The first to speak on innovation was Andrew Hamilton, who emphasized the important role of building a culture of innovation through education and cooperation with universities. Universities have great potential for creating new ideas, new concepts, discovering new knowledge. The most important innovation clusters are associated with universities.
The moderator asked about the role of the space industry in innovation.
Alexander MacDonald announced that there is a lot going on in space right now. The technology we have every day (such as cell phones) is based on space technology and signals received from satellites. This is a trend that will strengthen. He pointed out that it is not only visions that drive us to develop innovations, but also the constraints we face. He noted that this is probably only the beginning of the development of space innovation – we have only been to the moon so far.
The moderator asked about innovation in Montenegro and the opportunities and challenges associated with it.
Bilijana Scepanovic stressed that she is an engineer by training, and therefore the topic of innovation is close to her heart. The government in Montenegro is striving to develop research so that it drives the country’s development. Montenegro is on a good path to realize the planned innovations.
The moderator asked about the risks of innovation, such as the issue of exclusion of certain social groups.
Andrew Hamilton reminded that the problem of innovation in the context of ethics is not new. Any technology has the potential to be misused, such as invasion of privacy.
The moderator asked about cooperation between the private and public sectors in the context of innovation development.
Alexander MacDonald noted that currently there are changes in this area. In the past, only NASA developed space travel, but now more and more private companies are emerging to carry out such activities. He also mentioned plans for another manned flight to the moon at the end of this decade.