by Katarina Pavlovic

Abstract: The Faculty for Project and Innovation Management at Educons University in Serbia is applying their experience with HEInnovate to establish their own entrepreneurship advisory board as well as building strong connections between students and local industry.  After the participation from Katarina Pavlovic in the Train the Trainers, she successfully established the entrepreneurship advisory board at her university and plans a workshop to introduce the self-assessment to the Faculty of Project Management. 

Could you share more about your background and responsibilities?  

I am Katarina Pavlovic, a business consultant and associate professor at the Faculty for Project and Innovation Management at Educons University. The faculty is made up of 20 people and enrols 120 students per year. I founded the Project Management College (PMC) Incubator programme five years ago. Usually, I meet participants on a weekly basis to discuss the many aspects of building and developing business ideas, starting one’s own business, and generally being innovative in the business world. The PMC also helps students participate in extracurricular activities such as national competitions for the best technological innovation. Students at the Faculty are particularly motivated by learning in practical settings, so they feel that the PMC is a fulfilling way to apply what they are learning in their studies.   

What led to your first engagement with the HEInnovate tool, and how did that experience shape your interest in further involvement? 

In the spring of 2023, the School of Agriculture at the University of Lisbon in Portugal reached out to me, as they were planning to submit a response to the EIT HEI Initiative Call for Proposals. Though Educons University did not have a faculty of agriculture, I contacted the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade and encouraged them to join the University of Lisbon in their application. Seven faculty members at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade completed the self-assessment. This was my first exposure to HEInnovate, and after this, I applied to take part in Train the Trainers in Brussels.  

What were the most useful or beneficial aspects of participating in the HEInnovate Train Trainers?  

At the Train the Trainers May 2024 session, I connected very well with other participants, finding them proactive and inspiring. The participants shared amongst themselves their action plans for taking results from the HEInnovate self-assessments forward at their institutions. Together, the other participants and I anticipated what barriers might make change more difficult, using the action cards to do so. I really enjoyed the practical role-playing activities at Train the Trainers: all participants took on the perspectives of various stakeholders in the change process, including students, professors, and faculty deans. The leaders of the training from the HEInnovate Expert Group were helpful and engaging. Being in person at Train the Trainers with other participants gave me the motivation to begin working towards change at my institution and to make this a priority despite my many other responsibilities as a professor.  

Did you or your institution implement any changes after engaging with HEInnovate?  

After attending Train the Trainers, I moved forward with one part of my action plan – establishing an entrepreneurship advisory board, made up of ten members of industry and institutional faculty, as a tool to build stronger connections with industry. Forming relationships with companies and including them on the advisory board gives academic staff at the Faculty for Project and Innovation Management insight into what skills their students must have in order to enter these companies upon their graduation.  

My idea is for the membership of the entrepreneurship board that they change annually. I anticipate some members leaving and some new members joining, as long as they have an understanding of the motives behind the board and a willingness to contribute.  The entrepreneurship advisory board decides the programme for the following year based on what activities they feel would have the most impact on students. Activities include visits to industrial conferences, visiting lectures and manufacturing facilities, holding workshops and hackathons, and attending national competitions related to innovation. Workshops are organised and led by professors, guest lecturers, and members of the entrepreneurship advisory board. Topics include business models, project management practices, and the introduction of artificial intelligence in education.   

Are there any plans to continue or expand your work based on what you experienced and developed with the help of HEInnovate?  

Going forward, I have also recently introduced the self-assessment to the Faculty of Project Management at Educons University and am currently recruiting Faculty members to take part in it. I hope that the results from the self-assessment and the guidance from the Action Card Set will help the faculty to be more conscious of what it can do to strengthen its visibility and sustainability and increase student enrollment numbers.