Ana Brnabić, Serbia’s Prime Minister, visited today Scientific and Technological Research Centre (NTC) in Novi Sad The Serbian Prime Minister was welcomed at the Centre by Kirill Tyurdenev, NIS CEO, Vadim Smirnov, Deputy NIS CEO in charge of PR, and Nikolai Zalevsky, NTC Director. They introduced Madame Prime Minister to the Centre’s principal activities and pivotal projects. In addition, the Prime Minister was made aware of the novel oil and gas production technology implemented by the company, its IT projects, as well as the investments NIS has made regarding Serbia’s education system. Kirill Tyurdenev, NIS CEO, and Ana Brnabić, Serbia’s Prime Minister Being a company that applies modern technology and innovation throughout its entire operation, NIS has allocated significant funds to the development of the NTC, seeking to turn it into a regional hub catering to the needs of NIS, Gazprom Neft, and its subsidiaries, as well as to provide service to third parties. So, €8 million has been invested in the Centre and IT development alone. Among other things, the company outfitted a state-of-the-art oil and gas exploration and production laboratory and procured sophisticated IT equipment enabling fast and efficient processing of heavy data. Representatives of Serbia’s government were also informed about the fact that, since 2009, NIS has been involved in various socially responsible projects related to the development of Serbia’s educational infrastructure and has invested more than RSD 600 million to this end, as well about the company’s cooperation with local and international educational institutions and provision of scholarships to gifted pupils and students. Other than that, NIS is a strong investor in young graduates’ futures, with the NTC employing more than 50 such experts in the last 5 years alone. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić commended NIS for its investments in research and development, as well as for investing in Serbia’s education system, announcing that the Serbian government is hoping for ever-greater cooperation with NIS in the future. “Education and digitization are the Serbian government’s central priority. With a view to making Serbia more competitive and bringing about more dynamic and sustained growth in the future, we have to allocate much greater funds to education, science, research and development. This calls for closer cooperation between education, science and business. Today I became convinced that NIS’s Scientific and Technological Research Centre is a great example of cooperation with business and of systemic support to smart, gifted and hard-working young people. Research and development projects may be the “push” forward that not only NIS, but Serbia’s entire economy, needs.” the Serbian Prime Minister said. Commenting on the Serbian Prime Minister’s visit, Kirill Tyurdenev, NIS CEO, said: “Being aware of Prime Minister Brnabić’s own advocacy for technological development and modernization, I believe NIS’s Scientific and Technological Research Centre is the ideal location for her visit to our company. The business and market of any sector, energy in particular, require constant innovation, quick responses and, most importantly, experts with modern education to keep pace with or, even better, be ahead of their time. Now more than ever, creativity and knowledge give companies the edge. In the last 5 years alone, here we have taken on board 50 young experts and invested €8 million in the Centre and IT development“. The “NIS-Naftagas” Scientific and Technological Research Centre is a daughter company, 100% owned by NIS j.s.c. Novi Sad. It started as an independent entity within the company in July 2012. NIS set up the NTC in a bid to provide scientific and technological support to its operations and innovate them. The NTC cooperates with local and international educational institutions, such as Belgrade’s Faculty of Mining and Geology and Heriot-Watt University, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Centre also cooperates with international companies, such as Schlumberger, Halliburton and Paradigm. NTC’s most valued resource is its staff: the Centre employs more than 300 people, including 6 PhDs, 15 holders of MSc degrees and 52 holders of MA degrees.
