The Institute for Medical and Clinical Biochemistry of the Medical School of the University in Belgrade staged an opening ceremony of the Laboratory for Functional Genomics and Proteomics, which had been refurbished and outfitted by NIS. NIS laboratory will ensure expanded activities of the Medical Faculty in Belgrade, provide larger space for research and better quality conditions for students’ work and education. The Lab’s opening ceremony was graced by Andrei Shibanov, deputy CEO and director of Organisational Affairs Department in NIS, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Dr Srđan Verbić, Health Minister Dr Zlatibor Lončar, Chancellor of the University of Belgrade Prof Dr Vladimir Bumbaširević and Dean of Medical Faculty Prof Dr Nebojša Lalić. NIS has refurbished and remodelled the premises allocated for the laboratory. This has been made possible within our “Power of Knowledge” Programme, pursuant to which the Company had entered into cooperation agreements with universities in Belgrade and Novi Sad as well as almost 20 individual faculties. The cooperation envisages scholarships for best ranking students and secondary school pupils. Other than that, it provides for staging competitions in different sciences: mathematics, chemistry, physics and Russian language, internship programmes, staffers’ vocational training and development, acquiring new knowledge and delivery of joint research projects. Last year alone, the Company invested around 50 million dinars to support education and educational institutions in Serbia. “This laboratory is an example of NIS successful cooperation with the University of Belgrade. The Company has supported a string of various projects developed by university departments. In addition to the laboratory, where we are now, I would mention NIS support in digitalising the works of Ivo Andrić and provision of scholarships to students. I would like to mention the Mining Faculty, which thanks to NIS, got a classroom and a laboratory. It is of great importance that the in cooperation with NIS it devised a master programme for oil and gas studies, which has been developed to meet the Company’s needs. Thus, those students, who complete these studies, will find a job easily”, said Prof Dr Vladimir Bumbaširević. “Investment in young people’s education is the most pleasant part of our business operations. Our core activity is power generation business, but first and foremost we are a socially responsible company taking care of the community, where we operate. NIS cooperates with more than 20 faculties, first and foremost with institutions educating the company-required staff. However, we keep in mind other walks of life as well, in this particular case it is the Faculty of Medicine that will produce experts to take care of our staffers’ health. We hope that the new laboratory will facilitate students’ research and yield good scientific results”, stated Andrei Shibanov.
