Six scientific institutes of national significance for the Republic of Serbia have joined forces and signed an agreement on scientific cooperation. The document was approved by the directors of all six accredited institutes of national importance for the Republic of Serbia: Institute of Physics Belgrade, Institute for Biological Research "Sinisa Stankovic," Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, "Vinča" Institute of Nuclear Sciences and the Institute for Medical Research.
The agreement is concluded for five years, and it formalizes the existing cooperation and creates a basis for its extension and improvement while respecting mutual interests. It defines joint work on planning and implementation of scientific programs through the participation of researchers from these institutions, joint use of equipment for these purposes, as well as a presentation of the results achieved. The agreement also aims to strengthen the social relevance of the natural sciences.
According to the national regulations, the Institute of National significance is a top scientific research institution in Serbia. Institutes of National significance perform research to develop a general fund of knowledge, raising the technical and technological level, and spreading knowledge, education, and training of staff for scientific research. Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy obtained the status of the Institute of National significance in March 2018.
The agreement of six institutes of national importance for the Republic of Serbia has been covered in a large number of media (in Serbian), such as National Geographic Serbia (https://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/15322-sporazum-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja.html), N1 (http://rs.n1info.com/SciTech/a605780/Udruzilo-se-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja-za-Srbiju.html), Danas (https://www.danas.rs/drustvo/potpisan-sporazum-o-saradnji-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja/) Radio-Television Vojvodina (https://www.rtv.rs/sr_lat/drustvo/sporazum-o-saradnji-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja_1130828.html)