About us
Smart Manufacturing Innovation Centre (SMIC)
Welcome to the Future of Manufacturing in Serbia!
In partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Smart Manufacturing and Innovation Center (SMIC) in Novi Sad stands as a beacon of transformative change.
At the SMIC, innovation converges with industry. We serve as an innovation hub facilitating industry’s access to state-of-the-art technologies, offering a platform for advanced industrial experimentation alongside a range of offering technological services, business support, and skill-building programs. Positioned at the forefront of Industry 4.0, SMIC spearheads the digital transformation, seamlessly integrating robotics, automation, and cutting edge technologies to optimize processes, enhance competitiveness and reduce production costs.
Empowering Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and beyond
We provide effective access to new technologies, hands-on training, and knowledge transfer from research to industrial environments. While our primary focus is empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we extend our expertise to encompass the entire manufacturing industry sector in Serbia, catering to both SMEs and large enterprises.
A Hub for innovation and collaboration
Operating as a manufacturing innovation hub, we foster collaborative interactions between academia, industry, business support systems, and government entities. This triple helix approach is designed to propel the innovation systems of the Western Balkan region forward, fostering synergy and advancement across sectors.
Aligning with National Strategies
Aligned with Serbian national strategies, SMIC strategically tackles the need for advancing economic competitiveness through smart manufacturing and innovation. By leveraging legal frameworks, strategies, and programmes, we navigate challenges such as technology gaps, unemployment, and slow-moving pace of institutional changes.
Target Beneficiaries
The influence of SMIC extends across diverse sectors, offering advantages to government entities, educational institutions, research and innovation centres, innovation infrastructure, SMEs, and the wider manufacturing sector. Through collaborative efforts, our aim is to elevate Serbia's position in the global industrial landscape, fostering a future that is both prosperous and technologically advanced.
Mission, vision and objectives
Mission
SMIC Serbia is on a mission to drive digital evolution across Serbia, focusing on SMEs, industry, businesses, and education. Our goal is to provide access to best practices, fostering digital skills growth and understanding of technology benefits.
Vision
Advancing Digital Excellence
SMIC Serbia aims to be Serbia’s Central Hub for Technological Advancement, providing crucial resources for businesses to thrive in the digital era. Our vision is to drive digital competencies, innovate processes, and enhance the competitiveness of Serbian industries through comprehensive digitalization.
Insightful Vision
Rooted in a deep analysis of science in the Republic of Serbia, our vision strives to establish a competitive system that fosters scientific excellence, contributing to economic development and societal progress.
Supporting Roles
- Digital Transformation Hub:
- Foster cross-sectoral partnerships among universities, research institutions, businesses, and ICT providers.
- Cultivate a sustainable ecosystem for both short-term and long-term digital transformation support.
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Facilitating Connections: - Establish links with investors to fund digital transformation initiatives.
- Bridge connections between users and providers of digital innovations, fostering synergies with key technologies.
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Free Services for SMEs: - Provide complimentary services for SMEs in digitalization and Industry 4.0.
- Offer balanced software support to enhance digital competencies and facilitate SMEs' digital transformation.
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Impactful Goals - Break barriers to digital transformation.
- Elevate Serbia's digital economy index.
- Increase participation in global value chains.
- Enhance the overall competitiveness of the Serbian economy.
Objectives
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SMIC aims to be a national hub for digitization, focusing on:
- Digital Ecosystem: Set up and manage a comprehensive digital ecosystem.
- SME Support: Provide hands-on support for effective digital integration.
- Multi-Level Integration: Actively engage at national, regional, and international levels.
- Digitalization Promotion: Drive initiatives to accelerate digitalization adoption.
Customer - Centric Approach
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We prioritize a customer-oriented strategy, not just facilitating change but also offering vital support to elevate the digital maturity of SMEs, businesses, education, and municipalities, shaping a cohesive digital society.
- Empowering Manufacturing: Enable digital transformation in Serbian manufacturing, from startups and SMEs to larger companies.
- Digital Competence Growth: Foster digital competences, sharing experiences and best practices locally and internationally.
- Government Collaboration: Propose services and provide data access to promote entrepreneurship.
- Knowledge Enhancement: Increase stakeholder knowledge on 4IR and Industry 5.0.
- Boosting Competitiveness: Harness 4IR/I5.0 for smart manufacturing, enhancing Serbia's industrial competitiveness.