JAVNA USTANOVA UNIVERZITET CRNE GORE PODGORICA

Their core work

The University of Montenegro is the main public university of Montenegro, serving as the country's primary gateway into European research and education networks. It provides national research and education networking infrastructure through GÉANT, supports open science adoption and EOSC integration for the Western Balkans region, and contributes to researcher mobility programs via EURAXESS. Beyond infrastructure, UOM participates in domain research spanning sustainable grassland management, diabetes-related neurodegeneration, and strong interaction physics.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2018), UOM focused heavily on researcher mobility infrastructure (EURAXESS), scientific computing capacity building (VI-SEEM), and establishing basic connectivity with European research networks. From 2019 onward, the emphasis shifted decisively toward open science ecosystems (NI4OS-Europe, EOSC Future), advanced networking, and more specialized domain research in health and agriculture. This trajectory reflects a university graduating from basic integration into EU frameworks toward becoming an active contributor to the European Open Science Cloud and domain-specific research.

UOM is positioning itself as the Western Balkans entry point for EOSC and open science services, making it a natural partner for any project requiring South-East European coverage or Widening Country participation.

How they like to work

UOM exclusively participates as a partner or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. They operate in large consortia (339 unique partners across 60 countries), which is typical for infrastructure-type projects like GÉANT where many national nodes join a single large project. This means they are a reliable, low-friction partner for joining existing consortia but should not be expected to lead project management or coordination efforts.

With 339 unique consortium partners across 60 countries, UOM has an exceptionally wide network — though this is largely inherited from pan-European infrastructure projects like GÉANT and NI4OS-Europe rather than from independently built relationships. Their geographic reach extends well beyond Europe into Latin America (BELLA-S1) and the Eastern Mediterranean (VI-SEEM).

What sets them apart

As Montenegro's only comprehensive public university and NREN operator, UOM is effectively the mandatory national partner for any EU project requiring Montenegrin participation or Western Balkans coverage. For consortium builders, they offer geographic diversity (Widening Country status) and established connections to regional research ecosystems in South-East Europe. Their consistent presence in GÉANT and EOSC networks means they can provide reliable local infrastructure and coordination for multi-country deployments.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SUPER-G
  Their largest single grant (EUR 167,000) and a departure from their usual infrastructure role — hands-on research in sustainable grassland management across European highlands.
• NI4OS-Europe
  Second largest funding (EUR 104,612) and strategically important: positions UOM as Montenegro's national node for the European Open Science Cloud.
• RECOGNISED
  Their only health research project, studying diabetes-related neurodegeneration — shows the university's capacity to contribute domain expertise beyond infrastructure.