The first of 3 visits to startup nations within the EURAXESS HUBs project (Estonia, Israel and Luxembourg) was organized in Estonia on May 21-June 1, 2022.
During the study visit, EURAXESS Montenegro representatives Lidija Milosavljević and researcher Milena Plamenac visited TalTech University, with the aim of presenting the good practice of cooperation between the University, the Institute for Technology Transfer and the Science and Technology Park, as well as the institutional structure of TalTech University, which is dedicated to entrepreneurship and the specially appointed vice-rector for entrepreneurship. One of the challenges facing Estonia is the lack of patent companies, unlike Israel where there are patent offices at each of the 5 largest universities, with a total budget of around 2-3 million EUR. One of the successful startups presented an innovation - a drug detection robot.
Special attention during the visit was devoted to the presentation of the e-Estonia Information System, which consists of several subsystems, interconnected, according to the principle that one data is entered only in one place, and it is only transferred to the other subsystems. The systems are independent, so damage caused to one of the systems does not affect the operation of the others. A good example of a disaster recovery system is the bilateral agreement on e-embassies between Estonia and Luxembourg. 98% of citizens use an electronic ID card, which is the only personal document in the country. A good strategy, which included free IT courses for all citizens, enabled a great IT literacy of the nation, which is a good prerequisite for a large use of e-services. The state continues to encourage the use of the eID card through a monthly donation of 15 EUR to all citizens for health purposes, which they can use in pharmacies, sports facilities, etc., but only with electronic identification. The second type of card is a non-resident card, for people opening companies in Estonia, and has all the same functions as a resident card, except that it cannot be used to vote or obtain health care. The only prerequisite for a non-resident ID card is to have a giro account in the EU.
In addition to EURAXESS Montenegro, other EURAXESS centers and researchers in Serbia, Cyprus, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Estonia took part in the study visit.
