BIO4 Campus attended the first Circular Migration Forum for South East Europe, CM Forum 2026, held on May 14, 2026 at Ložionica, Center for Creative Industries in Belgrade.

The Forum brought together regional and international experts, institutions, diaspora organizations, alumni networks, business representatives, and local development actors to explore circular migration as a model for shared value creation. The program covered global perspectives on circular migration, regional approaches to mobility and circularity, local development opportunities, and brain circulation as a practical pathway for connecting people, knowledge, skills, and communities.

From brain drain to brain circulation

The event opened with remarks from representatives of the Returning Point, the Embassy of Sweden in Serbia, UNDP, and the Young Talents Fund of the Republic of Serbia. Throughout the day, speakers from Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia shared perspectives on how migration can become a driver of development when connections with talent abroad are sustained, structured, and oriented toward impact.

Relevance for BIO4's international positioning

For BIO4 Campus, the discussion was directly relevant to the development of Serbia's biotech, biomedicine, bioinformatics, and biodiversity ecosystem. Building a globally connected innovation campus depends not only on infrastructure and laboratories, but also on the ability to attract, engage, and reconnect talent across borders.

Circular migration offers an important lens for BIO4's international positioning. It enables scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and professionals from Serbia and the wider region to contribute knowledge, networks, and expertise without migration being understood only as permanent departure or permanent return.

The Forum provided valuable insight into how countries and communities can create stronger links with their diaspora and international talent networks, and how these connections can support research excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, and local development.

BIO4 Campus continues to engage in conversations that strengthen Serbia's capacity to connect global knowledge with local opportunity.