WE LIVE IN THE AGE OF ENGINEERING

It’s important that we launched the initiative to establish postdoctoral research positions at the University. Our laws don’t currently recognise postdoctoral research and this restricts further training for many researchers. This sub-specialisation could help when it comes to retaining young people in the country and encouraging our scientists who’ve earned their doctorates abroad to return home, while it would also attract foreign researchers. Finally, in this way, the University of Belgrade would be even more strongly affirmed as an institution of integrity. Space perhaps exists in this area for modern forms of endowments – of everything from equipment to facilities and funds.

During the period of the Covid-19 crisis we saw a significant difference between private and public faculties when it came to the possibility of switching to online teaching. What lessons have you learned when it comes to the digital transition of our higher education?

Thanks to great experience in the digitalisation process, the University of Belgrade positioned and handled itself very well under the conditions of the pandemic, and is now in the third academic year of successfully implementing study programmes that have been adapted to the situation. The last school year’s exam results and passing grades, which were conducted in accordance with the combined model of teaching, didn’t differ significantly

The intention is to use the period ahead to improve the process of selecting teachers at the University, which should be carried out as transparently and fairly as possible, in order to avoid situations in which the results of elections can be interpreted in different ways

from previous years, and we can conclude on the basis of this that the quality of education and acquired knowledge will not be imperilled. I am more concerned about the social aspect, i.e., the alienation of students deprived of a lively, interactive academic atmosphere.

Issues of urbanisation and environmental protection draw citizens onto the streets and disturb them, regardless of their party affiliations. Why are so few experts from universities today included in discussions about Serbia’s needs in any area of development?

The challenges of our environment today include social transformation, globalisation, the endangering of the environment and ever-mounting pressure on public services, the healthcare system, infrastructure and housing, as well as the increasingly strong positioning of information technology. The University of Belgrade’s strength lies in the variety and specificity of its members, with 31 faculties and 11 institutes, which contribute to enhancing its repute and significance in different ways. Some of them do so through academic excellence, some through social engagement, some through improvements to the healthcare system, as we see with the pandemic, and some do so through their participation in important state construction and infrastructure projects. It is very important that the Committee for Environmental Protection was established, for the first time since the formation of the University, as an expert and advisory body of the University Senate. The members of this committee are relevant experts from various scientific fields, who are tasked with presenting stances - argued from an expert perspective - that highlight the importance of environmental protection, as well as the activities, processes and procedures that would contribute to that.

What forms the basis of the University’s reputation today and what can make or break it? Have you recently had any opportunity to receive feedback on how the public views you and, if so, what does that indicate to you?

The vision of the University of Belgrade is to continuously fortify its reputation as a leading educational and scientific research institution of the region, to attract an ever-greater number of students, improve and innovate study programmes and reform the system of work in order to further affirm its place among the ranks of universities in the region and around the world. We’ve launched many initiatives aimed at improving the work of the University. We’re planning to introduce a greater role for students in managing the University’s bodies and organs, due to the recently-adopted Law on Student Organisation, which we waited almost a decade for. One of the most delicate issues is the selection of teaching staff. The intention is to use the period ahead to improve the process of selecting teachers at the University, which should be carried out as transparently and fairly as possible, in order to avoid situations in which the results of elections can be interpreted in different ways.