Gamechangers: New Roles in Education
On February 9th in the Palace of Serbia, Nordic Business Alliance in partnership with the Embassy of Finland and Ministry of Education held a conference – Gamechangers: New Roles in Education.
The conference was opened by H.E. Kimmo Lahdevirta, the Ambassador of Finland, who pointed out that the Finns have confidence in the education system, which is precisely built on the belief that the nation can use its full human and economic potential only if every citizen has the opportunity to realize their personal potential: "The results of the Finnish education system did not come overnight. It took decades and numerous reforms to develop the Finnish education system to its current level. Finland approaches education in a systematic way and in broad cooperation with all interested parties. We are ready to share the ideas and knowledge we have acquired during the process, noting that reforms cannot be successful if only one system is copied, but they must be adapted to the context in which they are implemented" - said the Ambassador of Finland.
Iva Petrović, executive director of the Nordic Business Alliance, underlined that education is one of the key pillars of NBA strategy. She pointed out that representatives of the business community can actively participate in the transfer of knowledge and experience from the Nordic countries and thereby contribute to the education system in Serbia developing talents for the jobs of the future in an inspiring environment, both for students, as well as for teachers and professors in Serbia.
We were fortunate to have Dr. Raimo Salo, an expert in professional development of teachers from the Faculty of Education in Oulu, who addressed the participants of the conference with the aim of presenting Finnish experiences in terms of providing conditions for professional development of teachers. He pointed out that schools for the professional development of teachers have an important place in teacher education and that quality mentoring plays a key role in supporting professional development.
The event was very well attended, and because of the great interest among local stakeholders, we aim to continue with NBA initiatives on this important topic.
