“South-East European countries must focus on developing regional incentives for innovation, investing in education and skills development, and harnessing the potential of women in STEM” shared Marija Risteska, the executive directress of CRPM, during the 2023 GTIPA Summit in Berlin, hosted by the German Economic Institute.
Marija laid out a roadmap for transformation, highlighting these essential steps:
- ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, by leveraging the power of public procurement and implementing investment policies that perform well;
- ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, since the South-East and Central European regions possess excellent technical education institutions and a higher representation of women in STEM, which can help retain young talent and reduce emigration;
- ๐ ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, particularly in regions with historical ties to post-Soviet and post-socialist traditions;
- ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐๐ฉ – governments should facilitate access to data or collaborate with private enterprises to develop comprehensive datasets. In South-East Europe, safeguarding privacy and client data safety should be a top priority.
By implementing these steps, the SEE countries can foster innovation, enhance their workforce, and drive economic growth.
