The joint meeting was organized and hosted by the Serbian EURAXESS bridgehead organization – the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Niš.

The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the feasibility to establish a formal environment for a fully operational network launch and data collection. Furthermore, the cice-rectors for international collaboration announced the signature of  a “Declaration of Commitment by the members of the EURAXESS services network” and decided to organise EURAXESS Info Days at all universities.

Key role of statistic data

On the basis of data presented by the university representatives, it was concluded that the level of incoming mobility is higher than expected, especially given the fact that until recently, international cooperation was very low and the dominant source of funding for R&D in Serbia was the government. The participants dedicated themselves to work on the collection of incoming mobility data, which will serve as a basis for the success of the project. The partners also agreed to put their best effort in the development of a local contact point’s network.

Challenges to be met

Strong cooperation by all stakeholders and widest involvement possible are recognized as the crucial prerequisites for the success in national EURAXESS efforts. However, disintegration of universities is identified as a serious threat in this matter. Namely, the Serbian academic research system is built on the premise of autonomy and independency of the faculties from the universities, where the latter ones do not have exclusive role in facilitating international collaboration. For this reason, relevant information is dispersed and is not always easy to access and use, on demand.

This challenge, as well as other legal obstacles impose the need for wider involvement of different stakeholders with influence at policy development and implementation in project activities. Therefore, participants were asked to involve relevant representatives of the Ministry for Education, the Ministry for Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Employment Services Office and Government Office for European Integration.

Further information:
Powerpoint presentations from the meeting: http://www.mobilnost.rs/sitegenius/topic.php?id=279
Website of Centre for coordination of Serbian researchers’ mobility network (in English): http://www.mobility.rs
Website of Centre for coordination of Serbian researchers’ mobility network (in Serbian): http://www.mobilnost.rs
Serbian EURAXESS portal: http://www.euraxess.rs

Source: Milan Zdravkovic,Serbian EURAXESS coordinator for portal and promotion.