In the context of Albania, the role of an innovation center within a university is of paramount importance in providing solutions for current and possible future problems, creating and supporting successful startups, and contributing to the academic quality enhancement of the teaching staff.
University Metropolitan Tirana has dedicated special attention to research and development since its foundation twelve years ago. To further boost this effort, UMT has established the “Metropolitan Innovation Center” (MIC) – a center dedicated to innovation that brings together scholars, students, and researchers from the academic world and beyond, to collaborate on projects with the potential to offer solutions and stimulate economic growth.
MIC focuses on promoting interdisciplinary collaboration on innovative technologies and methods by strengthening partnerships with key market actors, public entities, and international companies in the development and piloting of new products, processes, and services that have the potential to advance furthermore. Established by UMT and co-financed by the “EU for Innovation” program in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden in Albania and the German Cooperation for Development GIZ, the Metropolitan Innovation Center now is located in a new building who offers an infrastructure upgraded to contemporary standards.
According to the President of UMT, Eng. Arjan Çukaj, the goal of the Innovation Center is to have a positive impact on the society and economy through the development of new technologies and the transfer of know-hows to external actors. “We expect the center to further contribute to the university’s mission of expanding the boundaries of knowledge and solving real-world problems, thus increasingly strengthening UMT’s position as an elite engineering university with a focus on innovation,” says Eng. Çukaj.
Having a clear engineering profile and focused on artificial intelligence, UMT and MIC aim to bring an aspect of “Innovation Engineering” to the academic ecosystem as a necessity that will shape the future of universities and the community.
As an integral part of University Metropolitan Tirana, MIC offers to academics the opportunity to address the structured process of research and development of their proposals and/or solutions based on research. Additionally, MIC offers students new opportunities for their projects (individual or group), bachelor’s and master’s theses, as well as the possibility to go further and evaluate the potential for creating startups based on their solutions.
The Innovation Center now has its own building in the center of the Qyteti Studenti and as such will be the main hub for many activities and initiatives that have technology and innovation as their common denominator.