics company in the Western Balkans, which has also developed a family-friendly tourist complex for events;
o Filipec Cellar (https://www.bermetfilipec.hr/) – a family business renowned for its traditional production of the aromatic Samobor wine Bermet and mustard, a specific type of mustard;

• Visited student entrepreneurial incubators at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb, and Libertas University, and toured ZICER – Zagreb Innovation Centre at the Zagreb Fairgrounds;
• Participated in a workshop on the essential steps for launching and managing student business incubators at higher education institutions, led by Professor Marko Kolaković, PhD, Full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb.

The visit is a regular activity within the project "Up-skilling researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship based on Innovation Process Management" – USE IPM, supported by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

#useipm #HorizonEurope #eu #cpme #efunibl #sigurnonajbolji #Samobor #innovation

Published 26.05.2025 at 08:32

USE IPM Project member active at the International Conference ICoSReSSE "Shaping the Future: Embracing Digital Transformation"

On Friday, 25th of April 2025, the USE IPM project was presented at the 17th International Conference of Strategic Research on Scientific Studies and Education (ICoSReSSE 2025) “Shaping the Future: Embracing Digital Transformation,” held at the Faculty of Economics, University of Niš.

As part of the conference agenda, Assistant Professor Ljubiša Mićić, PhD, representative of Centre for Project Management and Entrepreneurship (CPME) at Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka together with Sandra Milanović Zbiljić, PhD, from the University of Niš, presented their joint scientific paper titled: "The Role of Digital Workplace Transformation in Enhancing Organizational Sustainability: A Post-Pandemic Analysis."

The presentation provided valuable insights into the impact of digital transformation on sustainability practices within organizations in the post-pandemic era, emphasizing innovations in remote work, digital tools, and process management.

The conference took place at the Faculty of Economics, University of Niš.

Presentation is part of the project "Up-skilling Researchers for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Based on Innovation Process Management" – USE IPM, supported by the European Union (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01).

Thank you to all participants for their valuable contributions and engagement!

#USEIPM #DigitalTransformation #OrganizationalSustainability #Research #Innovation #PostPandemic #EconomicsNiš #ICoSReSSE2025 #HorizonEurope

Published 28.04.2025 at 12:32

USE IPM Project Presented at the Expert Panel at the Faculty of Economics in Niš

On Thursday, 24th of April 2025, the USE IPM project was presented at the Expert Panel held at the Faculty of Economics, University of Niš. The panel gathered experts and academics to discuss policy guidelines and challenges facing widening countries, with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As part of the agenda, Full Professor Saša Petković, PhD, representative of the Center for Project management and Entrepreneurship at Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, have a presentation titled: "Guidelines for Policymakers: Challenges of Widening Countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina Case."

The event served as an excellent platform to share insights into the complexities of policy development in the context of EU widening and to promote the results of the USE IPM project among academic and policy-oriented audiences.

The panel took place at the Faculty of Economics in Niš, starting at 10:00 AM CET.