The Palace of Science – Miodrag Kostić Endowment had the honor of hosting the ceremonial opening of the 10th IPMA SENET Conference, which took place in Belgrade from May 28 to 30 under the slogan “Beyond Success: Happiness and Wellbeing in the Project Environment.”
The conference brought together 268 participants from 39 countries, including project managers, representatives of companies and institutions, researchers, consultants, and educators from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and the Middle East. Through keynote lectures, panel discussions, parallel sessions, roundtables, and workshops, participants discussed the future of project management, the role of organizational culture, team wellbeing, the education of future leaders, and the impact of technological change on the work environment.
The central message of the conference was that project success is not measured solely by deadlines, budget, and delivered results, but also by the satisfaction, psychological safety, and wellbeing of the people working on the project.
For the Palace of Science, hosting this event carried special significance. The very project of opening the Palace of Science – Miodrag Kostić Endowment, implemented by MK Group, received the prestigious IPMA Gold Award for global excellence in project management in 2025, in the category of socially significant projects. This was the first time the award had been presented to a project from Serbia, positioning the Palace of Science internationally as an example of successful management of a complex project with long-term social impact.
Project management included the reconstruction of a historic building, the development of educational and innovation-oriented content, the establishment of an organizational structure and a model for sustainable operation, as well as a high level of social responsibility and community impact.
That is why the opening of the IPMA SENET Conference at the Palace of Science was more than a ceremonial event — it was a meeting of the international project management community with a space that was itself created as a result of vision, knowledge, dedication, and outstanding project management.
The conference was co-organized by the International Project Management Association – IPMA, the Serbian Project Management Association – IPMA Serbia, the Faculty of Project and Innovation Management “Prof. Dr. Petar Jovanović,” and the Institute for Management and Innovation.