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Tehnopolis used 4 million euros from EU funds for supporting companies

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (Inovaciono-preduzetnički centar – IPC) Tehnopolis in Nikšić is a centre for development of start-up companies and entrepreneurship in Montenegro. It is a place where you can get logistical and educational support for your innovative ideas. Them being a successful beneficiary of EU funds, we paid them a visit in order to see what they have done within the recently completed EU project “Improving infrastructure for research and innovation that can be used to support the development of small and medium enterprises”, worth 818,000 euros. We visited the Industrial Design Laboratory, the Biotechnology Laboratory and the Data Centre, which were established through this EU project. In the Industrial Design Laboratory, which is equipped with the most modern 3D printer, CNC machines and a robotic arm, we met with the Maksimović brothers, owners of the MontEnergo company from Nikšić. At Tehnopolis, they developed a 3D model for their innovative idea – a fish feeder.
“Today’s process of feeding fish is rather obsolete, the same as it was 50 years ago. People don’t even know how many fish they have in the pond, yet alone how much food they require, so we devised a system which should help in the context of saving food, and therefore money. We had the support of Tehnopolis, where we printed a plastic 3D model, which we then used to make a metal casting, and now it is built into that machine,” explains Bogdan Maksimović. Đorđije Brkuljan, who is in charge of implementing EU projects at Tehnopolis, took over the role of our tour guide through the Centre. We talked to him in the Biotechnology Laboratory.
Today’s process of feeding fish is rather obsolete, the same as it was 50 years ago. People don’t even know how many fish they have in the pond, yet alone how much food they require, so we devised a system which should help in the context of saving food, and therefore money. We had the support of Tehnopolis, where we printed a plastic 3D model, which we then used to make a metal casting, and now it is built into that machine
“Here you can see our exceptional equipment for testing the proper functioning of atomizers and sprinklers, i.e., of the machinery used for applying pesticides. This equipment is very important from the aspect of the quality of the final product, and also from the aspect of environmental protection, due to the excessive use of pesticides in agriculture. The other part of the equipment refers to the analysis of, among other things, probiotics in milk, which is also important from the aspect of food safety and monitoring the quality of milk”, explains Brkuljan. Tehnopolis is also richer for its new Data Centre, which companies can use to develop applications. Furthermore, the Data Centre is suitable for analysis of big data, a service which companies can use here for free, while on the free market this service would cost them dearly.
Currently, about 40 innovators use the Data Centre, the Biotechnology Laboratory and the Industrial Design Laboratory. We have just started to develop these three infrastructure segments, because in parallel we are developing our human resources, which will work with this equipment, so in the coming period we will be able to provide even greater support to farmers, innovators, small and medium enterprises, i.e., to all those companies that want to improve their production process and become competitive on the market
“Currently, about 40 innovators use the Data Centre, the Biotechnology Laboratory and the Industrial Design Laboratory. We have just started to develop these three infrastructure segments, because in parallel we are developing our human resources, which will work with this equipment, so in the coming period we will be able to provide even greater support to farmers, innovators, small and medium enterprises, i.e., to all those companies that want to improve their production process and become competitive on the market”, announces Brkuljan. In the last 5 years, the European Union has supported Tehnopolis with about 4 million euros. The EU has so far invested 15.8 million euros in the business, economy and innovation sectors through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

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