Marija joins with extensive, over 20 years of experience in government and international cooperation. Most recently, she served as Director General of the Directorate for Innovation and Smart Specialization in Montenegro’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation, overseeing strategic policy alignment with EU standards. She previously worked as Head of the Department for Smart Specialization and as Consultant for Innovation and S3 with UNDP, managing strategic development and implementation of national innovation frameworks.