When opening the meeting, the Rector of the University of Montenegro prof. Danilo Nikolić said that the traineeship programme was an obligatory part of each study programme, and according to the Law on Higher Education of Montenegro, it should make 20% of the study programme, and that the Faculties of the University of Montenegro already have cooperation in this regard with German companies in Montenegro and Germany.”
The University of Montenegro has a traditional form of cooperation with the institutions from Germany through programs funded by the European Union, such as Erasmus +, Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus Tempus programme; “ Rector Nikolić said. In addition to Universities, Rector Nikolić mentioned cooperation with the National Research Center of Germany (DASY) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
“During the two previous academic years, 46 students from Montenegro and 36 representatives of Montenegrin academic staff stayed in Germany, while five representatives of academic staff from Germany stayed in Montenegro,” Rector Nikolić said.
The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Montenegro, Hans Ginter Matern, said it was good that the representatives of German universities and companies attended the meeting with the aim of promoting mobility.
“Among German students, there is a tendency not to go out of the country because of fear of loss of time for exams. It is really a pity because it is the best experience a student can have,” Ambassador Matern said.
“Universities and companies from the countries from European Union have been using the opportunity to organize traineeship programmes within the Erasmus + program, and since 2018, this opportunity is provided to countries which are not member states of the European Union;” Coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Montenegro, Vanja Drljević, said. “Students can do the traineeship in companies, the public sector and the NGO sector from 2 to 12 months,” she said.
Representatives of the Municipality of Podgorica, the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Regional Water Supply, Tehnopolis, Plantaže, Hotel Hilton, the company Sistem-mne, Si-ing, MECOnet Institute, NGO Help, Giz, Konrad Adenauer, NGO Institute for Strategic Studies and Prognosis, Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) and the Institute of Modern Technology of Montenegro were among the participants at this meeting who discussed the concrete forms of cooperation and implementation of the student traineeship programmes.
