Annual Conference Celebrates 20 Years of Partnership with Sarajevo School of Science and Technology

On Friday 8 November, the Collaborations Team hosted their Annual Conference at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology (SSST), as we celebrated 20 years of successful partnership with the private university based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over three days, partners from The University of Buckingham attended sessions ranging from student engagement to UK higher education grading norms and best practice sharing workshops. In attendance were staff from Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, International Business School (Budapest & Vienna), Transilvania Executive Education (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Learna Ltd (Cardiff), British University in Georgia (Tbilisi) and Guangzhou Panyu Polytechnic (Guangzhou, China).

Day one

Day one began with a welcome from Chris Payne, Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer, and SSST Chancellor Professor Ejup Ganić, before diving into sessions led by Buckingham's Dr Trevor Ray and Dr Philip Fine on learning and teaching strategies and artificial intelligence best practices.

In the afternoon, attendees enjoyed a session from Buckingham's Dr Naseer Al-Jawad on UK HE grading systems and norms before a workshop delivered by Chris Payne on risk and compliance practices. The day ended with a guided tour of SSST's impressive medical school and clinic by Dean of the SSST Medical School, Dr Aida Hajdarpašić.

Day two

Day two began with a continuation of Dr Al-Jawad's session on grading systems, with a focus on marking rubrics and student feedback.

This was followed by a group discussion led by Collaborations Manager, Chris Maskell, on best practices identified from annual reviews, where Partners were encouraged to share their views and experiences on priorities for the next year, and how Buckingham and our Collaborations Team can continue to foster strong and effective partnerships.

After a final wrap-up session led by Chris Payne, everyone enjoyed a guided tour of Sarajevo, discovering its rich history and cultural diversity.

Day three

The final day celebrated Buckingham's long-standing Partnership through a series of talks and discussions, including a keynote by Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris, Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic and Provost, before rolling out the red carpet for a celebration with live music and dancing.

The importance of collaborations

Speaking following the conference, Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic and Provost, Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris commented:

"At the University of Buckingham, we enter into collaborations with like-minded institutions across the world. As outlined in our strategy, we are committed to exploring flexible learning models and collaborations alongside the campus-based learning that our students value so highly. My thanks go to the Collaborations team for their support to our collaboration partners, and for nurturing and developing relationships that enable disruptive innovation, enhance our reputation and reach, and help diversify our income streams"

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to next year's Annual Conference, Collaborations Manager, Chris Maskell, stated:

"We look forward to welcoming more partners to next year's conference which is to be hosted at Buckingham."