The Conference “A Step into Science” organised by Petnica Research Centre, has been officially opened in the presence of Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport and Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srdjan Verbic.
100 studies dealing with 15 scientific areas and conducted by 135 trainees were presented at the 14th edition of the Conference. Apart from trainees from Serbia, high school students from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia also took part in these researches.
Speaking about the capacity and the work of Petnica Research Centre, EU Ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport said that modern equipment and laboratories within the Centre mattered as much as the creativity shown by future scientists because “the knowledge has always been an investment in future.”
Davenport told trainees that Petnica, being a unique and prosperous educational organisation, had been recognised and that it would continue to receive support from several EU funds.
Opening the Conference, Minister Verbic said “the same as Finland has its sauna and the whole world knows about it because it is an innovation which improved the quality of life, that is how we want the whole world to know that Petnica is our brand.”
Verbic said that he was not aware of any other conference in Europe or beyond which managed to conduct studies in 15 scientific areas and present them in a single conference.
“Petnica is a place where one learns that being a scientist is not the most important thing in the world. Science is a mere method of learning here in Petnica. Thank you for appreciating the process of learning more than the school itself,” added Verbic, who once used to be a trainee at Petnica himself.
