PARTNERS
The project proposal is coordinated by Vocational High School Kragujevac [PSK]
The partnership joins the Applicant with a group of Higher Educational Institutions acting in the areas of engineering & technology:
- 3 from Italy, Slovenia and Croazia as know-how providers.
- 4 from North, Centre and South Serbia as know-how beneficiaries.
Formerly named Polytechnic School Kragujevac (PSK), it represents the most ancient and historically relevant vocational school in the whole Western Balkan. Founded in 1854 by decree of Prince Aleksandar Karadordevic as Craft School, it was the 1st institution of its kind, then transformed into a Military School for decades decreeing in the way its quick development and success. In more modern times the school has noted a significant growth in the number of students, employees, and study programmes with the main institutional goal to respond to the growing & changing needs of industry and society as a whole. Today it offers to its 5.000 students a professional education distributed into 5 main teaching areas: mechanical engineering and metal processing; forestry and wood processing; traffic engineering and logistics; electrical and electronic engineering; culture, art and public information. Therefore, the school lacks expertise in those fundamental topics that characterize the project (i.e. new materials, light vehicles, sustainable mobility) and that, instead, can assume a transversal character of modernization of the current training areas. 1500 professors will be involved in the Training of Trainers phase and then will change their present didactical programmes. Part of them will also take part, mainly as tutors, to the students’ study visits and internships (in Serbia or abroad).
Moreover, the school has a very strong and long-term cooperation with the industry world, especially from the automotive sector, in terms of student practical placement and internship. This School-Business connection will be very important both for the implementation of the project and for a lasting impact on the society.
It is noteworthy the fact that the school has also a leading role in the Associations of Mechanical Schools of Serbia, the most relevant cooperation system between secondary vocational schools in Serbia, with the project manager (S. Kojic), president of the association (www.zmsrs.edu.rs). This external participation will foster the transfer of best practices at high school level throughout the country
University of Bologna (BO), Department of Industrial Engineering, teaching and training on mechanical design, structural statics and dynamics, reliability and safety, rapid prototyping, process optimization, manufacturing technology, new materials, and experimental mechanics. The participants are high-skilled experts respect to the main project topics (composite design, composite structures, modelling, experiments, processing). Thanks to its large network of industrial collaborations, BO will also arrange study visits and internships in Italy and will assure experts for secondments in Serbia.
University of Ljubljana (LJ), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, teaching and training on advanced computational methods (e.g. at the level of micro/meso scale) in modelling mechanical (e.g. in-plane/out-of-plane failures of composites) and manufacturing aspects (e.g. forming, tool cutting).
- University of Rijeka (RI), Faculty of Engineering, teaching and training on vehicle design and machine dynamics, including specific competences on methods for highly efficient vehicle optimization as developed during the Formula Student car competition (Riteh Race Car group). It will also assure study visits and internships.