FEIT will improve collaboration with the industry through the INITIATE project

Strengthening the cooperation between the business community and educational institutions for the benefit of students and the domestic industry was the focus of the workshop organized by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEEIT) with representatives from partner companies.

The workshop "Improving European Research and Development through Cooperation between Industry and Higher Education" is organized within the framework of the INITIATE project - Supporting European R&I Through stakeholder collaboration and institutional reform, supported by the European Commission's Horizon Europe research and innovation program.

The Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEEIT), Prof. Dr. Vladimir Atanasovski, invited company representatives to suggest ideas and thoughts on how current students and future employees can be better prepared for the real sector.

• The INITIATE project provides a framework for deepening existing cooperation for the long-term benefit of both sides. That is, the goal of the INITIATE project is to enable institutional reform in higher education institutions to improve their capacities for research and development. For the realization of the project, your involvement is also needed, to hear what changes are necessary to prepare students for what you need and to help retain them in our country. Therefore, our intention is to provide appropriate knowledge so that they can compete in the labor market, better and with higher quality - stated Dean Atanasovski.

This transformational process is planned to be realized in close cooperation between higher education institutions, the non-governmental sector, the business community, and policymakers, and will be supported by activities to improve the capacities of all stakeholders involved.

The project leader, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Taskovski, explained that the workshop contributes to improving the innovation ecosystem, which will facilitate the green and digital transition by mapping the current state, opportunities, and challenges for cooperation between higher education and industry.

• We need to hear your ideas and needs, and we have resources, laboratories, knowledge, as well as students with whom we can develop the idea, test it, or realize it together. We have multidisciplinary research teams that can quickly come up with solutions, and within this project, we have opportunities to work together on applications for new projects - explained Prof. Dr. Dimitar Taskovski.

The company representatives accepted the invitation to further deepen the cooperation with the industry to prepare students for future employment, emphasizing the value that the faculty provides to its partners.

• In the past 18 years, our cooperation has been bidirectional. FEEIT has always assisted with its technical knowledge or recommendations for employment to retain young, quality personnel at home, but also to provide guidance for our projects. In return, we support them with what they need. They always have ideas that help go beyond the concept of a traditional university, and for that purpose, we always support their ideas financially or with equipment, which ultimately contributes to improving the study conditions and development of young students. I believe that this platform will create a space in which we will certainly participate because it aims to achieve even closer contact with the business community. Besides learning from books, students will be prepared for work activities and the demands of companies - said Ana Kančevska, Director of Commerce at "Rade Končar TEP."

Vane Mitev from HAS Engineering pointed out that there is room for changes in student education through the implementation of the project.

• Greater communication is needed in terms of knowledge exchange and involving students in practical projects and tasks so that after graduation they can integrate into the labor market more easily and quickly, as well as realize their own projects. In this regard, the donation of equipment for industrial automation for the Faculty is also being realized, which will be used for practical, i.e., laboratory exercises for the students - said Vane Mitev from HAS Engineering.