On February 13–14, 2025, the University of Montenegro – Faculty of Economics hosted the Kick-off Meeting of the consortium, officially launching the new Erasmus+ project, Web3 Innovation HUB (W3IH). The project, valued at €890,000, is part of the Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) program and will be implemented over the next three years to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship through Web3 technologies, blockchain innovations, and decentralized science (DeSci).
The project will support the development and implementation of new courses in Web3 technologies at universities in Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, enhance existing curricula, and organize Web3 masterclass training sessions for academic staff and students. Additionally, a regional Web3 startup incubator will be established, with a particular focus on green blockchain innovations.
A special segment of the project is dedicated to the Women in Web3 initiative, aiming to increase women’s participation in the blockchain industry through educational programs, mentorship, and networking opportunities across the region.
The project involves ten partner institutions from both academic and industrial sectors. Academic partners include the University of Montenegro – Faculty of Economics (the project coordinator), the University of Split – Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, the University of Sarajevo – School of Economics and Business, the University of Mostar, and the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences. Industrial partners are UBIK (Croatian Association for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency) from Croatia, Attic42 and Moonstruck from Serbia, NVO Digitalizuj.me from Montenegro, and INTERA Technology Park from Mostar.
During the Kick-off Meeting, partners outlined key activities for the first year of project implementation, including plans for the institutionalization of new courses, the development of the startup ecosystem, and strengthening collaboration between the academic and industrial sectors. The meeting was attended by representatives of all partner organizations, either in person or via video link.
At the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences, project activities are led by Prof. Dr. Marijana Despotović Zrakić. The project team members include Prof. Dr. Zorica Bogdanović, Prof. Dr. Dušan Barać, Prof. Dr. Saša Lazarević, Prof. Dr. Snežana Knežević, Assistant Prof. Dr. Uroš Šošević, Tamara Naumović, Tatjana Stojanović, Petar Lukovac, Milica Simić, Ana Miličević, and Bojana Ivanović Bovan.
