Minister Rajčević Visits the University of Banja Luka: Agreement on Student Exchange with China

The delegation of the University of Banja Luka led by Rector Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, and Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska Srđan Rajčević, MA, agreed on 22 February 2021 to exchange master students between the Faculty of Economics of the University of Banja Luka and Tianjin University of Technology and Education.

As agreed during the meeting at the Rectorate, the exchange could start from the winter semester, the academic year 2021/2022, thanks to the efforts and activities of the Confucius Institute. 

Rector of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, said that the Confucius Institute organizes a number of activities, and that in addition to promoting the Chinese language and culture, it offers students various exchange opportunities with universities in China.

,,In the previous period, the Confucius Institute enabled the University of Banja Luka to conclude agreements with universities from China, including Tianjin University of Technology and Education. This agreement also envisages this exchange of students’’, the rector said after the meeting with the minister, stressing that the operational details had been agreed during the meeting.

He added that the plan is to send three to five students from both sides for the exchange, with funding provided for students who decide to spend one semester in China or from China in the Republic of Srpska.

,, Students will be provided with accommodation, plane tickets and everything else needed for the stay. I hope that this is just the beginning of a successful exchange with different universities in China with which we already have a business-technical cooperation agreement.“, Rector Gajanin said.

Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska Srđan Rajčević stresses that the plan is to first have a slightly smaller number of students exchanged from both sides, and therefore they will spend one semester in China and the Republic of Srpska, respectively.
,, This can be a good starting point for further internationalization of our higher education, because that is the key word that the Ministry put in focus during the process of higher education reform’’, Rajčević said and emphasized that the Confucius Institute is the connection with the Embassy of China in BH.

,,Thanks to that cooperation, we can implement many good projects for the further development of the Republic of Srpska. This academic exchange can be the beginning of all these activities that are our task in the future’’, Rajčević noted.

Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at University of Banja Luka Shen Li  pointed out that the goal is to organize the exchange as early as autumn, and that the exchange programme, which will be carried out through cooperation with the Confucius Institute, will include the Faculty of Economics and the Academy of Arts, as well as the same faculties in China. She added that in the last three years, a lot has been achieved in regard to learning Chinese in the Republic of Srpska through free courses organized by the Confucius Institute.

Dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Milenko Krajišnik, PhD, emphasized that this faculty is ready for student exchange, and that it has enough capacity to accept students from China and organize classes in English.

,,I hope that there will be interest among our students, because economists from all over the world find China's economic development very interesting and specific’’, Krajišnik said.

The delegation that met with Minister Rajčević also included the Vice-Rector for Human and Material Resources Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD, and Director of the Confucius Institute Ljiljana Stević.

Visit to the future location of the science and technology park

The rector and the minister then visited the location in the University Campus where the construction of a science and technology park is planned.

Minister Rajčević says that the construction of a science and technology park in Banja Luka is one of the key projects for scientific and research development in the Republic of Srpska.

,,The goal is that with the construction of the science and technology park, the Republic of Srpska and Banja Luka will get one central location where students and scientists, researchers and young entrepreneurs will gather.

The idea is to create a new system around that park, which will be based on modern entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurship and the development of new digital technologies’’, Rajčević said.

According to Minister Rajčević, this is an excellent choice of location that will improve the visibility of the University. As he stated, the Ministry, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), as the second partner, will start drafting the project plan and after that it will starts with the financial engagements.

Rector Gajanin says that in the past period the University negotiated with the relevant ministry on the construction of this science and technology park.

,,The university will do everything necessary to meet all technical requirements and collect the necessary documentation’’, the rector said and thanked the Ministry for recognizing this location for the construction of the science and technology park, which will be very important for all professors and teaching assistants of the University of Banja Luka, because they will be able to conduct research and conduct part of the teaching in one place. 

Opening of exhibition at the Confucius Institute 

The rector and the minister then visited the Confucius Institute, where an exhibition of art works of primary and secondary school children as well as students of the Academy of Arts of the University of Banja Luka was opened. The Confucius Institute organized a competition of art works in honour of marking the Chinese New Year.