On April 15, 2026, the Faculty of Law hosted a ceremony to mark the commencement of classes for the eighth generation of students in the Master’s academic studies in the field of public procurement management – Master in Public Procurement Management (MPPM), a joint study program between the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Law and the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” – Department of Economics and Finance. Students were welcomed to the University of Belgrade and the Faculty of Law by the Vice-Dean for International Cooperation, Prof. Dr. Dalibor Đukić, the Ambassador of Italy to the Republic of Serbia, Luca Gori, the Assistant Minister of Education for Higher Education, Dr. Aleksandar Jović, the Chairman of the Board of the International Master in Public Procurement Management (IMPPM), Jan Jackholt, and Prof. Dr. Gustavo Piga, Director of the IMPPM at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. The event was moderated by Prof. Dr. Dobrosav Milovanović, Director of the joint MPPM study program.
Vice-Dean Prof. Dr. Dalibor Đukić noted that the cooperation between the University of Belgrade and the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” has spanned ten years and expressed gratitude to Ambassador Gori and Prof. Piga for their personal contributions. He also highlighted the crucial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which was instrumental in establishing the program in 2017 and has helped 195 experts from the Western Balkans earn a joint degree from the two universities. Ambassador Luca Gori expressed satisfaction with the Embassy’s traditional presence at these ceremonies, emphasizing that this cooperation reflects the high level of academic synergy between Italy and Serbia. He pointed out that public procurement management is a key aspect of European integration for candidate countries and stressed the importance of regional cooperation for the development of the Western Balkans.
Dr. Aleksandar Jović, Assistant Minister of Education, expressed his satisfaction with the long-standing cooperation, which is vital for the internationalization and promotion of the quality of Serbian higher education. He stated that the Ministry of Education supports institutions striving for a global position in the European higher education area. Recognizing the importance of public administration reform, the Ministry and the Government of the Republic of Serbia took over the support for the program after six years of EBRD funding. The Assistant Minister specifically emphasized that good public procurement management leads to budget savings, allowing for more infrastructure projects, and noted that the impressive list of students reflects the great interest of various institutions in improving public administration.
Jan Jackholt, who participated in creating the Belgrade program as the former Director of Procurement at the EBRD, spoke on the value of the practical training students will receive and wished them success in their professional careers. Prof. Gustavo Piga emphasized that the master’s program is built on three pillars: teamwork, interdisciplinarity, and knowledge and that it has enabled a “quiet but incredibly important reform of the profession“ thanks to experts from all over the world. Prof. Dr. Dobrosav Milovanović thanked the Ministry of Education for recognizing the importance of this specialized education and the EBRD for its initial six-year support. He also highlighted the importance of continuing cooperation with Italian universities. Following student introductions, Hanadi Al-Nabulsi, President of the IMPPM Alumni Association, presented their activities, noting that there are 538 experts from 58 countries who have completed these studies in Rome, Belgrade, and Kyiv. The eighth generation consists of 18 students who will attend the program thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia.
Following the Opening Ceremony, Welcome Day and lectures in the first module Negotiation and Team Bulding started under coordination of Prof. Paolo Augugliaro.
