On Thursday, June 8th, 2023, the kick off conference of the project “Business enabling environment for youth employment- BEYOND” was held in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis , the implementation of which is co-financed by the European Union through the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Serbia – Montenegro 2014 – 2020, within the framework of the financial instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA II).
The aim of the conference was to bring to the attendees aspects of project activities and planned results that are focused on increasing employability in prospective sectors of the economy of the cross-border area with a special focus on supporting innovations, dual education and cooperation of the economy and secondary vocational schools of mechanical profiles. The mentoring platform, which will be one of the results of the project, will enable continuous support for start-ups and existing companies on the territory of the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro.
Marko Kovacevic, the president of Niksic Municipality, opened the conference with an introductory speech, who congratulated the project partners on the start of the BEYOND project and emphasized that Niksic Municipality will continue to support such projects by creating a good business environment.
Djordjije Malovic, executive director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnolopolis and Slavko Lukic, director of the Regional Development Agency Zlatibor highlighted the role of the BEYOND project in establishing cross-border partnerships and its impact on balanced regional development.
Stefan Jovanovic, representative of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro pointed out that out of 20 active projects, where IEC Tehnopolis is one of the partners in some of them, this institution already has activities related to dual education, which is extremely important for the implementation of the BEYOND project.
Mithat Bahovic, representative of the Ministry of European Affairs, expressed his satisfaction with the beginning of the implementation of the project which, during the two-year period, will leave sustainable components in the territories included in this cross-border cooperation program, but also contribute to the improvement of the business environment that will make the region itself competitive.
At the end of the opening remarks, Aleksandra Mugosa, the representative of the Ministry of Science and Technological Development, welcomed those present, noting that this is an important project that represents the strong commitment of the two countries in creating support for innovations, within which not only the future of technical schools will be shaped, but work on strengthening knowledge, competence and skills of our students. Mrs. Mugosa emphasized that, bearing in mind that IEC Technopolis is one of the most important partners in the implementation of the innovation policy and the Smart Specialization Strategy S3, it is of great importance to establish cooperation with the Regional Development Agency Zlatibor, which is precisely aimed at the realization of the aforementioned policies.
In the continuation of the conference, the project manager, Snezana Milisavljevic, presented the planned activities, results and goals of the project, which will contribute to the creation of a stimulating business environment for youth employment in the cross-border area of Serbia and Montenegro through the networking of business support organizations and the effective joint use of the existing support infrastructure business in both countries.
Dusan Boskovic, from the Center for Vocational Education of Montenegro, emphasized the importance of dual education in secondary schools and brought to the audience the dual model of implementation of teaching in the system of secondary vocational education and upbringing in which the teaching and learning plan and program are carried out in the school and at the employer.
Experiences in dual education in Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia were shared by Snezana Nikolic, from the Secondary vocational school from Niksic, and Ljiljana Pantelic, from the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Zlatibor Administrative District.
Tomislav Miletic, a representative of the Inmold company, presented the summer internship system implemented by the company with the aim of acquiring practical knowledge and work experience for students of technical high schools and colleges, one of the leading manufacturing companies in Serbia that has established a dual education model and is a generator of practical education for future experts in robotics and mechatronics.
After a tour of the premises of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis and a presentation by the manager of the Industrial Design Laboratory, Tihomir Cuzovic, the initial conference of the BEYOND project was officially completed.
