Knowledge Is More Important Than Diplomas

Bratislav Filipović, Founder of Academy Filipović

Knowledge Is More Important Than Diplomas

Academy Filipović has advanced a long way from being a computer school to occupying the leading position in the field of nonformal education. Over the last 15 years, its courses have been traversed by over 30,000 teachers, while the Academy has prepared 13 new seminars for this academic year.

Potential employers around the world no longer ask for your average grades during your schooling, but rather what you know and how well you’re able to do the job that your degree prepared you for.

All of this imposes a need for non-formal education, so-called life-long learning.

When we launched our mission with the organising of English language courses and IT training, we didn’t even dream that we would, in just 15 years, become a leader in non-formal education.

At that time, in 2003, when the ‘Filipović’ Education Agency was founded, non-formal education was almost a taboo topic. We knew that education is among the most important pillars on which every society relies, viewed globally and based on the whole world and that without it there can be no social progress.

However, back then we had no clue how much our team and our institution would contribute to improving the literacy of education employees, in pre-school institutions, primary and secondary schools, and colleges in Serbia.

Unlike the developed world, where the importance of non-formal education is understood, many in Serbia still underrate it, not realising that it is, in part, more important than formal education. The modern age has imposed on us a need for life-long learning, such that university degrees have today been converted into ordinary entrance tickets for securing some job.

Learning is a process that must never stop, which is why we today participate actively in the educating of professionals employed in education in all scientific fields

We at Academy Filipović realised many years ago that learning is a process that must never stop, which is why we today participate actively in the educating of professionals employed in education in all scientific fields.

A large number of associates of various education profiles that we have from various cities in Serbia ensures that our Academy is a serious institution that’s leading the way in non-formal education.

In cooperation with professional association Open Education Initiative (OPI), and together with members of associations that have accredited their seminars via other institutions or associations, Academy Filipović gained accreditation for 13 seminars for the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, which confirms our leadership position in non-formal education.

In previous years, our seminars in various fields – such as informatics, inclusion, creative teaching, work with children, support for family education – have been implemented in several hundred schools throughout Serbia, with many thousands of education workers have passed through them.

We have, in this way, provided support to schools in long-term plans for their professional work and development, all with the goal of shaping modern education as the only measure of success.

In accordance with the latest technical possibilities, and considering the needs of schools, Academy Filipović’s highly specialised team created a project through which all schools in the Republic of Serbia are integrated into the website www.nasaskola.rs.

Academy Filipović deals, among other things, in the production and distribution of portable interactive boards/ tablets. The offer’s stand out models are FBIWB2700 and FBIWB4700, which are used in many schools throughout Serbia and the region.

The Our School Information System represents a complete solution that encompasses all activities, reports and data required for the proper management of schools, administration and the Ministry. It comprises the following:

1. E-library – a programme that was supported by the Association of School Librarians as the best and most applicable programme for running school libraries. It is used in 95 schools and also received the 2013 Discobolus international award

2. Platform for creating school websites – used by 179 schools

3. Electronic portfolio for teachers and tutors – used by 7,938 teachers from 805 schools

4. Electronic portfolio for directors of educational institutions – used by 468 directors

5. Electronic pedagogical notebook

6. Electronic journal for primary, secondary, music, ballet and special schools – under development since 2008

7. Programme for PP (pedagogy and psychology) services

In the education system of Serbian, our E-portfolio web application has been recognised as a major facilitator and a useful tool in working operations, which is confirmed by statistical data:

• It is used in 805 primary, secondary, music and art schools, and around a dozen preschool institutions, where the input is tailored to the needs of educators.

• A total of 7,938 teachers currently have their own user accounts and actively use the application.

• Approximately 80,000 entries (notes on various activities and forms of professional training) have been recorded through applications.

Academy Filipović received 2015 Discobolos award in the category of education for its Eportfolio of teachers. Translated into multiple languages, it is also used by teachers from countries around the region, while negotiations are underway with the Ministry of Education of Montenegro regarding the implementation of the E-Portfolio in its education system.

Academy Filipović organised seven professional conferences because we intensively and continuously raise our own IT awareness via regular participation in domestic and international fairs and conferences. We endeavour to exchange knowledge and experience, to nurture good interpersonal relations, to respect all attendees/participants in seminars and events, to support and promote the use of interactive teaching resources, in particular, interactive tablets and interactive software.

In accordance with the goal of being recognisable throughout the entire region, we realise exceptional cooperation with educational institutions in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Academy Filipović recently also received a certificate of prudential excellence, with a prudential rating of AA+, thereby confirming to its business partners that it has two important business characteristics – reliability and credibility. This good prudential rating further strengthens the academy’s reputation in domestic and foreign business circles, but also says a lot about the man who runs the firm, as well as his staff.

Improving the quality of education and the raising of children in Serbia today is one of the main priorities of the state and contemporary society, and is simultaneously the mission of Academy ‘Filipović’. This strategy implies a future for Serbia based on the knowledge economy, faster social and economic integration, development based on new technologies and competitiveness, and improved opportunities for all. Sustainable development and improved living standards are unimaginable without additional, non-formal education and a society that constantly learns, to which we will contribute even more in the coming years.

Датум:13/03/2019