Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ExcellMater (Twinning to excel materials engineering for medical devices)
Reporting period: 2022-02-01 to 2024-04-30
The Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade (FTM) is one of the leading academic and research institutions in Serbia in the field of materials engineering including biomaterials engineering with the strong expertise in biomaterials synthesis and physico-chemical characterization. However, further advancement of developed novel biomaterials towards industrial production and clinical utilization is hindered mainly due to the lack of relevant procedures and expertise at FTM regarding biological and clinical evaluation of biomaterials, regulatory issues and IPR exploitation strategies. The project ExcellMater (Twinning to excel materials engineering for medical devices) particularly addresses this weakness by efficient relevant knowledge and skills twinning from the leading international institutions: Aalto University, Finland, (AALTO), Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy, (UPO) and AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland, (ARI). Various activities including short-term staff visits, exchange of students and young researchers, seminars, workshops and summer schools will be held to advance the research and innovation competences of FTM. The successful twinning and accompanying actions will create a new generation of scientists at FTM able to design, coordinate and execute experimental studies of biomaterials with a clear vision of the road-map from bench-to-bedside especially targeting the development of novel, personalized biomedical products. Furthermore, it is aimed that FTM acts as a focal point to bring together local partner institutions working in the fields of biomedical and life sciences as well as to create fertile links to the interested SMEs and industrial partners. Thus, the ultimate vision is to establish successful translation routes of novel solutions to personalized medical devices contributing to foundation of a high-tech biomedical sector in Serbia.
In the first 15 months all the main tasks foreseen in the project were successfully performed so that a solid framework was set for more intensive ‘in person’ actions envisaged in the years 2022 and 2023. In specific, the efficient management structure of the project ensured successful execution of the following: 1) short-term scientific exchanges engaging early-stage researchers as well as site expert visits were scheduled with specified objectives and tentative contents; 2) data management plan was created and put in practice; 3) schedules, lecturers and contents were specified for the ExcellMater workshop on biomaterials and two summer schools; 4) dissemination and communication routes have been established and utilized (e.g. website, social media (Twitter account and YouTube channel), promotional materials, contacts with industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia); 5) joint research activities have started by FTM and AALTO; 6) the ExcellMater seminar titled Seminar on project proposal writing given by AALTO was held virtually from November 22-24, 2021 with great success aiming to increase competences of FTM staff in project proposal preparation and project management and administration. Also, scientific research conducted individually by partners resulted in a significant number of scientific publications specifically targeting journals in the fields of biomedical engineering, medicine and pharmacy. A range of novel biomaterials developed at FTM was presented within the exhibition Novel Multifunctional Biomaterials for Applications in Medicine at the International Festival of Innovation, Knowledge and Creativity TESLA FEST 2021 held in Novi Sad, Serbia, October 12 -15, 2021. The exhibition was awarded the Golden medal by the TESLA FEST board of judges.
The ExcellMater project will have a strong impact primarily on the coordinating institution FTM that will be then extended to its local partners, next, to the industrial ecosystem and scientific community and finally reaching biomedical stakeholders and wider public. In specific, there will be significant improvement of the overall scientific and innovation capacity of FTM in the field of biomaterials engineering, through linking with research-intensive international partners. By acquiring the relevant knowledge and expertise, strengthening collaborative local and international scientific networks, building up the links with interested industry, and increasing the visibility and reputation, FTM will be able to establish successful translation routes of novel biomaterials to personalized medical devices. Also, by various ExcellMater activities, FTM will obtain young scientists that will be fully capable of conducting and coordinating such multidisciplinary research. By twinning the specific expertise in preparation of project proposals and project management and administration the capability of FTM to compete successfully for national, EU and internationally competitive research funding will be expanded. Thus, the main scientific and technological impact will be on FTM but it will spread to comprise effects on many scientific, technical, social, and economical aspects at national and regional levels. The vision of the ExcellMater project is to build an ecosystem around FTM gathering together key-players from academic, scientific, health and industrial sectors and establishing functional two-way communication pathways to patients and general public, for efficient and advantageous translation of research results to novel medical products in Serbia, thus providing direct impacts on the economy, healthcare system and generally on the quality of life.