Call for Expressions of Interest — VEZILKA External Advisory Board

VEZILKA is forming its External Advisory Board and invites expressions of interest for 12 seats:

• Independent AI experts — 5 seats, of world-renowned standing: internationally recognized research standing, leadership of a major AI programme or institute, or senior technical leadership in a globally operating AI company. Applications from experts based outside North Macedonia are particularly welcome.
• Sectoral experts — 5 seats, one per priority area: Health · Energy · Agriculture · Language and Culture · Digitalisation of Public Administration.
• Startup and SME ecosystem — 2 seats: one from an AI or deep-tech company, one from an association or innovation intermediary.

The Board’s four remaining seats are held ex officio by representatives of the Ministries of Digital Transformation, Health, Energy and Mining, and Education and Science, nominated by those institutions.

What the Board does

It advises the project’s management on strategic direction, reviews progress, impact and high-severity risks, proposes ideas for improving the project, and keeps VEZILKA connected to the national ecosystem. It is advisory: it issues recommendations, and each one receives a documented response from the Project Management Board.

What is expected of members

Four meetings a year of 2 hours, to 31 March 2029. All meetings are online or hybrid — physical attendance is never required; one meeting a year is hybrid, held at a venue in North Macedonia (Skopje, Ohrid or another city). Occasional written expert opinions, only when commissioned and paid separately. Reading the papers circulated 5 working days before each meeting. Independence, and disclosure of any conflict of interest.

What VEZILKA offers

The chance to shape how a country builds and adopts AI. North Macedonia is standing up its national AI capability right now — the computing power, the services, the skills — and the Board advises while the direction is still being set: which sectors are served first, how researchers, public institutions, startups and SMEs get access to AI computing, and what the country trains its people to do. Few places let a handful of experts leave a mark this visible on a national programme, and the Board’s advice does not disappear into a drawer — every recommendation receives a documented response from the Project Management Board.

Alongside that: a place at the centre of the country’s AI programme and visibility with the national ecosystem and the European AI Factory network — the AI Factory Pharos and the peer Antennas in Serbia and Cyprus.

An attendance fee of 160 EUR per meeting and 320 EUR per commissioned written opinion (gross). Travel and accommodation covered for members attending a hybrid meeting in person.

Who can apply

Anyone with substantial expertise in AI or in one of the five sectors, and the standing to advise a national programme. You may not be appointed if you are employed by or contracted to UKIM/FCSE or are part of the VEZILKA project team. If you are a decision-maker in an organisation that applies for or receives VEZILKA services, you may still be appointed, but must declare it and step out of the related agenda items.

How applications are assessed

Selection criteria — 100 points

• World-renowned standing in AI – 25 p
• Expertise and track record in AI or the key sectors – 25 p
• Relevance to VEZILKA’s priorities and users – 20 p
• Strategic reach – 20 p
• Contribution to the balance of the Board – 10 p

Independence and absence of conflict of interest: pass/fail

World-renowned standing in AI is mandatory for the five independent AI expert seats and an asset for the others.

Applications are assessed by a panel of the Project Director, the Regional Partnership Lead and one Work Package Leader, which produces a ranked list and a reserve list. The Project Management Board appoints.

How to apply

Apply online at [form link], where you can also upload your CV. The form asks about your experience and what you would contribute, so no separate motivation letter is needed. Deadline: 15 September 2026, 23:59 CET.

Personal data and questions

Personal data are processed only for this selection, seen by the selection panel and the Finance Officer, and retained for the project’s audit period (GA Article 15).

Send all your questions to: contact@vezilka.ai.