German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Visits the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad

The delegation of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) visited the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, one of the vocational training institutions that received the BMZ-funded Regional Challenge Fund grant for their cooperative training programme.

Led by Ms. Heike Backofen Warnecke, Head of Division, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, the delegation met with the representatives of the Faculty, Prof. Dr Sci. Snežana Brkić, Dean of the Faculty, Dr Sci. Med Nebojša Kladar, Head of the Department of Pharmacy and the RCF project coordinator, and the Pharmacy Department professors Prof. Dr Sci. Milica Atanacković Krstonošić and Prof. Dr Sci. Branislava Srđenović Čonić.

The meeting focused on the achievements of the awarded programme “Additional Education as a Response to Novel Healthcare Industry Profession Demands” and the perspectives of dual education in Serbia. In 2021, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad partnered with the Hemofarm, the Carnomed, and the Mihajlovic Analytics to design a pioneering training course, which won the RCF grant worth nearly 300,000 EUR. The emphasis was put on quality and safety control in the healthcare industry, as well as on the development of sales and marketing skills.  

The programme was successfully implemented during the winter and summer semesters of the 2023/2024 school year, and it included elective subjects aimed at professional orientation in the pharmaceutical industry. This presented the opportunity for students to upgrade their expert knowledge and master the business skills that are increasingly in demand in the pharmaceutical industry, giving them a competitive edge in the labour market. After piloting the elective subject, the professors and company staff move to prepare a short programme of study to provide students with ongoing support in skills that meet industry needs.

The head of the delegation, Ms. Backofen Warnecke expressed satisfaction with the results achieved in the programme so far, as Germany strongly emphasises education as an essential component of social and economic development. Through initiatives such as the Regional Challenge Fund, the aim is to cultivate a prosperous future where education is a cornerstone for economic growth and societal advancement.

The meeting also saw the participation of Hemofarm-STADA and Carnomed, as well as students who underwent the short studies programme. Representatives of the two well-established pharma companies agreed that the quality control of their drugs and supplements was critical for export to the EU market and stressed the importance of training students to use chromatographs for just that purpose. The students successfully demonstrated how the chromatograph works, stating that the programme gave them both technical knowledge and soft skills, which meant a lot for their career development.

In March this year, the Faculty received a new triple quadrupole liquid chromatograph, purchased as part of the program implemented by the RCF. In addition to the purchase of this state-of-the-art equipment for performing precise pharmaceutical analyses, the RCF grant of 299,791 euros will also be used to train the Faculty teachers and mentors from the partner companies. The funds were provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The meeting was a part of the BMZ visit to Serbia and the several ongoing BMZ-funded projects dealing with Sustainable Economic Development and Employment, Climate and Energy, and Good Governance. The delegation also included the representatives of the German Embassy in Belgrade, the German Development Bank KfW, the Regional Challenge Fund, and the  German International Cooperation GIZ.