Our valuable partners from the University of Vlora shared their experience from Bootcamp 4 Students at the 1^st International Week event in Vlora.

In the context of the University of Vlora 1st International Week on Tuesday, June 7th at Rilindja Hall was presented the project “Reconnecting universities and enterprises to unleash regional innovation and entrepreneurial activity”. Initially, the coordinator from Vlora University Assoc. Prof. Enkeleint A. Mechili presented, in general, the project idea and the main goals. Furthermore, one of the students. Mr. Enid Muharremi that took part in the Bootcamp4Students organized in Girona during the period 15-28 May, shared his impressions. 

Enid presented the experience both from the academic side with the meetings, the classes and the competition for the best project idea, as well as the social life that they had during the stay. During his presentation, Enid on behalf of all students thanked the hosting University and the organizers for the hospitality and the excellent organization. Enid presented the experience both from the academic side with the meetings, the classes and the competition for the best project idea, as well as the social life that they had during the stay. During his presentation, Enid on behalf of all students thanked the hosting University and the organizers for the hospitality and the excellent organization. 

The Department of Industrial Engineering and Management of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo is organizing “Info Day” for the international ERASMUS + CBHE project KnowHub. The event is scheduled for June 6, 2022, from 13:00 to 14:30 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (room 101).

During a panel discussion, the following participants will be participating:
– Adnan Delic, Minister of Economy of Sarajevo Canton,
– prof. dr. Aleksandra Nikolić, Minister of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton,
– Adnan Smailbegović, President of the Association of Employers of FBiH,
– v. prof. dr. Dušanka Bošković, Vice-Rector for Quality of the University of Sarajevo,
– prof. dr. Izet Bijelonja, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
– prof. dr. Mugdim Pašić, Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,
– v. prof. dr. Hadis Bajrić, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,
– р. prof. dr. Branko Vučjak, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, panel moderator.

The panel will discuss the significance of international projects for the University of Sarajevo, the economy, and the wider community, improving cooperation between higher education and the Bosnian economy. One of the goals is to harmonize the relationship between the BiH labor market and higher education institutions through participation in international projects.

We are looking forward to your participation!

The European University of Tirana, organized for the tenth consecutive year the competition “The best business idea for 2022” with the students of the Faculty of Economics, Business and Development. Through this competition, the purpose is to support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation among students, also, to form and further develop entrepreneurial competence, which is crucial today to move forward in the labor market and to develop the country’s economy, and to strengthen university-industry relations.

Business ideas are developed as course projects by students who work in teams, and it is part of the syllabus of the course “Introduction to Business”. Then the best ideas compete among themselves in front of a panel coming from the business industry. The development of business ideas by student teams and their conversion into business plans became possible through the support of two professors, Prof. Dr. Ermira Qosja and Ph.D. (c) Ina Keçi. The novelty of this year’s ideas were ecological ventures and those of a healthy lifestyle.

This project started years ago with the good will and intention of promoting entrepreneurship within UET, promoting students, and leading them to the labor market. This approach doesn’t remain in the desire of a lecturer, but it is part of the entrepreneurial education at UET, also part of the relationships established with the business world, of internal capacity building through European projects and especially the KNOWHUB project.

The panel evaluated a winning idea a green economy idea, the business plan titled “Win Cycle” by students Joana Hoxha and Nensi Janina who, in the frame of the university internationalizing, won an Erasmus scholarship – a semester of studies at a partner European University. The second winning idea was the business plan titled “HEPO” by students Orialda Toli, Flori Gjonaj, Essio Guni and Marko Palokaj, who received a monetary reward from the company “Orion Construction” to advance their idea. Students of the business idea “K.E.S. A” designed by Altea Veria, Enida Qalliu, Zinete Xhafaj and Serxhio Coku were the winners of an internship given by the company Startup Digital.

The University of Mostar has already used the provided resources by the Erasmus+ project KnowHub to begin the process of building lasting relationships with enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Let’s hear from the University of Mostar on the ongoing process.

Half a year ago, the University of Mostar acquired six high-quality 3D printers through the Know Hub project, including an industrial 3D printer (Stratasys F270). So far, they have had a sustainable number of projects with local companies and institutions where the University used equipment for rapid prototyping using optical scanning technologies, digitized model processing software, and 3D printing. In one of their most recent projects, UOM cooperated with a pool maintenance company to help them develop a 3D model of a used elbow pipe, which is very difficult to procure.

“The first step was to digitize the damaged piece using an optical scanner, and then we created the 3D model. In the next step, we printed the 3D model using the 3D printers. We used quality ASA material to ensure that we met all requirements, such as resistance to higher temperatures, resistance to UV radiation, and better mechanical properties. Thus, we developed and produced a replacement part for a broken elbow pipe, utilizing rapid prototyping technologies.”

Get to know one of our potential partners in Albania, the Payment System Innovator, Symmetric Group. In the interview, we talked to the company owner Mr. Dritan Mollanji.

Please introduce us the Symmetric Group? 

Symmetric Group was founded in 2010 in Tirana with a focus on the Financial and Retail Sectors. Symmetric has strong expertise in digital transformation and electronic payments and has given its support to various customers in Albania in Financial Sector, Telecommunication, Distribution Companies, Retails, Hospitality, Construction Companies, etc

Describe your core business and what are your main products/service?

Symmetric Group has two products as a core business, namely ERP and Payment Gateway using QR code. Some of the key successful projects of Symmetric Group are:

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Financial software applications that organize, define, and standardize the business processes necessary to effectively plan and control an organization embodying the products and processes, information flow, and procedures. This software is installed and implemented in several companies one of the biggest distribution companies is Nelt Sh.a.

Card Payment Processing Projects: Cofounded PayLink, the first national card processing center, and offered the full project consultancy. Symmetric Group was responsible for the system implementation and coordination for the launch with VISA and MasterCard.

Paylink Consultancy Services: During 2013 co-Funded and managed the full portfolio of PayLink projects including Infrastructure, PCI DSS/CP Procedures Preparation, Card Issuing Processing, e-commerce/POS/ATM Acquiring, Card Personalization, Clearing Module Implementation, and MasterCard NIV/MTIP certification.

POS Integration: Implementation and certification with MasterCard of the first multivendor payment application for Union Bank Sh.a. Implementation of multivendor Terminal Management System.

Digital Banking: Involved with Raiffeisen Bank Digital Banking. In collaboration with NF Innova we have been part of in Raiffeisen Bank

E-Commerce: Symmetric has completed a number of projects for creating online shops and their integration with payment gateways.

Openpay: In 2018 invented new product Openpay is a next-generation payment gateway that bypasses the traditional card payment schemes facilitating banks and e-money institutions to offer Retail Instant Payments using mobile banking app (www.openpay.al). Openpay is an innovative product and it won several International prices (Raiffeisen Bank International through Elevator Lab, EBRD through Start Venture Program, and Capgemini -EFMA)

In your opinion, what are the biggest problems in the business of economy of Albania?

Albanian market is relatively small, therefore the possibilities to scale a software product are limited and this leads to lower profit margin and doesn’t help the companies to invest in R&D. At the same time the cost for employing a development team is relatively high and the major part of the qualified staff is leaving the country.

 Which work qualifications, i.e. what kind of staff is most lacking in Albania economy? 

Albanian population is relatively young compared to other European Countries but in terms of qualification, the figures show the opposite. If you compare with the neighbor countries, we see that qualified IT staff is lacking in the country.

What should change in the educational system of Albania in order to timely provide the staff needed by the economy in today’s dynamic market environment?

The collaboration between private companies and universities is missing. Companies and Universities should collaborate more so the students can start to understand the practical part of the knowledge they are learning in the University. At the same time, the companies should communicate their needs and required qualifications to the Universities so they can adjust their qualification programs base on the market requests.

How do you see the current state of education of pupils and students in Albania in terms of the development of entrepreneurial mindset as well as innovation?

Albanians have an entrepreneur’s mindset and are very innovative, everyone wants to open her/his business but this is not supported with the proper qualification to scale their idea/products in the country as well as out of Albania.

Within the EU project entitled “Re-establishing links between universities and companies in order to support entrepreneurial activities and innovations”, the establishment of center for commercialization of ideas and support for entrepreneurship at the European University of Tirana is also planned. These centers should also support companies in introducing lean management practices in order to increase productivity, efficiency of production processes and market competitiveness. How do you see the need of companies to establish such a center?

It’s absolutely a very good idea. This center will help increase the collaboration in an early state between the student and companies, will help the students to understand the practical part but also the companies to improve efficiency and quality. 

Read our latest KnowHub interview with the Montenegrin representatives of Ministry of Economic Development, Directorate for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Please introduce us about the Ministry? 

The Ministry of Economic Development is oriented toward improving competitiveness, cooperation with companies and improving the business environment, all with the aim of facilitating business for small and medium enterprises and strengthening entrepreneurship. The Ministry is oriented toward creating conditions that will lead to the establishment of modern Montenegrin industry. The Ministry of Economic Development invests in development and innovation in order to strengthen knowledge-based economic development and encourages the development of ICT products and services.
The Ministry of Economic Development has nine directorates. One of the directorates is the Directorate for Improving Competitiveness, within which the following directorates function:

1. Directorate for Improvement of Investment Environment
2. Directorate for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises
3. Directorate for Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Cooperation with the Business Community
4. National Brand Directorate

The Directorate for the Improvement of Competitiveness, among other things, performs activities related to following:
• Cooperation with local self-government units in order to improve the business environment at the local level and attract investors;
• Cooperation with business associations and other institutions that provide support to business development and entrepreneurship in order to define new programs to encourage business development
• Development of women’s entrepreneurship
• Creation and implementation of specialized programs and projects to support micro, small and medium enterprises
• Programs to encourage entrepreneurship, competitiveness, innovation and exports;

Describe your core business and what are your main products/service?

The Directorate for the Improvement of Competitiveness, among other things, performs activities related to following:
• Cooperation with local self-government units in order to improve the business environment at the local level and attract investors;
• Cooperation with business associations and other institutions that provide support to business development and entrepreneurship in order to define new programs to encourage business development
• Development of women’s entrepreneurship
• Creation and implementation of specialized programs and projects to support micro, small and medium enterprises
• Programs to encourage entrepreneurship, competitiveness, innovation and exports;

In your opinion, what are the biggest problems in the business of economy of Montenegro and what is the plan for improvement?

The biggest problems in the business of the economy of Montenegro is primarily the fight against the gray economy. Further, the Montenegrin economy relies too much on tourism, which proved unsustainable, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic. The development of agriculture and tourism is what Montenegro needs.
The need for the process of reindustrialization is emerging as one of the key mechanisms in order to strengthen the Montenegrin economy. This process requires time, and after the implementation of structural reforms, it should enable production processes based on modern technical and technological achievements where the structure, quality and design of products are constantly adapted to market requirements. In this context, the intention of the Ministry is to undertake all activities in the direction of targeted and innovative industrial development and more efficient targeting of state support to small and medium enterprises in this area through various programs to improve competitiveness.

What should change in the educational system of Montenegro in order to timely provide the staff needed by the economy in today’s dynamic market environment?

The education system in Montenegro must encourage creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship among pupils and students. Reproducing knowledge learned from textbooks without practical exercises is still a practice in many schools. This practice needs to change in order for young people to be able to adapt more easily to changes in the market. I think that things are getting better when it comes to universities, because the Law on Higher Education requires that 25% of the total teaching be practically oriented. However, changes are necessery in curricula that would enable the acquisition and encouragement of entrepreneurial and service-oriented competencies among students.

How do you see the current state of education of pupils and students in Montenegro in terms of the development of entrepreneurial mindset?

The development of entrepreneurial learning in Montenegro began about twenty years ago, when the introduction of various activities at all levels of education began, mainly aimed at acquiring economic and entrepreneurial literacy.

Since 2006, the Montenegrin system has been adapting to the needs of developing competencies for lifelong learning, which also applies to entrepreneurship, and these activities are being adjusted to the level and type of education. Despite that, entrepreneurial learning is not at a high level in Montenegro. Entrepreneurship is taught partly through primary school but somewhat more through secondary vocational schools. However, in the Gymnasium, entrepreneurship is taught only through an elective subject. In recent years, activities on compulsory entrepreneurial and practical learning have been launched at universities through numerous projects, but the results achieved are still not at a satisfactory level.

Within the EU project entitled “Re-establishing links between universities and companies in order to support entrepreneurial activities and innovations”, the establishment of center for commercialization of ideas and support for entrepreneurship at the University of Montenegro. How do you see the need of companies to establish such a center?

In my opinion, this center will be of the great importance for the University as well as for the business sector. On the one hand, by developing entrepreneurial competencies, students will have a chance to turn their ideas into reality and place them on the market. On the other hand, companies will have the opportunity to have better access to university knowledge that will serve them to improve their own processes and products. Cooperation of this type is very useful both for strengthening the competitiveness of companies and for the development of entrepreneurial competencies of students, but also for student practice.

KnowHub project starts the set of interviews with companies from targeted markets- Albania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and Montenegro. We are aimed to identify industries perspectives on business-university collaborations and the current situation in the labour market. The Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is our first interviewed expert that gives his perspectives about needed qualifications and entrepreneurial mindset among students in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Please introduce us about your company? 

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long tradition of organizing associations of craftsmen and other business entities. Following the model of public-law associations, chambers of commerce in Bosnia and Herzegovina appeared over one hundred years ago. In 1999 the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established with broad authorization like representing and promoting the economy and entrepreneurship and assistance to the government in the preparation and adoption of laws, regulations and measures of economic policy and instruments governing the economic position of economic entities. The Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has eight sectors and centers like sector for industry and services, sector for energy, center for promotion end education and center for international cooperation and cooperation with EU funds.

Describe your core business and what are your main products/service?

The Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has eight sectors and centers like sector for industry and services, sector for energy, center for promotion end education and center for international cooperation and cooperation with EU funds. Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also part of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

In your opinion, what are the biggest problems in the business of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

If we would like to point out something as the biggest problem in the business of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then it is the necessity to complete the only right path, and that is the final arrangement of the quality infrastructure system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Quality infrastructure is one of the most important elements of the business environment. The main task of this system is to provide services to companies in the field of laboratory testing (conformity assessment), standardization, accreditation, and metrology, as well as market control. The impact of quality infrastructure on the development, production, and certification of the final product is fundamental, and therefore of great importance for the development and competitiveness of domestic companies.

The system of quality infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina is very poorly developed and instead of facilitating business, it is more of a barrier to domestic companies, and at the same time, it is easier to enter imported goods into such an unprotected market.

Also, it is necessary to define strategic product groups for the Bosnia and Herzegovina economy, respecting the structure of production and involving in that process the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entity ministries, chambers of commerce, the scientific community and other stakeholders, and on the basis of that assessment, support the development of a conformity assessment body, their equipment, accreditation, cooperation with foreign bodies, the scientific community, and supervisory bodies.

Which work qualifications, i.e. what kind of staff is most lacking in Bosnia and Herzegovina economy?

Through the operational activities of the Chamber, independently and in cooperation with other chambers and institutions, through research and direct contacts with our members, we note that special attention should be paid to qualifications in the areas of standards and international harmonization of goods and services. Quality infrastructure is the foundation on which the functioning of the business sector in all countries of the world is based and it is very important instrument of trade policy. The key function of this system in the field of industrial products is to service the company by providing appropriate services in the field of standardization, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment.

In the previous few years, until the beginning of the corona virus pandemic, a significant number of staff left Bosnia and Herzegovina and went to work in factories in the EU. The staff who left Bosnia and Herzegovina had quality education and work experience and they were of a professions that were missing in the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina companies were forced to replace workers who were leaving with others, and they did so by asking educational institutions to produce the missing staff, but also by educating them in their own training centers. In general, currently the most wanted staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the specialized areas of CNC machine handling, all welding technologies as well as the processing of non-metallic materials such as profiles made of PVC, fiberglass and carbon fiber. Also, significant is the demand of construction companies for workers working in the construction industry. In the field of textile and leather industry, there is a need for a skilled workforce, such as modelers, technicians etc.

If we talk about highly educated staff, it is certain that ICT occupations are the most sought after and most attractive both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in other countries.

What should change in the educational system of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to timely provide the staff needed by the economy in today’s dynamic market environment?

In order for the educational system of Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide the necessary staff for the economy, to strengthen economic entities, strengthen their competencies and improve the business that is now focused on online business as a “new normal”, it should be more flexible to dynamic market changes and be a stronger incentive in terms of the transition to digital business, a new approach to markets, e-marketing, and to prepare staff who will be ready to constantly change and learn again. Thus, new employees in companies, which will without burdening previously established technological processes, will be those who will work on improving knowledge and introducing innovations in business, which this “new age” requires for survival in the market, where we already know that in crises like this, those who manage to adapt most quickly to the new business regime, customer needs and market conditions.

I do not think that this requires some radical changes in the system, but only requires the strengthening of competition among existing educational institutions at all levels of education. Also, as a necessary direction of all educational institutions, is that educational programs provide more practical work, in a way that practical work is realized in companies in real conditions.

How do you see the current state of education of pupils and students in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of the development of entrepreneurial mindset as well as innovation?

The current level of education of pupils and students in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation is the result of individual initiatives and enthusiasm of individual educational institutions, and as such at this time cannot have a complete assessment. The reason is the freedom to adopt educational policies in different administrative units of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to its organization and competencies. Regardless of the division of competencies within Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to the educational system, I believe that at all levels there will be the adoption and introduction of the basics of entrepreneurship as a subject in all high schools, which would be a systematic solution for entrepreneurship and innovation among young people. It is necessary to increase the allocation for innovation and strive for the models that more developed countries have.

Within the EU project entitled “Re-establishing links between universities and companies in order to support entrepreneurial activities and innovations”, the establishment of centers for commercialization of ideas and support for entrepreneurship at the universities of Sarajevo and Mostar is also planned. These centers should also support companies in introducing lean management practices in order to increase productivity, the efficiency of production processes and market competitiveness. How do you see the need of companies to establish such a center?

Following the needs of companies that are expressed in all strategic documents for which the Chamber was responsible for the needs of the competent institutions, together with the representatives of its members, it is concluded that it is necessary to form development and innovation centers the so-called Centers of excellence that would serve certain sectors of industry. In accordance with the regional needs of industry, universities are invited to, in cooperation with chambers and economic entities, close this triangle of knowledge whose resources would be used for the development of production processes. This would unite the forces of the development offices of individual companies into one more global resource that everyone would use. For this purpose, the Chamber of Commerce of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to form an innovation council that would be a link for such centers with policymakers in society.