UNSA at the commemoration of 50 years of the University of Rijeka and 10 years of the Center for Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe | Establishment of a postdoctoral cooperation program

University of Sarajevo Rector, Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, at the invitation of the Center for Advanced Studies of Southeast Europe (CAS) of the University of Rijeka, led the delegation of the University of Sarajevo as part of the commemoration of "Community Engagement - 50 Years of UNIRI and 10 Years of CAS SEE". Jubilee activities were held on Thursday, October 19 and Friday, October 20, 2023 in the Moise Palace on Cres. Other representatives of the University of Sarajevo were Prof. Dr. Mirza Dautbašić, Vice-Rector for Research, Mariana Hadžijusufović, senior associate of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) and Jasmina Gradaščević-Pleh, senior associate of the Service for Scientific Research.

The first day of the jubilee celebration was opened by prof. Ph.D. Sanja Bojanić, executive director of CAS, during which she also briefly presented the achievements of the University of Rijeka and the Center in the last 10 years of work, focusing on 138 scholarship holders and more than 600 research months made possible with the support of Erste and Rockefeller Brothers Foundation donors. In the following, Senada Šelo Šabić, in the role of moderator, led a panel called "The Path Towards a Culture of Shared Future in Southeast Europe" with the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom in Croatia, during which an important discussion was developed on the topics of joint work and progress through regional cooperation in the future, but also current topics in Europe and the world.

The second day of the jubilee was dedicated to the evaluation of the regional scholarship program (fellowship program) run by CAS, as well as the working meeting of the Regional Network of Centers for Advanced Studies (RECAS), in which, in addition to representatives of the Center for Advanced Studies of Southeast Europe (CAS) and the University of Sarajevo, the University in Belgrade, the University of Tirana, the University of Pristina, the University of "St. Cyril and Methodius" in Skopje and the University of Montenegro.

One of the main initiatives of RECAS is the establishment of a postdoctoral program of cooperation with institutions in the region within the Rector's Forum of Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans, and the European initiative for excellence in science and research in cooperation (part of the Horizon Europe program). The joint activities of the partner institutions are aimed at the cooperation of the universities of the Western Balkan region with the aim of strengthening higher education institutions for the participation of young researchers in the initial phase of their career (ECR - Early Career Researcher) in research and innovation.