Massive-scale data acquisition and information processing for large infrastructures, such as smart grids, smart transportation or smart industry, underpins the emerging fourth industrial revolution. 5G mobile networks and mobile edge computing (MEC) will provide communication and computation platform for such intelligent infrastructures to become a reality. Recognizing the need for expertise and leadership in this domain, with onward looking goal to support rapidly growing regional ICT sector, Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) established the Centre for intelligent COmmunications, Networking and Information proCessing (ICONIC). ICONIC collects strong research team with a vision to become regional hotspot for 5G research and innovation, focusing on massive Machine-Type Communications, Large-Scale Distributed Information Processing, and Reconfigurable Hardware Design. INCOMING project (Innovation and excellence in massive-scale COMunications and information processING) lays out ambitious research-intensive and innovation-oriented plan to make the ICONIC centre regional 5G lighthouse by twinning it with Aalborg University (Denmark), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and German Aerospace Centre (Germany). INCOMING will use staff exchanges, expert trainings, summer schools and workshops to boost the research excellence of ICONIC staff members focusing on ESRs. The twinning program will gradually shift focus from research to innovation-driven implementation of the promising research outcomes. As part of the project, ICONIC will set up 5G Innovation and Technology Hub (5G-IT-Hub) as an interface towards the regional ICT sector, bridging high-quality ICONIC research with thriving regional ICT innovation scene. With the help of EU partners, INCOMING will put the ICONIC centre on the European map of emerging research-intensive 5G centres, while via 5G-IT-Hub, ICONIC will become integral part of regional ICT innovation activites.