Director of the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES)[1] from Ljubljana, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zijad Bećirović today visited the University of Sarajevo. By visiting, he showed his gratitude to the rector, Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj for his support for the cooperation between the University of Sarajevo and IFIMES and for his contribution to the development of the university and for the results he achieved as rector during his two mandates. The meeting was also attended by academician Prof. Dr. Mirko Pejanović, vice-president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a long-time member of the IFIMES Council, and Prof. Dr. Fahir Bečić, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sarajevo.
Since 2018, the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies has had a special advisory status at the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC/UN, New York, and is the publisher of the international scientific journal “European Perspectives“.
Director Bećirović addressed words of gratitude to the University of Sarajevo and the rector Škrijelj for the cooperation so far and reminded that the University of Sarajevo and the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2017.
“We managed to realize several activities and we supported the university at every moment, especially when it comes to protecting its autonomy. A major battle in this field was won by the university led by Prof. Dr. Škrijelj. It is particularly important that the university achieved full integration and internationalization in 2020, which is also confirmed by the improvement of the university’s position in international rankings. I can say that Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj is probably one of the most successful rectors of the University of Sarajevo in the history of the university. He outlined the future development of the University of Sarajevo. His work in two mandates, in the past eight years, will bring real fruitful results precisely because it was strategic and need time to show the full effect. After the term of rector Škrijelj, we are facing a period of additional affirmation of the university precisely because of what has been done in the past period,” emphasized director Bećirović.
He also emphasized that thanks to the extraordinary results of the University of Sarajevo, the conditions have been created for considering the introduction of second and third level studies – postgraduate and doctoral studies in the field of Balkan and Middle Eastern studies. “Sarajevo is the right place for these programs and the University of Sarajevo, with all its capabilities, can respond to this challenge and contribute to the development of Balkan and Middle Eastern studies,” concluded Dr. Bećirović.
Rector Škrijelj thanked the director Bećirović and the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) for their support, emphasizing that the institute has provided capacities and professional staff with the aim of improving the international recognition of the University of Sarajevo.
Speaking about cooperation with IFIMES, Rector Škrijelj emphasized the importance of the contribution of experts from the Institute and the University of Sarajevo, both in forming views on important social issues that the institute deals with, and in improving educational processes at the university. “This cooperation enabled the exchange of knowledge and experience, which is of inestimable importance for the development of the university and its placement in the international academic space,” stressed Rector Škrijelj.
