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REFORMS
Publication of Higher Education Reform
Experts in Montenegro
1
Publication of Higher Education Reform
Experts in Montenegro
Issue 1
REFORMS
National Erasmus+ Office
2019
2
REFORMS INSIDE – Publication of Higher
Education Reform Experts in Montenegro
Publisher: National Erasmus+ Oce
Editor of Current Issue: Jelena Knežević
Higher Education Reform Experts in Montenegro
Mira Vukčević, University of Montenegro
Mubera Kurpejović, Ministry of Education
Aneta Spaić, University of Montenegro, Faculty of Law
Danilo Nikolić, Rector of the University of Montenegro
Radovan Stojanović, University of Montenegro
Saša Popović, University of Montenegro
Ramo Šendelj, University of Donja Gorica
Jelena Knežević, University of Montenegro
Biljana Mišović, Ministry of Education
Sara Arianna Serhatlić, University of Montenegro
Graphic Design:
Nikola Latković,
Printed by:
Golbi Print
© National Erasmus+ Oce, Podgorica, December 2019.
The European Commission's support for the
production of this publication does not con-
stitute an endorsement of the contents, which
reflect the views only of the authors, and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for
any use which may be made of the informa-
tion contained therein.
Co-funded by the
Erasmus+ Programme
of the European Union
2019 neo montenegro 3
INTRODUCTION
Vanja Drljević 4
REFLECTIONS
Positioning of Life Long Learning
in the Strategy of Development
of University of Montenegro
/ Mira Vukčević 8
The problems of Doctoral Education
in Montenegro in Light of MARDS Project
/ Radovan Stojanović 10
Student-Centered Education – an Analysis
of Some Aspects
/ Saša Popović 14
Montenegro and Academic Integrity
Mubera Kurpejović 18
Universities Ranking Opportunities,
Challenges, Threats
/ Melita Kovačević 20
The Position of Humanities in European
Research Area (ERA) and in Montengro
/ Jelena Knežević 23
PROJECTS
Electrical Energy Markets and Engineering
Education (ELEMEND)
/ Adis Balota 28
Western Balkans Academic Education Evolution
and Professional’s Sustainable Training for Spatial Data
Infrastructures (BESTSDI)
/ Goran Barović 29
Ready for Business – Integrating and Validating Practical
Entrepreneurship Skills in Engineering and ICT Studies
(REBUS)
/ Jelena Jovanović 30
Keep Educating Yourself (KEY)
/ Veselin Mićanović 31
Strengthening of Master Curricula in Water Resources
Management for the Western Balkans HEIs
and Stakeholders (SWARM)
/ Goran Sekulić 32
Improving the Trac Safety in the Western Balkan
Countries through Curriculum Innovation
and Development of Undergraduate
and Master Studies (TRAFSAF)
/ Sreten Simović 33
Capacity Building of the Faculty of Law, University
of Montenegro – Curricula Refreshment, Boosting
of International Cooperation and Improving Human,
Technical and Library Resources (CABUFAL)
/ Aneta Spaić 34
Enhancement of cyber educational system
of Montenegro (ECESM)
/ Ramo Šendelj 35
Strengthening Capacities for Tourism Changes
in WB – Building competences for Quality Management
of Heritage and Cultural Tourism (CULTURWB)
/ Aleksa Vučetić 36
10 neo montenegro 2019
THE PROBLEMS OF DOCTORAL
EDUCATION IN MONTENEGRO
IN LIGHT OF MARDS PROJECT
D
octoral studies, as one of the
most prominent problems in
the Montenegrin and Albanian
higher education systems, will be addressed through the pro-
ject "Reforming doctoral studies in Montenegro and Albania
- good practice paradigm (MARDS)". The project belongs to
ERASMUS + KA2 scheme - Cooperation for innovation and the
exchange of good practices - Higher Education Capacity Bu-
ilding. MARDS worth EUR 873,120.00 and has been planned
to be implemented by the University of Montenegro (UoM) in
cooperation with 15 partners from Montenegro, Albania and
the European Union.
In this article I will talk about the project goals, the situation
of doctoral studies in Montenegro, based on initial research
carried out within the project, the space for improvement
through the MARDS as well as about establishment of two
joint doctoral schools in Montenegro and Albania that will
serve as pilot programmes. I hope that some of my collea-
gues will carry out a similar analysis for Albania to ensure
the full description of the situation in the countries under
the current project.
The main objectives of the MARDS
There are two general goals of the MARDS project.
The first is to improve national policies in the field of docto-
ral education in Montenegro and Albania, by proposing me-
asures that policy makers and stakeholders need to adopt if
they are willing to improve the current situation. The second
goal is to start-up two joint doctoral schools; one in Albania,
in the field of sustainable development and tourism, and the
second one in Montenegro, in the field of sustainable natural
sciences and technologies, both as examples of good prac-
tice in the Region.
From this perspective the catchword "example of good prac-
tice" has been introduced to the title sentence "reform of
doctoral studies". The success of the progamme in terms of
fulfilling our goals does not mainly depend on us. We have
the vision and a plan and support of the University of Mon-
tenegro management, which coordinate the entire project.
In addition to these two main goals there are several sub-
objectives: to improve the human and infrastructural capa-
cities by training the teaching and administrative sta with
our European partners and to equip partner universities with
facilities that will provide on-spot and remote education during
the lifetime of the project and upon its completion. A num-
ber of other benefits are also available as student mobility,
Radovan Stojanović
University of Montenegro
2019 neo montenegro 11
connection with industry, networking
for future projects and initiatives, etc.
From my own experience, indirect values
sometimes bring more benefits.
The survey about “state of the art of
Doctoral Education in Montenegro
and Albania”- some findings
In the course of the study maintained
within the scope of the project, we exa-
mined the advantages, disadvantages,
opportunities and risks of doctoral edu-
cation in Albania and Montenegro.
As for Montenegro, the strengths are the
45 years of tradition in doctoral educa-
tion, existence of vision and strategy,
relatively good academic sta, especi-
ally in natural and technical sciences,
regulations related to study programmes
within doctoral education, defined curri-
cula, small easily collaborative research
community, sucient experience in intro-
ducing European practices and intensive
international collaboration, strict criteria
for mentors, integrated university that
provides multidisciplinary work, inves-
tment in infrastructure as well as young
and motivated students. Last years there
is a trial to assist doctoral education is
maintained by Ministry of Science.
However, the scarcity of doctoral students
because of high tuition fees, neglecting
state-based regulations in doctoral edu-
cation, lack of motivated supervisors, es-
pecially in humanities and social sciences
workflow mismatch between colleagues
and universities, dissonant system of
documents flow on college-university le-
vel, irrelevance of doctoral degree outside
the university, inadequate infrastructure
(labs, libraries), inaccessibility to resear-
ch and scientific databases, inbreeding
(reproduction within institution), limited
involvement of experts from foreign insti-
tutions or industry, insucient funding,
especially by non-academic sector and
others are only some of the, overloading
doctoral students with teaching activities
in their home institutions, limited rese-
arch mobility and internationalisation,
no clustering in research groups etc., are
only some of the problems that doctoral
education faces in Montenegro.
The space for improvement
As well it is a challenge to improve the
situation. The process of capacity building
in doctoral education should be carefully
planned, taking in account the “bottom-
up principle”. On the other hand, it has
to go “step by step” as it is impossible to
solve all problems at once. Some of the
initial steps for improving the situation
are: campaign for promoting doctoral
education at national level that means
raising awareness of stakeholder and
target groups about the necessity of doc-
toral education in one society; intensive
cooperation with foreign institutions; shi-
ft from the pure classical training mode
to research-based studying; promoting
PhD mobility and cooperated research;
inviting foreign professors and scienti-
fic diaspora to participate in doctoral
education; using EU funds as much as
possible; motivating the local economy
to invest in doctoral education etc.…
Normally there are many risks as well.
First of all, there is an unacceptably small
number of students interested in docto-
ral education in Montenegro. More and
more graduates are pursuing to perform
the doctoral education abroad, which
is natural for small country. There are
plenty of universities in the Region that
deliver PhDs of dubious quality, and the
Ministry recognises the titles by default.
There is a limited number of projects that
may foster the recruitment of doctoral
students in the country, etc.
Of course, there is a number of other
advantages and disadvantages that are
more or less noticeable.
Development and funding as main
challenges
The complete insight into the state of
doctoral studies in any country can be
obtained by considering aspects such
as legal framework, strategy and vision,
statistics, research capacity, structure of
doctoral programs, mentoring, selection
12 neo montenegro 2019
of candidates support of business sec-
tor, internationalization etc.
Our research went in two directions: exa-
mining “states of the art” in the system
of doctoral education and in the system
of funding doctoral studies. The first one
was performed by renowned experts in
the field of doctoral education, Dr. Lu-
cas Zinner from the University of Vienna
and Prof. Dr Melita Kovacević from the
University of Zagreb. They are partners
in our project responsible for transfer of
“know how” from developing world to
our transition situation. Two remaining
EU universities, the University of Mari-
bor and the University of Banska Bistrica
contributed to the quality control and
mobility exchange process within the
project. The tool was methodologically
designed by Dr Zinner and Dr Kovacevic
with the support of team members from
University of Montenegro, in the form of
questionnaires. The second research
track related to the founding was led by
Dr Natasa Kostic, Vice-Rector for Interna-
tional Cooperation, from the University of
Montenegro and Dr Predrag Miranovic,
President of the Centre for Doctoral Studi-
es in close cooperation with responsible
ministries in Montenegro and Albania,
Ministry of Education of Montenegro,
Ministry of Science in Montenegro as
well as the Albanian Ministry of Educa-
tion for Youth and Sport. All institutions
involved in the project responded to tar-
geted surveys, which is then statistically
analysed using SWOT approach.
The conclusion is that neither of the
two Montenegrin universities is satis-
fied with the current PhD funding mo-
del. Doctoral candidates are obliged by
the Higher Education Act to pay a fairly
high tuition fee which is not aordable
for students under existing social and
economic conditions in the country. As
the consequence of the situation the
small amount of students is enrolled
in the doctoral programmes. Usually,
most of them are associates (teaching
assistants) at the faculty units. The bud-
get of academic institutions allocated to
the doctoral studies is limited, and the
financial flows are not coming from the
state budget either. There is no interest
from the agencies, business organizati-
ons or any other type of public or private
institutions to support financially the
doctoral studies in the country.
The good momentum is the effort of
the Ministry of Science of Montenegro,
which for the second year is announcing
a competition for doctoral scholarships
in Montenegro. The interest to this scho-
larship has surprisingly exceeded all our
expectations.
The self-financing system is not satis-
factory because students are under the
pressure to earn for their own living rather
than get focused on doctoral studies. Se-
rious doctoral studies require time and
constant commitment. Running around
between work and research commitments
leaves no or little space to get concentra-
ted on doctoral studies and undertake
a quality doctoral research.
The trainings of the supervisors and
professionals
The MARDS project is not limited to pro
-
viding the “state of the art” in policies
of development and founding doctoral
studies and implementations of pilot
PhD curricula between two countries.
The training of the supervisors, admi-
nistrative sta and others involved in
doctoral education is an additional aim
of the project. We had or will have a seri-
es of the training/seminars. The training
related to the management (professio-
nal personal) in doctoral studies was
organised at the University of Vienna.
In Dubrovnik (branch of the University
of Zagreb) the training will relate to the
Professionalization of PhD Supervision
(for experienced and less experienced)
PhD supervisors. The topic of the trai-
ning at University of Banska Bistrica is
The methodologies and procedures for
joint PhD programmes establishments.
The University of Maribor will organise
training about Quality of doctoral educa-
tion, institutional policies and strategies.
We consider these training topics crucial
2019 neo montenegro 13
components that aect doctoral education.
In particular, we have more problems in
Montenegro regarding rather competent
administration and meaningful research
than dealing with mentors. However, we
hopefully will at least be familiar with
good practice examples after the training.
Harmonisation with EU standards and
Salzburg principles
There are a lot of talks about Salzburg
principles. The name by itself says that
these are principles, and in my opinion,
one should not fall into the trap of Bolo-
gna and turn the principles into policies
and, let me say, that happens very often,
and manipulate with these principles for
gaining dividends in daily politics. The
Salzburg Principles were adopted in 2005
with the idea of providing a roadmap for
the development of the third cycle of
higher education in Europe. They can
be reflected in: 1. Research Excellence,
2. Attractive Institutional Environment,
3. Interdisciplinary Research Options, 4.
Exposure to industry and other relevant
employment sectors, 5. International
networking, 6. Transferable skills trai-
ning and 7. Quality Assurance.
It is up to national stakeholders to imple-
ment these principles either completely
or partially. Undoubtedly, only by imple-
menting all the principles can we achie-
ve critical mass in doctoral education.
Instead of conclusion
The competition for quality PhD education
is daily growing in the entire world. Any
research university that wants to take a
leadership role in higher education sho-
uld pay a serious attention to doctoral
studies. In transition countries like the
Western Balkan states, doctoral studies are
mainly used to train university teachers.
Fundamentally, As such, the process is
not beneficial to the public at all. Young
people need to understand that investing
in doctoral education is a matter of their
professional growth, even if they want to
be engaged in the economy or start their
own business. The state needs to set up
criteria for certain jobs that require PhD
qualifications. Moreover, the knowled-
ge-based economy should not be just a
nice term; it should be an opportunity to
practice skills and competences obtai-
ned through the doctoral research. The
doctoral education must meet the requ-
irement of attaining critical mass, which
can be achieved through increasing the
internationalization or enhancing the
number of joint cross-border programs.
This is not about mass education; it is
about imparting knowledge to more pe-
ople to help them to eectively function
in the society. MARDS is a pilot project to
show how cross-border PhD programmes
between two countries can be beneficial
and can jointly produce a sustainable
solution to many problems
-------------------------------------------------------
Prof.dr Radovan Stojanović is coordinator of
MARDS project , member of Montenegrin HERE
team and member of Doctoral Board of Univer-
sity of Montenegro. He is almost for two decades
active in reforming higher education system in
line with EU policies. He coordinated or sub-co-
ordinated 6 TEMPUS/ERASMUS+, 2 NATO, 1 FP6,
1 FP7, 1 WUS, 1 World Bank and 1 H2020 projects
as well as 4 Bilateral and 5 National projects.
He is nominated as an expert in EACEA (Educa-
tion, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency)
from 2005, EURAMET (European Association of
Metrology Institutes) and Funds for Innovati-
ons of Slovakia and Macedonia. His publication
score counts more than 300 publications and
1000 citations.
More about Radovan Stojanovic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radovan_
Stojanovi%C4%87
http://www.apeg.ac.me/rstojanovic.htm