The City of Tuzla in Northeast Bosnia on the European Stage: How Munich-based Muamer Babajić Brought the SystemEU Valley Summit 2026 Here
Four days, five regions, one goal: At the SystemEU Valley Summit 2026 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated that it can be part of Europe’s innovation story. My report from the summit—including an interview with organizer Muamer Babajić (Masterwerk/DKR)
For four days at the end of June, the “Salt City” of Tuzla in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina was what it is far too rarely allowed to be: a place where Europe discusses its future—and where Bosnia and Herzegovina has a seat at the table. Not as a bystander, but as an equal partner. The fact that the summit took place here is largely thanks to Muamer Babajić: the Munich-based entrepreneur with roots in Tuzla brought the SystemEU Valley Summit to the city where he had founded the German Competence Center for Robotics in 2016. I was there.**
The second European Innovation Summit of the EU-funded SystemEU project brought together decision-makers, startups, investors, universities, research institutions, and innovation hubs from Germany, Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuzla. The consortium comprises five regions: Bavaria, Transylvania, Castile-León, Northern Portugal—and the Canton of Tuzla. This list alone tells a story: a city that in Germany is primarily associated with coal, salt, and emigration is now negotiating on equal footing with some of Europe’s strongest innovation regions.
Why Tuzla?
The canton of Tuzla’s decision to join the SystemEU consortium has a history that began in 2016. At that time, Muamer Babajić founded the German Competence Center for Robotics (DKR) in Tuzla—with the goal of training young people in automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0. Babajić had founded the automation company Masterwerk in Germany in 2009 and established it in the automotive and industrial manufacturing sectors; through the DKR, he transferred this expertise to his hometown. For his entrepreneurial achievements, he received the Munich Phoenix Award from the City of Munich in 2014 and was named “Manager of the Year” in Sarajevo in 2017; he also serves on the advisory board of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The DKR is based on a central premise: Lasting stability in the Western Balkans is achieved through education in cutting-edge technology—and through collaboration that transcends borders and backgrounds. In the years since its founding, an industrial innovation ecosystem has grown up around the center. When the SystemEU consortium was looking for a partner in the Western Balkans, Tuzla was therefore chosen: the necessary structures were already in place here to build upon.
A symbolic start
Before the official opening ceremony took place on June 24 at the Hotel Salis, the summit began where Tuzla’s new history is most tangible: at the Ecosystem Immersion Day at the DIH Industry Center—the first Digital Innovation Hub in Bosnia and Herzegovina focused on industrial robotics and automation, established as part of Babajić’s German Competence Center for Robotics. Minister of Economy Edin Duraković, Tuzla Mayor Zijad Lugavić, and Hub Project Manager Maja Ibričić introduced the canton’s innovation ecosystem to the international guests.
What followed—as one participant aptly put it—had its own rhythm each day: startup pitches, matchmaking sessions, co-creation workshops, and countless conversations during the breaks, which, as we all know, are where the actual projects take shape.
Mobility: Four Countries, Four Construction Sites, One Goal
The mobility panel highlighted just how varied the starting points are across Europe—and how much the regions can learn from one another.
Mayor Lugavić spoke candidly about Tuzla’s dilemma: How do you get people to walk or bike to work when the narrow streets of the old town leave hardly any room for bike lanes? It was one of those candid moments that characterized the summit—not a glossy presentation, but a real challenge for which partners are being sought.
Reporting from Munich, Sophia Vögler of ampway discussed the development of DC fast-charging infrastructure for trucks—a topic that is also becoming relevant for the transit corridors of the Western Balkans. The Portuguese partners highlighted a dimension that is rarely considered: Charging transport ships in ports alone requires connection capacities of around 40 megawatts, and according to the panel, cranes account for about 43 percent of energy consumption in port operations. At the same time, Portugal reports that electric vehicles account for about 41 percent of new registrations—but the infrastructure is lagging behind demand. What initially sounds like a problem, the Portuguese see as an opportunity: they are specifically bringing startups on board to develop solutions.
Romania, meanwhile, is already thinking one step ahead: autonomous buses, initially at airports and for nighttime city transit, where algorithms can be trained under controlled conditions—alongside a hydrogen fleet as part of the Transylvania Hydrogen Valley initiative.
Energy: The most challenging transformation is taking place in Tuzla
Even more impressive was the energy panel—especially because no one there sugarcoated the reality. Tuzla depends on coal mining and the power plant that dominates the city’s skyline. The energy transition initiated by the EU is not an abstract climate goal for this region, but a social issue. Prof. Dr. Alan Topčić, full professor of Industrial Engineering and Production Management at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tuzla, summed up the dilemma in a statement that lingered in the room: If the EU offers ten million euros for the transition, but the coal-fired power plant generates a hundred million and guarantees thousands of secure jobs—how do you convince a city? The transition, according to Topčić, is not just a technical challenge here, but above all a psychological one.
His response is remarkably pragmatic: The region should view its decades of mining expertise not as a burden from the past, but as an asset for the future, and should work specifically with countries that have already undergone this transformation—the potential and capacity for this exchange are already in place. A concrete step demonstrates that the region is serious about this: This year, a dedicated department for the energy transition was opened at the University of Tuzla.
Castile and León has shown where this journey can lead—the region now generates around 20,000 megawatts from wind and solar power. And Bavaria, which aims to be climate-neutral by 2040, made it clear: Even the wealthiest region in the consortium is struggling with high energy prices and will never be completely independent of energy imports. The general consensus is that the EU’s multi-billion-euro transformation programs represent an opportunity that none of the five regions can seize on its own—but they can together.
The Future
It’s too early to gauge the full impact of these four days. But anyone who witnessed a Bavarian medium-sized company, a Portuguese port logistics provider, and a robotics startup from Tuzla sitting at the same table at the DIH Industry Center can sense that something has begun here that goes beyond a mere summit.
In recent days, Tuzla has shown that it has the people, the energy, and the ambition to be part of larger European narratives. The DKR and the Summit exemplify a model that goes beyond individual cases: viewing the diaspora not as a loss, but as a connection between ecosystems. The FSTP Open Call is underway—the next chapters of this story are being written right now.
“Brain Gain Instead of Brain Drain” Interview with
Muamer Babajić
LW: The SystemEU Summit brought together innovation stakeholders from Bavaria, Northern and Northwestern Romania, Castile and León, and the Canton of Tuzla. What does it mean for Tuzla—and for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole—to host such a European innovation summit?
Muamer Babajić: For Tuzla, this summit was far more than just a conference. It was proof—both to the outside world and internally. To the outside world: that a city or canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be an equal partner in an EU-funded project, alongside Bavaria, Transylvania, Castile-León, and Northern Portugal. Internally: that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina—the business community, universities, startups, and public institutions—are ready not just to watch from the sidelines, but to actively shape the future. For me personally, as a Munich resident with roots in Tuzla, this summit had a special significance: I witnessed how these two worlds—which are so special to me—are growing together on the European stage. This is no coincidence—it is the result of years of work by many people who believed in this region.
LW: The summit focused on pitch sessions, matchmaking, and the formation of international consortia in the fields of mobility, energy, and health. What specific collaborations or project ideas emerged in Tuzla that you are particularly proud of?
MB: The pitches, matchmaking sessions, and co-creation workshops have generated concrete initial project ideas—particularly in the areas of mobility and energy, such as those related to the Transylvania Hydrogen Valley initiative and the question of how industrial automation can be scaled up in the region. What makes me particularly proud is that the Digital Innovation Hub for Industrial Robotics in Tuzla—part of the German Competence Center for Robotics, through which we give SMEs the opportunity to test new technologies before investing—is exactly the kind of concrete model Europe needs: not a glossy concept, but a working prototype of interregional cooperation. The first consortia are currently forming. The FSTP Open Call, which launched on June 1, now provides the financial framework for these ideas. Without financial backing, ideas often remain just that—but here, they’re becoming a reality.
LW: Many young, talented people are leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina. Can a network like SystemEU help ensure that startups and skilled workers see a future here—and what is your next step to turn the momentum from the summit into something lasting?
MB: Year after year, Bosnia and Herzegovina loses well-educated people—not because these people don’t love their country, but because, until now, they haven’t seen any prospects for truly building a life here. SystemEU can make a difference precisely here: by showing that you can collaborate with partners in Munich, Braga, or Cluj from Tuzla—without having to emigrate. Brain gain instead of brain drain. But this will only work if we don’t miss this momentum now. My next step: to turn the connections made over these four days into concrete project partnerships—and to ensure that the exchange between ecosystems grows even larger and attracts even more young talent from the region.
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