Mladen Vlahović, Finance Director of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee (NOC Montenegro), and Jelena Dubljević, member of the NOC Montenegro Executive Board, represented the Committee at the first meeting of the SMART-NOC project, held on 10 November 2026 in Sarajevo. The meeting was organised by the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which coordinates the project.
The SMART-NOC project (Practical AI Education for NOCs: Concrete Tools for Real Needs) is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Sport programme, under the Capacity Building in the Field of Sport action. The project aims to improve organisational efficiency and digital readiness among National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the Western Balkans through the practical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Many NOCs in the region operate with limited administrative capacity and fragmented digital processes, with a small number of employees managing substantial workloads. Reporting, financial monitoring, communication and data management are often carried out manually, leaving less time for strategic development and athlete support.
The project brings together eight partners. In addition to the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina and NOC Montenegro, the consortium includes the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, the University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica, the University of Mostar, Kadri Zeka Public University and Verlab Research Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Medical Devices and Artificial Intelligence.
During the meeting in Sarajevo, the partners reviewed the project’s objectives, indicative timeline and work packages. Discussions focused on the development and implementation of training programmes, the application of AI and common standards across NOC operations, as well as communicating the project’s results to the public. The final part of the meeting addressed project governance, the composition of the project steering committee, financial management and the budget.
At the heart of SMART-NOC is a training programme designed around the actual administrative processes of National Olympic Committees. Through specialised modules, mentoring and peer learning with colleagues from other NOCs, staff will gain practical knowledge of how to use AI tools in reporting, communication, document preparation and financial monitoring.
The project also includes the pilot implementation of AI-supported workflows and the development of institutional digital transformation action plans. A key deliverable will be the AI Toolkit Framework for National Olympic Committees, comprising practical tools, workflow templates and guidelines for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in sports administration, in compliance with personal data protection requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In the long term, SMART-NOC aims to contribute to more efficient, transparent and digitally advanced sports governance. It also seeks to establish a model that can be adopted by other sports organisations across the region.
The project will run for 24 months.