“Internal Benchmarking Results at the

University of Sarajevo” Final Conference

As a part of implementing the Tempus project Benchmarking as a tool for improvement of higher education performance - BIHTEK, the final conference Internal Benchmarking Results at the University of Sarajevo took place at the UNSA Rectorate on Wednesday, 10 February 2016.

The final workshop’s goal was to present the results of the internal benchmarking process conducted at the University of Sarajevo, as well as the results of activities related to improving the University of Sarajevo’s visibility, including the activities taken by the Faculty of Economics that significantly contribute to improving the UNSA’s visibility and impact.

The proposed plan of activities for improving the visibility of the University of Sarajevo was discussed at the workshop. The plan’s basis is the best practices and experiences of UNSA member institutions and answering the issue of how to improve the quality of academic education in such inadequate socio-economic environment. Also, the role of the University Tele-Informatics Center (UTIC) was emphasized at the workshop and the new HR program that should facilitate and accelerate the activities on improving the University of Sarajevo’s quality.

Within the workshop, participants had the opportunity to listen the presentation delivered by Prof. Dr. Faruk Mekic, UNSA Vice-Rector on the topic of “QS_EECA 2015 – UNSA recognition at the regional ranking lists and beyond”.  Prof. Dr. Jasmina Selimovic, Faculty of Economics Vice-Dean presented the contribution to the UNSA visibility that has been done by the Faculty of Economics. Ass. Prof. Dr. Dusanka Boskovic presented the results of the internal benchmarking conducted at the University of Sarajevo, whiles Prof. Dr. Sasa Mrdovic presented the role of UTIC in activities arising from the Action Plan. Ass. Prof. Dr. Vedran Ljubovic presented a part of the HR program - the project activity aiming to create conditions for improving the UNSA’s recognition.
Participants were informed about the QS World University Ranking results for 2015. Universities are ranked in 9 categories: academic reputation, reputation with employers, the teachers/students ratio, faculty members holding PhD, foreign students, citations, and www influence. The ranking has been carried out throughout the world; additionally to the central list, macro ranking has been recently introduced. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been put into the category Emerging Europe and Central Asia (EECA) with twenty countries from the region. More than 500 universities from this macro region have been evaluated, out of which 300 have been ranked, and data published for top 150. Every third university from the group of 150 is Russian one. Among top 100, 12 universities are Turkish, 10 Polish, 8 are from Czech Republic and Kazakhstan. 6 universities from former Yugoslavia are ranked among top 150: Ljubljana (25), Zagreb (38), Belgrade (66), Maribor (80), Sarajevo (111-120) and Novi Sad (131-140). This University of Sarajevo’s success gains additional value if one takes into consideration conditions in which BH universities operate, when compared with other universities from 19 states out of which 10 are EU members. Also in the January issue of Webometrics higher education institutions ranking, the University of Sarajevo made significant progress. The UNSA moved ahead for 420 places when compared with the July 2015 Webometrics edition, when the University of Sarajevo had occupied the 2270th place among 24000 universities. This is a significant step forward and reflects the efforts invested by University faculty and non-academic staff in the last semester to promote openness, influence and excellence of the University of Sarajevo.
In August 2015, the UNSA Faculty of Economics and Business won another prestigious international higher education accreditation, after which it became the first B-H higher education institution holding the AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) institutional accreditation.
The Tempus project Benchmarking as a Tool for Improvement of Higher Education Performance (BIHTEK) aims to introduce benchmarking practices at the eight public universities in B-H with the aim of strengthening the quality management system and establishing a process of continuous improvement of BH higher education.
The project consortium has eight BH public universities (Universities of Sarajevo, Mostar, Zenica, of Banja Luka, East Sarajevo, “Dzemal Bijedic” in Mostar, Bihac and Tuzla) three EU universities (University Kaho Sint-Lieven, Belgium, project coordinator, University of Vigo, Spain, University of Paderborn, Germany), the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, RS Agency for HEIs Accreditation, four BH Education Ministries and CEENQA.