AIDASCO at CONNECT 2026: Digital Transition, Artificial Intelligence and Scientific Collaboration
From August 31 to September 4, 2026, students, young researchers and academics from the Western Balkans and beyond will gather at Hotel Tara in Bečići, Montenegro, for CONNECT 2026, an international symposium focused on strengthening research capacity, international cooperation and integration into the European Research Area.
CONNECT has developed into much more than a conventional scientific conference. Its format places particular emphasis on interaction, discussion and the active involvement of students and early-career researchers. Rather than focusing exclusively on presentations of completed research, CONNECT creates opportunities to discuss broader issues that influence the development of science and academic careers.
This year’s program addresses topics that are becoming increasingly important for researchers across disciplines, including Open Science, European research opportunities, international scientific collaboration, research careers, science communication, digital transition and artificial intelligence.
For AIDASCO, these topics are closely connected with the Association’s mission of promoting international academic and scientific collaboration and supporting students and young researchers.
Continuing the collaboration established through CONNECT 2025
AIDASCO’s connection with the CONNECT community was particularly strengthened following CONNECT 2025, held in Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That meeting brought together students, early-career researchers and established academics from the Western Balkans with colleagues from several European countries, creating an environment in which young researchers were encouraged to participate actively in discussions on science, education and international cooperation.
The experience and ideas generated during CONNECT 2025 continued beyond the conference itself.
In December 2025, AIDASCO Reviews published its first Special Issue, “CONNECT 2025 – Building the Knowledge Society Across Borders,” entirely dedicated to the conference.
The Special Issue collected contributions and reflections addressing subjects such as the CONNECT conference model, experiences of students and young researchers, science communication, interdisciplinarity, Open Science, international mobility and collaboration, the European Research Area, and the challenges and opportunities associated with the digital transformation of science.
The complete Special Issue is available through AIDASCO Reviews.
CONNECT 2026 therefore represents a natural continuation of this collaboration and of the broader discussion initiated during the previous meeting.
Digital transition and artificial intelligence
One of the central themes of CONNECT 2026 will be the rapidly changing role of artificial intelligence in science and society.
On Friday, September 4, Prof. Stevan Armaković from the University of Novi Sad will deliver a lecture entitled: “Digital Transition and AI”.
The lecture will be followed by the presentation “The Impact of AI” by Dr. Goran Stanić, who is also affiliated with AIDASCO.
The morning will then continue with two interactive World Café sessions on “AI in Science and Society,” coordinated by Stevan Armaković and Goran Stanić.
This format is particularly appropriate for a subject such as artificial intelligence. The current transformation cannot be understood only through new algorithms and software tools. AI is increasingly affecting the way researchers search for information, analyze data, perform simulations, communicate results, prepare publications and collaborate across disciplines.
At the same time, its rapid development raises important questions.
How should AI tools be used responsibly in research and education? How can researchers distinguish useful technological progress from uncritical adoption of new tools? How will AI influence the training of future scientists? And how can scientific communities benefit from increasingly powerful digital technologies while maintaining scientific rigor, transparency and critical thinking?
These are questions for which there are unlikely to be simple answers. They require discussion involving researchers at different career stages and from different scientific backgrounds.
This is precisely the type of dialogue that the CONNECT format is designed to encourage.
Connecting young researchers with the European Research Area
The broader theme of CONNECT 2026 is “Towards the European Research Area.”
Throughout the five-day program, participants will discuss Open Science, gender, diversity and inclusion in science, international research opportunities, European research careers and talent circulation, as well as instruments such as Twinning, Widening and COST Actions.
For researchers from the Western Balkans, participation in European scientific networks can have a particularly important role. Access to international collaborations provides not only opportunities for research funding, but also access to knowledge, infrastructure, mentorship and professional networks that can significantly influence scientific careers.
CONNECT approaches this process from an especially valuable direction: by placing students and young researchers directly into these discussions rather than treating them simply as observers.
This philosophy is closely aligned with the activities of AIDASCO, where the promotion of young researchers and the development of international academic and scientific collaboration represent central objectives.
From conferences to lasting scientific connections
Scientific meetings have their greatest value when the interactions initiated during several days of discussion continue after participants return to their institutions.
CONNECT 2025 already demonstrated how this can happen. Discussions initiated during the conference subsequently resulted in written reflections and contributions collected in the dedicated AIDASCO Reviews Special Issue, providing a permanent and openly accessible record of the ideas and experiences generated during the event.
With CONNECT 2026, this dialogue continues.
AIDASCO is pleased to remain connected with an initiative that brings together students, young researchers and experienced scientists, encourages interdisciplinary discussion and creates new opportunities for cooperation across institutions and national borders.
As science undergoes an increasingly rapid digital transformation, such connections are becoming even more important. Technologies will continue to change, research methodologies will evolve and artificial intelligence will undoubtedly become a more prominent part of scientific work.
However, the development of science will continue to depend fundamentally on people, knowledge exchange, critical discussion and collaboration.
CONNECT 2026 provides an excellent environment in which all four can come together.
CONNECT 2026
August 31 – September 4, 2026
Hotel Tara, Bečići, Montenegro
More information about CONNECT 2026 is available on the official CONNECT 2026 website.
The Special Issue “CONNECT 2025 – Building the Knowledge Society Across Borders” can be accessed through AIDASCO Reviews.