On last Sept. 24^th, the week of Innovation, Science and Technological Research promoted by the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia and coordinated by Informest in cooperation with AREA Science Park and CBM, has reached the end. The rich programme, spread over four full working days, allowed for confrontation and exchange of experiences between the two regional systems of R&D of FVG and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in some of the most promising fields of bilateral scientific cooperation: energy, ICT and biotechnology.

The FVG region was represented, besides Informest, AREA and the CBM,  by the University of Udine,the Technological Pole of Pordenone, the Center for Theoretical and Applied Ecology of Gorizia, Confindustria Udine and some hi-tech private companies: Insiel, Teorema, Tbs, Bracco Imaging. Considerably rich the participation of stakeholders from Serbia, both at the institutional level –  five different Provincial Secretariats, the European Affairs Fund, , the Agency for Investments Promotion- and at the scientific level – the Faculties of Technical Sciences, Medicine, Science and Agriculture of the University of Novi Sad, the Institute for Food Technology, the Institute for fields and vegetables crops, the Technology Park of Versac and a number of Serbian companies in the fields of energy, ICT and biotech.

Energy efficiency, renewable energies, environmental protection, new eco-compatible materials, biotechnologies for the agrofood sector, bio-medical applications: these were the focus areas of the meetings, conceived in such a way to favour the exchange of experiences and the convergence upon shared development scenarios. A strong interest emerged on the production of energy from biomass, deriving not only from cultivated land, but also from the discards of food industry; the production of biofuel from different organic material; the exploitation of the vast hot water reserves in the soil of Novi Sad, for energy purposes such as the heating of greenhouses, but also for turistical purposes; the studies on innovative productions in agriculture, such as the studies on a stronger variety of weath, capable to resist to parasites and climatic changes; the studies on quality food for animal breeding; the studies on quality food for human health-care; the creation of a network of wireless sensors to monitor the territory through a permanent recording of geological, idrological and atmospherical parameters.

Over only a 3-years period, from 2006 to 2009, the Research and Technological Development programme of Vojvodina has supported 86 projects for a total amount of investiments of about 106 MEur, shared among public and private donors. From the academic side, numbers are worth considering too: the Univeristy of Novi Sad has more than 46 thousands students, 11 thousands only in the Politechnic, and managed 58 projects financed by European funds through the 7^th Framework Programme.