Final Conference of the project “Support Network for Improvement of the Strategic Planning” took place on 16 and 17 July 2009 at the premises of the University of Sarajevo Rectorate. The project was financed by the European Union through TEMPUS programme.
The objective of the project was to improve the strategic planning network in all food and agriculture industry higher education institutions in the Western Balkans region. The European Union has been providing funds through TEMPUS programme for the development of universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, their modernisation and networking with the universites in the EU since 1990.
At the Final Conference in Sarajevo, Jadranka Mihic, Task Manager for Health and Education, addressed the participants on behalf of ambassador Dimitris Kourkoulas, Head of European Commission Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
„The areas which were covered by this project, such as insurance and work quality control, planning of research activities and faculty management modernisation, are the issues to which the European Union pays much attention as they are priority areas for modernisation of the education system and of the economy.
The University of Sarajevo has been the most active university with regards to the TEMPUS programme as it participated in 72 projects. During the period from 1997 – 2008, Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in 215 projects in total, including 76 Joint Projects, 113 Individual Mobility Grants and 26 Structural Measures projects. The total value of these projects is 23,6 milion euro. Our support will continue under IPA programmes, where the pre-accession assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina will, in the forthcoming years, amount to approximately 2.4 million eur per year through TEMPUS and Erasmus Mundus programmes“ stated Ms Mihic.
The project „Support Network for Improvement of the Strategic Planning“ included three universities from the EU Member States (University of Hohenheim, the contractor, University of Nitra from Slovakia and BOKU University from Vienna), German Rectors Conference (HRK), Association of Biotechnical Universities of Europe (ICA) and nine agriculture faculties from the region. Prof. dr. Hans – Peter Liebig, Rector of the University of Hohenheim, complimented the cooperation with the University of Sarajevo and emphasised that it was a good starting point for the improvement of the strategic planning in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
„During the implementation of this project, people learnt the process of strategic planning, how to access it, what data should be available and how to implement it. The method which will be used to implement the experiences obtained, will be different in all regions as every programme should be adjusted to the current circumstances“, stated Prof Dr Liebig. With regards to the implementation of the TEMPUS programmes, the Agriculture Faculty of Sarajevo was the most active one as it participated in 13 projects so far and was a faculty coordinator in three projects.
„We have achieved very good results in the international cooperation. We hope to find common solutions for all higher education related issues through the support and network of our partners in the project. We have already overcome certain problems related to the mobility of students and professors using the experience of our colleagues and participants in the project „Support Network for Improvement of the Strategic Planning“ – emphasised Prof Dr Mirsad Kurtovic, Dean of the Agriculture Faculty of Sarajevo.
