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Representatives of NIS and Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Belgrade signed the Memorandum of Cooperation earlier today, in the field of education, research, and knowledge sharing. The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Vadim Smirnov, Deputy CEO and Director of the Function for Governmental Relations and Corporate Communications of NIS, and Milo Tomašević, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. The signing ceremony was attended by Mladen Šarčević, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.
The Memorandum of Cooperation is to outline a framework for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the areas of interest for NIS’ business, by means of providing training, expert counselling and consultations, participation in joint projects, organisation of guest lectures delivered by NIS experts and professors from the faculty, as well as other forms of communication. The collaboration, accomplished under NIS’ programme „Energy of Knowledge“, is to facilitate the inclusion of students in NIS’ programmes targeting young people and professional practice, in accordance with the company’s needs and possibilities, as well as NIS’ support to students in preparation of their research papers and theses.
The Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, Mladen Šarčević, pointed out that NIS was one of the major donors in the field of education.
„I should like to express my gratitude for all NIS’ achievements under the „Energy of Knowledge“ programme. NIS has demonstrated a great social responsibility through different projects on which we collaborated. I could even say that we become partners. This programme warrants the continuation of cooperation between NIS and faculties in Serbia“, said the Minister.
He asserted that this form of cooperation proved to be equally beneficial for the academic community, students and higher-education institutions. As he said, NIS had allocated significant funds for scholarships, equipment, and improvement of research work.
Vadim Smirnov, Deputy CEO and Director of the Function for Governmental Relations and Corporate Communications of NIS, confirmed that signing of this Memorandum was an important step in cooperation with both the Ministry of Education and the educational institutions in Serbia.
„This is an important step for us because it steers our cooperation towards digitalisation. Last year, our company decided to work on digitalisation. It feels perfectly natural that we should implement all our projects and ideas in collaboration with the people and institution which know how to do it. This is a step further in the development of our company as a socially responsible entity. We chose to support young people, students, schools, and universities a long time ago and we have been fostering the „Energy of Knowledge“ programme for eight years already. As part of this project, we have established cooperation with over 50 institutions in Serbia and Russia, awarded scholarships to a large number of the best students and enabled their education at renowned faculties in Russia and Serbia“, said Smirnov.
Milo Tomašević, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University in Belgrade, remarked that this cooperation was established between one of the top companies in the energy sector and a faculty striving for excellence in the field of education, as well as that benefits were expected for both institutions and the community alike.
„We expect that this cooperation will help us increase the scientific potential of the faculty and, in turn, we hope to contribute to a more successful business of NIS. We have a high level of competence and knowledge in different areas, including those most relevant for NIS’ purposes, such as energy, process control, robotisation, computer science and informatics, and other fields. Regarding students, they will be introduced to the possibilities of cooperation with NIS in their major field“, said Tomašević.
The signing of the Memorandum today also marks the continuation of cooperation between NIS and the faculties of interest for the company’s digital business and innovative technologies developed by NIS, which was initiated in 2019 with the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Niš. In that respect, after signing of the Memorandum, Nikolay Zalevskiy, Director of the Department for Digital Technologies and Innovation of NIS, and assistant professor Kosta Jovanović, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering for cooperation with businesses, presented the framework of cooperation between NIS and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in the field of digitalisation and emerging technologies.
Additional information:
Within the framework of „Energy of Knowledge“ programme, for 8 years now, NIS has been investing in education through scholarships and continuous cooperation with educational and scientific institutions in Serbia and abroad. Late in 2019, NIS and the Faculty of Electronic Engineering of Niš signed a Business and Technical Cooperation Agreement, based on which the faculty received a donation to purchase equipment for the implementation of joint projects of the faculty and NIS, intended to help develop the scientific and technical capacities of the faculty. By the end of the current year, it is planned to organise workshops, lectures and webinars at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, as well as to furnish a Co-Working zone, conditions permitting. Beside the Faculty of Electronic Engineering of Niš and Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, this type of cooperation is expected to be established with the Faculty of Technical Sciences of Novi Sad in the upcoming period.
