The project “Student Professional Practice in Public Administration of Serbia”, which has been implemented by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government for the third year in a row, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the European Union, was presented to member countries of the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) through a virtual presentation.
The Assistant Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Jasmina Benmansur, PhD, in presenting the project, had pointed out that this initiative is part of a broader reform process which aims to support higher education institutions in the training of personnel for public administration, but also to present public administration to future graduates as a desirable and prospective employer, who can fulfil their expectations in future personal and professional development.
The director of ReSPA, Maja Handjiska Trendafilova, had assessed that the Student Professional Practice in Public Administration of Serbia programme has the prospect of being an impetus for other similar actions of ReSPA members, in order for the public administrations of the countries of the region to become an attractive employer for talented young people.
The project was presented to the participants from the public administrations of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and North Macedonia through a presentation of the most important steps which, in legal terms, encompasses the cooperation between public administration bodies and universities, as well as the complexity of organizing virtual student professional practice fairs and implementing the professional practice programmes, which has been successfully attended by more than a thousand students.
The participants have expressed great interest in interactive platforms specially created for the needs of holding virtual fairs of student professional practice in public administration. As stated at the meeting, these platforms did not only faithfully depict the most prominent buildings of state authorities, such as the Palace of Serbia and the House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, but also enabled the visitors to, in addition to participating in fair events, virtually tour these monumental spaces and familiarize themselves with their historical and cultural values.
Also, the media plan for the visibility and communication of this initiative on social networks and in traditional media was presented in detail, as well as the Virtual Community Student Professional Practice in Public Administration, which in less than a year since its establishment had almost 30,000 visitors and more than 100,000 views.
ReSPA, a joint initiative of the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans that aims to encourage and strengthen the regional cooperation of its members in the field of Public Administration Reform, had invited the participants of this meeting to consider the proposal for the expansion of the initiative Student Professional Practice in Public Administration and the holding of professional practice fairs in other countries of the region as well, with the aim of supporting the strengthening of administrative capacities and creating a stable, long-term HR structure in the public administrations of the Western Balkan countries.
Photo gallery – source: MDULS
