University of Kragujevac is the fourth largest university in Serbia. It educates 15000 students, and employs a thousand professors and lecturers in 12 different Faculties. It has participated in numerous national and international projects, including the following:
– West Balkan Bologna Promoters Network C032B06
– Development of lifelong learning framework in Serbia JP 145010-2008
– Internal Quality Assurance at Serbian Universities SM 145677-2008
– Strenghtening Quality Assurance System within Western Balkans HEIs in Support of National and Regional Planning JP 158999-2009
– Governance and Management Reform in Higher Education in Serbia (GOMES) JP 158926-2009
– National Platform for Knowledge Triangle in Serbia JP 158881- 2009
– Improvement of Students’ Internship in Serbia (ISIS) 5110985 TEMPUS-1-2010-RS
– Enhancing the quality of distance learning at Western Balkan higher education institutions (DL@WEB) 511126
– Strengthening the Student Role in Governance and Management at the Universities of Serbia in line with the Bologna Process (SIGMUS) 511332-TEMPUS-1-2010-RS
– Development of Career Guidance Aimed at Improving Higher Education in Serbia SM 517119-2011
– Education of Teachers in the field of Ecological Food Production and Management JP 516964-2011
Faculty of Education – Faculty that will be leading this project within the University – dates back to 1898 (first as an independent teacher training college, and in the last several decades as a part of University of Kragujevac). It employs a faculty of 51 and enrols 1,200 students. Its primary purpose is to educate ISCED 1 teachers (at the bachelor and master levels), but also to educate Early childhood education and care teachers (at the bachelor and master levels), education and care providers in Centers for abandoned children (at the bachelor and master levels), as well as students of the newly established Master of education policy program. The Faculty is very open to new ideas and pro-active. Since 2006 it has participated in the following TEMPUS projects as the leading Faculty within the University of Kragujevac:
– Developing Human Rights Education at the Heart of Higher Education, JP 517319-2011
– Harmonization and Modernization of the Curriculum for Primary Teacher Education (HAMOC) JP 516762-2011
– Master Programme for Subject Teachers in Serbia (MASTS) JP 511170-2010
– Education Policy Study Programme in Serbia and Montenegro (EPSP) JP 159074-2009
– Modernizing Teacher Education in a European Perspective JP 159048-2009
– Curriculum Reform in Teacher Education JEP 41074-2006
University of Kragujevac will be the applicant organization in this project. As such, it will be in charge of the operational and financial management of the project. It will ensure proper organization of activities, good communication between the partners, adequate reporting and timely production of the outputs of the project. The Faculty of Education will also lead another work package and participate in all others. The Faculty will contribute the know-how in the school form and questionnaire development and multi-level modelling for the School Performance Feedback and Effectiveness Factors work packages, and be heavily involved in the Effective Professional Development work package, considering its long history and experience in preparing teachers for the world of work, in both initial education and in in-service training.
The operational and financial management has been established in previous projects and it functions very well. At the level of the Faculty of Education, a small team in charge of the project consists of three sub-teams: program and communication (lead Prof. Jelena Teodorovic), operational (lead Prof. Violeta Jovanovic) and financial (lead Prof. Ilijana Cutura). The tree sub-teams, supported by apt administrative assistants, work very closely together on ensuring that activities run smoothly, that communication between the partners is productive and respectful, that timelines are respected and that proper documentation is in place. The team has a very good communication with the financial and operational personnel at the Rectorate of the University of Kragujevac, which re-checks the documentation and its coherence with EACEA rules and Serbian laws and bylaws, and performs necessary legal and financial activities (signs University-level papers, transfers funds, orders equipment, etc). The efficient running of the activities is institutionalized by procedures and forms that have been put in place in recent years, ever since the University and Faculty started participating more frequently in international projects.