Opening ceremony of the Master in Public Procurement Management was held on October 26, 2017 at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law in the presence of representatives of all institutions which were involved in the realization of this program, as well as of students of the 1st Belgrade generation and representatives of the previous four Rome IMPPM generations.
The program was officially opened by the welcome note of the Rector of the University of Belgrade Vladimir Bumbaširević, which was followed by the interventions of the Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Government Mr. Branko Ružić, Ambassador of Italy in Serbia Mr. Giuseppe Manzo and Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Ms. Betsy Nelson.
At the opening ceremony the audience was also addressed by the professors of the University of Rome „Tor Vergata“: Prof. Gustavo Piga (Director IMPPM), Prof. Annalisa Castelli (Deputy Director IMPPM), and Dr. Giulia Di Pierro (President Alumni IMPPM). The addresses of all speakers were moderated by Prof. Dobrosav Milovanović.
Minister Ružić thanked the representatives of the University of Rome „Tor Vergata“ and the EBRD who, in cooperation with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, have implemented a program aimed at „contributing to the reform of public administration, the decline in the economy submerged and better management of public procurement in the region“.
Italian ambassador in Belgrade, His Excellency Mr. Giuseppe Manzo, said that all initiatives and assistance from Italy in support of Serbia and its European path are directed first of all to the concrete needs of citizenship. „A functioning public administration system,“ said Manzo, „saves public money, improves relations between citizens and institutions, and supports the business of local and foreign companies, such as the Italian ones that operate hundreds of people in Serbia“.
Ms. Betsy Nelson, EBRD Vice President emphasized that this master program „builds bridges between the world of work and education to match skills with the needs of enterprises while promoting the highest standards of professional capacity and integrity“. She also pointed out that the EBRD is proud to work closely with the Serbian government and Belgrade University to strengthen the regional capacity in public procurement.
Mr. Jan Jackholt, EBRD Director of Procurement said that experience from the Master’s programme in Rome shows that graduates remain in close contact and interact with each other in their capacities as procurement experts at various national entities and international organisations. He also emphasized that in the case of the Western Balkans, such long-lasting connections can represent an important vehicle for cooperation.
Establishment of the new joint master study program as well as of Western Balkans Centre of Procurement was promoted also in all relevant Serbian electronic and print media.
After the opening ceremony 34 students from six countries from the region (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria) continued their first MPPM module in Negotiation and Team Building.
