The Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia has launched the Public Call for submission of project proposals under the program Science for Industry – Application of Artificial Intelligence in Industry through Scientific Partnerships – “From Laboratory to Market” (hereinafter: the Program).
The Program enables the development, testing, and validation of scientific solutions through cooperation between scientific research institutions and industry partners, with clearly defined expectations regarding applicability, proof of validation through pilot implementation or testing in a real-world environment, and the potential for further development of results, including their market or institutional application.
The general objective of the Program is to support the development and validation of applicable scientific solutions through structured and long-term partnerships between scientific research organizations and industry, with a focus on results that can be directly utilized as products, services, technological processes, or public policy solutions, including results with clear potential for further development, commercialization, and sustainable market application, as well as their adoption within business and public systems.
Specific objectives of the Program are:
- Increasing the number of projects with demonstrable potential for application in real-world environments through pilot implementation or testing with an industry partner or end users;
- Strengthening the capacities of scientific research organizations for collaboration with industry during the development, testing, and validation phases of solutions;
- Directing research activities toward industrial sectors recognized as strategic priorities in national strategies;
- Supporting the development of solutions that contribute to the competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of the economy and public sector;
- Supporting the development of research results with recognizable market potential, including the preparation of solutions for further innovation phases, technology transfer, or collaboration with market stakeholders, without the obligation of commercialization during the project duration.
The Program does not include the funding of projects dealing with basic research at the idea stage (TRL1). The Program supports applied research in all scientific fields. The Program is thematically oriented in accordance with relevant strategic documents.
All projects within the Program must be clearly mapped to one of the following priority domains, while Artificial Intelligence must play a relevant role in every Project Proposal:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Food for the Future
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Future Machines and Manufacturing Processes
- Creative Industries
Digitalization, energy transition, sustainable energy systems, and health represent horizontal thematic pillars of the Program that may be applied within the above-mentioned domains, in line with national strategies. Expected program outputs include validated prototypes, pilots, demonstrators, methodologies, or other applicable solutions, including software, datasets, technical and technological improvements, as well as results that are subject to or may become subject to intellectual property protection.
The project consortium must include at least one accredited scientific research organization from the Republic of Serbia and at least one business entity registered in the Republic of Serbia acting as an industry partner that provides project co-financing through financial and/or in-kind contributions, in accordance with the Program rules, with a minimum co-financing participation of 15% of the value of the project budget financed from the resources of the Science Fund.
The consortium may consist of a maximum of five members, including industry partners, i.e. a maximum of four scientific research organizations and one industry partner.
Only accredited scientific research organizations from the Republic of Serbia may be beneficiaries of the Science Fund resources, while the industry partner may not be financed from the Science Fund resources. The minimum number of participants in a Program project is three, while the maximum number of team members is not limited, including young researchers.
The total Program Budget is EUR 11,700,000:
- EUR 10,700,000 in RSD equivalent calculated at the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of publication of the Public Call has been allocated for the Program Budget.
- EUR 1,000,000 in RSD equivalent calculated at the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of publication of the Public Call has been allocated for additional project funding.
- The amount of the budget per Project financed from the resources of the Science Fund ranges from EUR 150,000 to EUR 300,000 in RSD equivalent calculated at the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of publication of the Public Call.
- The total amount of additional funding per Project may amount to up to EUR 100,000 in RSD equivalent calculated at the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of publication of the Public Call.
The maximum duration of a project is one year (12 months).
The Program is financed through the “SAIGE” project (Serbia Accelerating Innovation and Growth Entrepreneurship Project), a partnership project of the Republic of Serbia, the European Union, and the World Bank dedicated to strengthening scientific research and innovative entrepreneurship in Serbia, as well as from the budget of the Republic of Serbia.
Applications for Projects under this Public Call (hereinafter: the Application) shall be submitted exclusively in electronic form, no later than June 15, 2026, at 12:00 CET, by completing the project application through the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia Project Submission Portal.
The application process for the Public Call consists of two stages. The first stage includes the submission of a Short Project Proposal with accompanying documentation. The second stage includes the submission of a Full Project Proposal with accompanying documentation.
All information related to the Program, eligibility conditions for the Public Call, as well as the application documentation, is available on the Calls page at the following LINK.