Knowledge

PROF. ĐURO ĐUROVIĆ, PhD, NEW DIRECTOR OF BELGRADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Maintain Reputation through Continuous Development
Well in its sixth decade of operation, one of the biggest colleges of vocational studies in Europe. More than 120,000 of its alumni are currently employed on important positions around Serbia. In addition to previous vocational economists in various fields, from finances to business informatics and marketing, it has been preparing three new programs: for state administration, vocational legal officers and tourism. One of the strategic goals is to have the school grow into a business academy

By: Aleksa Mitić
Photographs: Dragan Bosnić

In highly develop countries of the modern world, vocational education is the main stronghold of operational work. Belgrade Business School – College of Vocational Studies is well in its sixth decade of educating such personnel. Diplomas of this school are recognized worldwide. There are about 12,000 active students, while currently more than 120,000 of its alumni are employed in Serbia.
The school educates vocational economists in the fields of finances, accounting, banking, business informaticsand e-business, management, marketing, trade, taxes and customs. Specialist vocational studies are in the areas of accounting management, control and audit, strategic financial management and business process management. Since the state is the founder of this school, a part of the students have their tuition paid from the budget, while the others have to pay tuition that has not changed for six years and is acceptable for most of the students (adapted to the budget of an average family).
Since recently, professor Đuro Đurović, PhD, has been leading this institution. He has been working at the school for almost a decade. He has been elected by majority votes of the School Council, at the secret voting, with unanimous support from the Student Parliament.
– I am very proud of this school, which has been working for almost sixty years. Generally, one regular and legal election of school director does not really change anything. The previous director, prof. Ilija Samardžić, PhD, exceptionally well defined directions for school development and put them in such a manner that they should not be changed. For two mandates at the head of this institution, he and his team strengthened the reputation of the school and significantly increased the number of students. He had an exceptional support from the team and the institutions he cooperated with – says professor Đuro Đurović, PhD. – The main directions of our development remain to maintain the number of students and to expand our activity. The school has been working very transparently, open for any control, and it will stay like this.

CHALLENGES OF REMAINING ON TOP

– We have been preparing three new programs, for state administration, vocational legal officers and tourism, in order to improve the possibility for additional education of those people who, for example, stopped studying at some faculties of law. We would like to create vocational legal officers, because the rule of law and legal state are the imperative of the modern time. We have to realize the program together, by relying on te best people we have. I believe that we will find motivation and everything else necessary for such an endeavor, because we are working at one of the best places in Serbian education. We will shape the school development with our own forces. We have staff with a lot of potential, it is only necessary to stimulate people’s creative abilities. I stand by strict principles, that is what I learned in my family the place where I grew up, northern Montenegro, the area of significant Serbian provenance, although it is now outside the joint country with Serbia. This means, among other things, that we do not attract students with low criteria but with the quality of teaching and grading. Our alumni will be able to find jobs also in all legal fields in state administration. They will not be able to be judges or lawyers, but the state administration will need tax and customs officers. We must train such people through educated administration. Serbia has fascinating history and nature, but it must present itself in the world in a better way, and therefore we will educate vocational tourismologists.
There are many ideas in Belgrade Business School. One of our strategic goals is also that it should become Business Academy so that, in addition to specialist studies, it could also introduce masters studies. It is necessary to think in terms of development, the reputation must be maintained.
Prof. Đuro Đurović, PhD, practically the same age as Belgrade Business School, was born in the village of Kovren, between Bijelo Polje, Pljevlje and Prijepolje. He finished gymnasium in Bijelo Polje, Faculty of Law in Belgrade. He started his career a judge in Bar and worked as a judge in the Federal Court. He rendered more than 10,000 rulings in the field of civil law. In 2002, he was declared the best judge in Montenegro. In life and work, he often references traditional wisdom and sayings. For example, the saying: ”Let me be ashes, at least they will know I was once fire. Just so that there is no slimy trail behind me, like behind a snail.”
– They don’t see me as a strict, but as an objective professor – says director Đurović. – I am also a father, I understand those young people. I think that good teachers must love their students. And they love them by being true professors, who are giving all they can when teaching, and are also available to their students after the school hours.

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Cooperation
With 1,200 freshmen enrolled every year, Belgrade Business School is one of the biggest colleges of vocational studies in Europe. In accordance with the ”Strategy for development of information society” of the government of Serbia, which requires computer literacy in accordance with ECDL standards, in this institution students are systematically being trained in the area of information technologies. They cooperate with other institutes of higher education in Serbia and abroad. Its students can, free of charge, obtain computer literacy license, can use Microsoft licensed software free of charge, train in using legal base ”Paragraf Lex” free of charge, study foreign languages, and complete their internships in leading companies.