Conference: "The Future of Education: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 2030"
In the global trends of digital transformation of society, the 4th Industrial Revolution and the needs of BiH society for better education as a basis for necessary progress, the University of Sarajevo and the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton, with the support of the Institute for Social Research UNSA are the consultation process “The Future of Education: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 2030.”
The conference held on 25 January 2022, began with introductory speeches by Prof. Dr. Sead Turčalo, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, Rector of the University of Sarajevo, and Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Nikolić, Minister of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton
Minister Nikolić emphasized that the University of Sarajevo is the bearer of the academic and scientific research community in the Sarajevo Canton, and that it represents the future of higher education in the Sarajevo Canton. She also stated that today's conference will discuss how we see the academic community, the scientific research and artistic research community in 2030, and how that community can grow into a carrier of change.
“The whole world is changing under the influence of the fourth generation technological revolution, which means that the forms of not only education, but also research and artistic work are changing,” said Minister Nikolić. In that context, as she stated, it is necessary to create new forms, social innovations that will enable all stakeholders to be involved, which means that formal education will have to take over some of the experiences of non-formal education.
"The University of Sarajevo is the institution that built this country and built everything that this country was known for. The University of Sarajevo has maintained its integrity, retained its place on the regional scene, and today we will try to find ways to improve it, "said Minister Nikolić.
Rector Škrijelj stated that the organization of this conference wants to present a projection of the development of science and higher education in Sarajevo Canton for the period until 2030, with the desire to achieve better results in the medium or long term management of higher education and science.
"The University of Sarajevo needs a better law on higher education, it needs better and higher quality study programs for certain areas, it needs better state support for the development of science and higher education. It is necessary to create conditions for young people who should have more chances to get a job in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and less motivation to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is the key task ", rector Škrijelj emphasized.
Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences Prof. Dr. Sead Turčalo believes that the University of Sarajevo in 2030 will be the strongest university in Bosnia and Herzegovina in academic terms, a university that brings innovations.
“Today, for the first time since the war, we are discussing the future of higher education and connecting it with sustainable goals. So far, we have only had short-term views on the future of the university,” said Dean Turčalo, adding that these processes should connect the University of Sarajevo and its strategic goals with the goals of sustainable development by 2030.
A key challenge for our society is the way we observe and organize learning and education in the context of rapidly changing technological, economic and social development. The aim of the consultation process is to look at the overall situation in the field of higher education at the University of Sarajevo and to seek answers to the questions with a synergistic vision: What should we continue to do? What should we stop doing? What do we need to introduce again, ie. further develop?
Within the Conference "Future of Education: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 2030", which was organized as a hybrid event with exhibitors in the amphitheater and others on online platforms with the possibility of interactivity, five topics are provided for consideration and discussion:
- Contribution of academic and non-teaching staff in three basic dimensions: education, scientific research and response to community needs.
- Digitization and digital transformation of society and higher education: Status, perspectives and challenges.
- Inclusive education and modern pedagogical approaches.
- New forms of education at UNSA
- Open Science and Education.
The consultation process aims to initiate a broad public, professional and academic debate on the future of the society in which we live - and want to live, and which is impossible to capture without innovation and solutions necessary in the daily functioning of educational institutions.
You can follow the conference through the channel of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIihTng7qi54jjsUfMKwHEw
