MATEMATICKI INSTITUT SANU, BEOGRAD

Their core work

The Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is a leading national research centre in mathematics and related disciplines, based in Belgrade. In the H2020 programme, their EU-funded participation focused entirely on science-society topics: improving how universities engage the public with research (NUCLEUS) and embedding structural gender equality reforms in research-performing organisations (LeTSGEPs). They bring to these consortia the perspective and lived experience of an established research institution navigating societal expectations, institutional governance, and responsible research practice. Their role is that of a participant organisation — implementing, testing, and reflecting on the practices being developed within the consortium, rather than driving the research agenda.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 work (2015-2019), the institute focused on public engagement, science communication, and transdisciplinary governance through the NUCLEUS project. By 2020, the focus shifted sharply toward institutional reform — specifically gender equality plans and gender budgeting within research-performing organisations. This is a clear directional move: from engaging external audiences with science, toward restructuring the internal practices of research institutions themselves.

Their trajectory points toward structural institutional reform in research — gender equality, responsible governance, and policy implementation — rather than disciplinary or technical research projects.

How they like to work

The institute has participated exclusively as a consortium partner across both H2020 projects, never as coordinator. Despite a small project count, their network is notably wide — 31 unique partners across 14 countries — which reflects the large, multi-partner CSA consortia typical of the SwafS programme. This pattern suggests the institute is sought out as a participating institution willing to implement and field-test practices, rather than as an organisation that designs or leads projects.

With 31 unique consortium partners across 14 countries from only two projects, the institute's network is disproportionately broad relative to its project count. This breadth is a function of the large CSA consortia in the SwafS programme, which routinely bring together research organisations from across Europe and associated countries.

What sets them apart

As a Serbian institution from an EU-associated country, the Mathematical Institute SANU offers a perspective that most Western European partners cannot: that of an established research organisation navigating EU norms on gender equality and public engagement from outside the EU institutional mainstream. For consortium builders who need geographic diversity and an experienced academic institution willing to implement rather than just study these practices, this is a meaningful differentiator. Their affiliation with the Serbian Academy of Sciences also lends institutional credibility in the Western Balkans region.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LeTSGEPs
  The largest project (EUR 201,075) and the most structurally ambitious — aimed at making gender equality plans a sustainable institutional practice, with gender budgeting as a concrete implementation mechanism across multiple research organisations.
• NUCLEUS
  The institute's entry into H2020, joining a consortium exploring how universities can fundamentally rethink their relationship with society, with governance and transdisciplinary research at the centre.