UNIVERZITET U SARAJEVU

Their core work

The University of Sarajevo is Bosnia and Herzegovina's largest public university, contributing regional expertise across a surprisingly diverse set of EU research topics — from Islamic studies and violent extremism prevention to quantum cryptography and smart agriculture. Within H2020, they serve as a key Western Balkans knowledge partner, bringing local context and research capacity to pan-European consortia working on security, digital infrastructure, and societal challenges. They also operate as a local innovation support hub through repeated participation in BITNET INNOSUP, coaching SMEs on innovation management and internationalization.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016-2018), the university focused on SME innovation support and cultural heritage digitization, acting primarily as a regional capacity-building node. From 2019 onward, there was a clear pivot toward security-related research — violent extremism prevention in the Balkans and MENA, quantum-safe communications, and COVID-19 response — alongside continued innovation coaching. The most recent projects (2020-2024) show a broadening into applied topics like smart agriculture, suggesting the university is diversifying its EU research portfolio beyond its initial niche.

Moving from capacity-building and support roles toward substantive research contributions in security, digital infrastructure, and regional development — expect them to seek more technically demanding project roles going forward.

How they like to work

Exclusively a participant or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which is typical for Western Balkans institutions still building their EU project management track record. With 147 unique partners across 43 countries, they join large, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. This broad network and consistent participation pattern makes them a reliable consortium member who brings regional expertise without competing for leadership.

An extensive network of 147 partners across 43 countries, reflecting their role in large pan-European consortia. Their geographic connections span well beyond the Western Balkans into the MENA region, making them a bridge institution between European and Middle Eastern research communities.

What sets them apart

The University of Sarajevo occupies a rare position as a major research university in a Muslim-majority European context, making it an irreplaceable partner for projects on Islamic studies, radicalization, and intercultural dialogue. Their combination of Balkans/MENA regional expertise with technical participation in quantum security and digital projects is unusual and hard to replicate. For consortium builders, they provide both geographic widening impact (Associated Country) and genuine subject-matter depth in security and societal research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• iMARECULTURE
  Their largest single grant (EUR 209,750), applying VR and augmented reality to underwater cultural heritage — a distinctive technology-meets-humanities topic.
• OPENQKD
  Placed the university in a major European quantum key distribution testbed, a technically demanding project that signals growing digital security capacity.
• CONNEKT
  Their second-largest grant (EUR 164,081), studying violent extremism contexts in MENA and Balkans — directly draws on the university's unique regional and cultural expertise.