The first of scheduled panels named “Innovative approach for development of contemporary academic programs for the future”, during which the details of the Public call for the selection of master programs in the field of IT, programming, data analysis and organization, recently launched by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development in cooperation with the Digital Serbia Initiative, were presented to interested faculties, was held today in Science Technology Park Belgrade.
Among higher education institutions that expressed interest in the Public call were, besides the University of Belgrade, five faculties – Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering and Faculty of Organizational Sciences.
Svetlana Jovanović emphasized in front of the Government of the Republic of Serbia that the goal of this specific Public call is to develop study programs that meet the needs of the market through the promotion of cooperation between the academic community and economy.
The Public call specifies that the applications must include subjects in the field of distributed computing, data analysis, interactive computing, and at least one compulsory subject from the organization and management that will offer students with previous technical knowledge, the business skills necessary for development of digital products.
Speaking ahead of the Digital Serbia Initiative, Đorđe Đurđević pointed out that the Public call broadly defined the areas of software engineering, data analysis, game programming, organization and management, but that faculties and universities are expected to determine, through their applications, what area the proposed program will focus, by identifying compulsory and elective subjects.
According to the call, the participation of experts from the economy is also appreciated, and the program stipulates that the program must contain professional practice and practical work for at least eight weeks in companies operating in one of the listed areas.
Gordana Danilović Grković, Acting Director of STP Belgrade, also stressed out the importance of the development of IT industry and education of young people, recalling the support programs provided by STP Belgrade for development and affirmation of tech entrepreneurship, especially in the area of business knowledge that most often lack for young entrepreneurs and students. In the spirit of multidisciplinarity of the call, Danilović Grković invited faculties to work together in indorsing and promoting innovation and technological entrepreneurship among students.
Vladimir Bojković from the Ministry of Education spoke about the technical conditions for applying for the call, pointing out that the call is open to all state universities or faculties that already have study programs in computer science, information technology, management or organizational sciences, while private higher education institutions can participate in the framework of joint applications with state universities or faculties.
It is envisaged that the master program lasts three semesters, while the registered higher education institutions will have to propose at least one short study program from the mentioned fields. The Ministry of Education will provide scholarship for 15 students, out of a total of 35 in each awarded program, while the Digital Serbia Initiative will fund 10 students in the school year 2019/2020, without any obligation for practice or employment in companies that this non-profit organization brings together.
Public call will be open until April 15th, and interested higher education institutions can apply electronically on the website of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.
