Three researchers from the Institute – Marina Budić Galjak, Research Associate; Anđelija Stevanović, Research Assistant; and Branislav Muškatirović, Junior Research Assistant, have been awarded funding under the SEED Research Grant II (SEED 2) call.
The three innovative projects address pressing social and technological challenges, exploring the links between science and the business sector, digitalisation in legal research, and the use of artificial intelligence in decision-making.
Each project will run for four months and will be jointly funded by the SAIGE Programme and the Institute. The grants are designed to support and promote the work of researchers under the age of 35.
The funded projects are:
What Does the Business Sector Expect from Science? (SPONA Project)
The project aims to identify the private sector’s needs for scientific and research expertise, as well as to explore potential models of cooperation between research institutions and businesses in Serbia. It addresses a question that frequently arises in public debate but has rarely been examined systematically: what does the Serbian business sector actually expect from science?
The research will be carried out in three phases. First, data from the Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA), together with company creditworthiness reports, will be used to identify and profile businesses with potential for cooperation with the Institute. This will be followed by interviews with company representatives and workshops with experts. Based on these findings, the project will develop proposals for cooperation models between the Institute and the business sector that respond to actual market needs.
Digital Competences of Legal Researchers (DIGI-LAW Project)
How are digitalisation and artificial intelligence transforming scientific research? This project will examine the digital competences of legal researchers working in public research organisations. Particular attention will be given to the role of gender and age in the acquisition of digital skills, as well as to the effects of digitalisation on workloads and career development.
The project’s main outcome will be a Framework for Enhancing the Digital Capacities of Legal Researchers, providing practical guidelines and recommendations for research institutions.
How Does Artificial Intelligence Make Decisions? (AI-AID Project)
Can artificial intelligence make decisions in the same way as humans when faced with tasks such as allocating funds, assessing risks, or resolving moral dilemmas? This is the central question explored by the AI-AID project (Toward Trustworthy AI-Assisted Decisions: A Human–LLM Moral and Strategic Decision-Making).
The researchers will compare the performance of six publicly available large language models, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek, with that of 350 human participants performing the same tasks.
The project’s main outcome will be a practical tool – the AI Readiness Matrix for Decision Support – designed to identify situations in which artificial intelligence can responsibly support human decision-making and those in which decisions should remain in human hands.