Antares Annual Workshop 2019

The Bio Sense Institute organized The ANTARES Annual Workshop from April 3^rd to April 5^th, 2019. It took place at the Central Building of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia.

The three-day ANTARES WORKHSOP agenda:

Day 1 – ANNUAL ANTARES WORKSHOP has been divided into three parallel sessions:
- The 3rd ANTARES project meeting – during the ANTARES annual project meeting, Work Packages were discussed with Scientific and Innovation Advisory Board Members. A detailed overview of each Work Package was provided, followed by discussions, analyzing benefits and opportunities, but also potential risks, priorities, and challenges.
- Scientific Session 1 was dedicated to the artificial intelligence and dig data analytics in agriculture.
- Scientific Session 2 was dedicated to the nano and microelectronics, research, and development of sensors for various applications, primarily for agri-food sector

Day 2, ANNUAL ANTARES WORKSHOP, consisted of three parts:
- AgroSense Users’ Interaction Session gathered over 80 members of the farming community and AgroSense users, in other to discuss existing and the future services of the AgroSense platform. After the audience had the opportunity to explore the latest AgroSense services, the panel discussion was organized, followed by the Q&A session. The audience could comment and discuss the existing features of the AgroSense platform, but also to give some suggestions for its improvement in the future.
- Opening Ceremony – TheProgramme continued with the ANTARES Workshop Opening Ceremony, gathering high-level national and international participants, farmers, media, etc. The BioSense Accelerator was launched, and the gala three-act exhibition of the Detailed Building Project Design was displayed to the workshop participants.
- Organic Food and Farming in Serbia, Developments and Future Outlook panel discussion – the discussion was dedicated to the development and advancement of the organic sector in Serbia, exploring the future of the organic production, as well as the market opportunities.

Day 3 – ANNUAL ANTARES WORKSHOP – H2020 Smart Agri Hubs meeting for Regional Cluster of South East Europe and Italy was held to overview progress, activities and plans for upcoming year.

The ANTARES Annual Workshop was attended by all Consortium partners and a large pool of stakeholders, namely Government officials, representatives of European Commission, Embassy of the State of Israel in the Republic of Serbia, members of the farming community, industry, business and media.

In addition, five members of the ANTARES Scientific and Innovation Advisory Boards were present, as well as the ANTARES Project Officer.

In her official address, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ms. Ana Brnabić warmly greeted the audience, highlighting the importance of research institutes such as the BioSense Institute:

“It connects two strategically important sectors of the Republic of Serbia, IT and agriculture, and to that end, the significance of the BioSense Institute is greater.”

“It seems that we all begin to understand how much potential we have, how we can best utilize the 4th Industrial Revolution, how important role research and innovation play in our society, as well as the importance of the development of innovative start-ups and SMEs, and research institutes such as the BioSense Institute.”

The Novi Sad City Mayor, Mr. Miloš Vučević and H.E. Alona Fisher-Kamm, Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Republic of Serbia, also addressed the audience, during the opening ceremony.

The ANTARES Workshop gathered around 250 attendees, among them there were many representatives of the farming community, approximately 20 international guests and nearly 50 government and industrial representatives, as well as BioSense researchers. The entire event was closely followed by more than 25 local, national, and regional media, highlighting importance of the launch of the BioSense Accelerator for the development of the national and regional agri-food companies and agtech ecosystem.