President Milanović at Ruđer Bošković Institute: Without smart investment and good management, there would be no progress of the Institute
On the occasion of National Day of Nikola Tesla – Day of Science, Technology and Innovation, which is marked on the 10th of July, the President of the Republic visited the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
In the largest Croatian multidisciplinary scientific research centre, President Milanović visited a unit that is part of the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions at the Division of Experimental Physics of the Ruđer Bošković Institute. The Head of the Laboratory and Research Unit for Physics and Ion Beam Technology of the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Sensing Devices Milko Jakšić informed the President about research activities at the centre, and the President toured what is now the largest and most complex experimental facility in Croatia – the tandem accelerator system.
After touring the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions, President Milanović said that the Ruđer Bošković Institute is an example of the European Union’s good side. He was assured that the investments are major and that “without its money, smart investment and good management, which evidently exists at the Institute,” there would be no progress of the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
“This is an example of when you can buy a hundred parts that you don’t know how to put together and don’t know what to do with them. This is not some ordinary assembly line that you buy, bring in a technologist and production starts, because if you are not a master of your trade, this technology serves nothing,” said President Milanović. He described the Institute as one of the best in Europe. “Of course, there are the big, the strong and the rich. We can’t and shouldn’t compare ourselves to them, but in some segments the Institute is indeed good,” the President concluded.
Director of the Ruđer Bošković Institute David Matthew Smith expressed satisfaction with the President’s visit, pointing out that his visit ahead of Nikola Tesla’s birthday and the Day of Science, Technology and Innovation is a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of science in everyday life. He stressed the importance of years of work and research in regard to the challenges of today. “This is something that is not always visible, but it should be understood that all of these people are constantly learning in order to be able to respond to these challenges, and investments enabled by the EU via structural funds will turn the Ruđer Bošković Institute into a new factory of knowledge. A decade of work and effort is at hand here and the return on the investment will be multifold,” said the Director of the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
President Milanović held a working meeting at the Ruđer Bošković Institute with its members Director David Matthew Smith, President of the Scientific Council of the Ruđer Bošković Institute Iva Bogdanović Radović and Assistant Directors of the Ruđer Bošković Institute Ivanka Jerić and Marijeta Kralj. At the meeting, President Milanović was informed about the research work of the Institute in the field of natural, biomedical and technical sciences. Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education Jadranka Žarković visited the Ruđer Bošković Institute along with President Milanović.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan