SIGMUS

What is European Tempus project Sigmus?


The Project SIGMUS is designed to strengthen the role of students in governance and management at the Universities of Serbia in line with the Bologna process. The project is one of the National priorities for Structural Measures for Serbia in the area of Governance Reform – University management and student services.

 

Strengthening of student representative bodies will be made through detailed planning of capacity building of the student representative bodies. Establishment and development of student services at Serbian Universities is another important task of the project. The project results will be nation-wide disseminated, but will be also available to the higher education institutions in the area. Having in mind that the project is of high national priority, it has full support from all Serbian Universities, as well as from the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Higher Education; this is the best guarantee for sustainability of the project beyond its duration.

 

 

Project background


In the previous years the higher education reform in the Republic of Serbia has been conducted entirely in the spirit of the Bologna Process and has encompassed the principal aspects of this Process, including:

 

  • ECTS, curriculum development base on learning outcomes,
  • new architecture of HE (three tier system),
  • external and internal quality assurance,
  • accreditation,
  • qualifications frameworks,
  • Law on Higher Education (2005).

 

After the adoption of the Law on Higher Education in 2005, Serbia started a new phase of the HE reform in line with the Bologna declaration and the best practices in EU. However, universities have primarily been focused on reforming curricula and the university governance and management structure. The place, role and responsibility of students in the reform of higher education in Serbia have been recognized, but not yet clearly defined.

Main Project Characteristics


The national importance of a Project designed  to upgrade the legal framework:

 

  • on student participation in governance and management at the Serbian Universities through creation of proposal for a new legislation and participation in Ministry of Education and National Council of Higher Education.
  • to create and develop student services at Universities, through creating a database of all student organizations, implementing student e-services and establishing student mentor system.

 

Specific objectives of the project


  • To improve legal framework for students participation in governance and management at the universities in Serbia and in the HE regulatory bodies.
  • To strengthen and enhance capacities of student representative bodies in HE issues related to implementation of Bologna action lines.
  • To establish and develop organized and efficient student services at the Serbian Unversities.