Slovakia's missed potential in international science institutions

Slovakia struggles to fully utilize the benefits of its affiliation with global scientific organizations, revealing a missed opportunity for growth. Despite the potential, a significant lack of awareness exists among Slovak businesses regarding the valuable opportunities available through these memberships.

Fedor Šimkovic, the General Director of the Science and Technology Section at the Ministry of Education, highlights the nation's failure to fully harness the potential of its participation in international scientific institutions. Slovakia's engagement encompasses around 25 such institutions, along with additional research frameworks, underscoring the wealth of untapped potential.

While Slovakia's membership comes at a cost – an annual investment of about 15 million euros – it offers the chance for Slovak scientists to contribute to groundbreaking projects involving world-renowned technologies such as the largest laser and accelerator. Furthermore, companies have the potential to compete for prestigious contracts. This potential for economic advancement remains largely unrealized due to limited awareness among Slovak enterprises. In contrast, investment in science and research has shown to be a prosperous endeavor, with the return on investment in these fields proving unparalleled in other sectors.

Source: Dennik N