REDETE - ECONOMIC REJUVENATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND GOVERNMENT IN TIMES OF GLOBAL CRISIS: THE VIEW FROM THE PERIPHERY

REDETE (Researching Entrepreneurship and Economic Development) is a professional network of academics, businesspersons and professionals in the Western Balkan region producing, in cooperation with many other international institutions, applied research on the impacts of globalization and European integration on local Balkan communities. Among others, its professional activities contribute to the reconciliation of ethnic and religious communities of the region following the conflicts of the 1990s. Receiving an additional boost under the advice of Professor Vassilios Fouskas of the University of East London (UK) since 2013, REDETE has provided synergies between the local government, graduate students, and SMEs. In this respect, it acts as a catalyst between the public and the private sectors of the economy by way of developing synergies between them and the higher education sector. REDETE's annual conference, founded in 2011 with the aim to (re)launch debates and scholarly research on issues concerning economic development in transition countries, has now moved onto a more complex and rewarding role, benefitting local communities, government, businesses, students and academics.REDETE, primarily, is embedded in the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka. As an academic network connecting research with enterprise and policy-making, REDETE developed knowledge transfer links and activity with over 28 think tanks and Universities in the Balkans, East/Central Europe and the EU, providing local Early Career Researchers, Ph.D. students and other graduates with ample opportunities to internationalize and involve themselves in fundable research projects benefitting both themselves and the local business sector (see B2B section). This has had as a result to substantially halt the "brain drain" phenomenon experienced in the region while contributing to reconciliation, social inclusion, and reduction of unemployment rates among young graduates.