A Delegation from Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences visited the University of Banja Luka

On 22 November 2023, the opening of a modern innovation centre for the international transfer of technologies in the field of biomedicine, which should carry out the transfer of high technologies to the health system of the Republic of Srpska, was discussed at the meeting of the Rector of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, and the delegation of the Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences led by Rector Prof. Wu Tao, PhD.

Rector Gajanin said that, traditionally, the University of Banja Luka already has a good cooperation with universities in China, and that he is certain that the cooperation with the Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences will be very good, intensive and dynamic. According to Rector Gajanin, in six years our university has achieved cooperation with more than ten leading universities from the Republic of China.

"We have the opportunity to host an innovation centre in the Republic of Srpska that will be dedicated to the transfer of science and technology in the field of health and biomedical sciences, and our university will be a safe partner in that," Gajanin said.

The Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences is a leader in the comprehensive development of the biomedical industry, and Rector Wu Tao expects that China and the Republic of Srpska will have fruitful cooperation in the field of biomedical technology transfer.

"There are potentials and opportunities for the development of cooperation in the field of the innovation centre for the transfer of biomedical technologies, and we hope to achieve this cooperation and work together on the implementation of projects in that area," Tao said.

"The centre would serve as an opportunity for staff exchange, technology exchange and better cooperation in the fields of medicine and academic cooperation and projects," Rector Wu Tao pointed out.

He pointed out that significant results can be achieved through joint effort and work. What is important to emphasize is that the opening of an innovation centre for technology transfer in the field of biomedicine is planned as part of the "Belt and Road" project.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Ranko Škrbić, PhD, said that he is looking forward to future cooperation, in regard to the transfer of technologies in the field of healthcare and medicine.

"We are fully prepared for such cooperation, which will contribute to the development of health care, but also the scientific field and technology," he said.

Establishing the international transfer of technology is of strategic interest for the healthcare of the Republic of Srpska, as well as its position in the international community.

"The delegation from China is ready to open an innovation centre in Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska, which should carry out the transfer of technology to our health system", Minister for Science and Technology Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska Asst. Prof. Željko Budimir, PhD, says. According to him, the University will have the support of the Government of the Republic of Srpska and ministries in all activities related to the establishment and operation of this centre.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Srpska Alen Šeranić, who also attended this meeting at the Rectorate, said that it was a great pleasure for him to host the delegation from Shanghai, and reminded that a few days ago he, as the head of the delegation of the Republic of Srpska, visited this city and had the opportunity to talk about cooperation in different fields.

"Now we are starting a new type of cooperation and it is about innovations and new technologies in the field of healthcare. It is a systemic segment of cooperation through the field of higher education and innovation, which means a lot for the health system of the Republic of Srpska," Šeranić said.

The meeting was also attended by Rector of the University of Information Sciences and Technology of Ohrid Prof. Ninoslav Marina, PhD, vice-rectors of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Kristina Pantelić Babić, PhD, Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD, and the Confucius Institute Home Director Asst. Prof. Ljiljana Stević, PhD.