Western Serbia Academy of Applied Studies

Western Serbia Academy of Applied Studies is an accredited, public higher education institution, established in 2019, by merging the College of Applied Sciences Užice (hereinafter: Užice Department), situated at Trg Svetog Save 34 and Valjevo Business College of Applied Studies, situated at Vuka Karadžića 3a (hereinafter: Valjevo Department). The seat of the Academy is in the City of Užice.

Užice Department is one of the leading institutions in the field of applied studies in the Republic of Serbia, with about 1,000 students enrolled in accredited study programmes in three fields of science: engineering and technology, social sciences and humanities, and medical and health sciences.

Užice Department offers nine undergraduate study programmes: Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, Civil Engineering, Interior Arhitecture, Management and Entrepreneurship, Tourism, Accountancy and Audit, Health Care and Technological Engineering with two modules, and four master study programmes: Occupational Safety and Health, Business Economics and Management with three modules, Information Technology and Civil Engineering. Study programmes offered by this department are designed so as to develop students’ ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in real-world business settings. Therefore, Užice Department provides higher education not only through course delivery, but also through other forms of professional development, such as one-day or longer seminars and training courses, workshops, round tables and professional lectures on different contemporary topics, such as business communication, tourism destination management, energy efficiency, ecology, urban planning and design, artificial intelligence, etc. For over 40 years, i.e. since the establishment of the College of Applied Sciences Užice, the study programmes have been harmonised with the development strategy of the Republic of Serbia and Zlatibor District, and modernised so as to respond to technical and technological, social and economic changes, as well as to labour market demands. Numerous partnership agreements have been signed with various entrepreneurs and institutions in order to provide students with hands-on experience.

So far, Užice Department, i.e. former College of Applied Sciences Užice, has organised 11 international scientific conferences titled ‘Science and Higher Education in Function of Sustainable Development’, received more than 120 papers per conference and gathered renowned experts and scientists both from the country and abroad. The conference also provides students with an opportunity to present the results of their scientific research and have their papers published. Since 2009, both staff and students have been actively involved in the implementation of international Tempus and Erasmus projects, resulting in successful cooperation with higher education institutions from Serbia and foreign countries. The grants received have been used to modernise study programmes, provide state-of-the-art equipment and increase the mobility of both staff and students. Today, the institution occupies an area of around 4000 m2, and offers lecture halls, IT classrooms, laboratories, a students’ club and a library, fully equipped to ensure a high-quality learning environment.

Valjevo Department, founded in 1979 as Valjevo Business School of Applied Studies, is the only public higher education institution in the Kolubara District in the west of Serbia. It is also one of the six public business colleges of applied studies in the Republic of Serbia. Until 2007, Valjevo Business School of Applied Studies was a higher education institution offering two-year study programmes. In compliance with the Serbian Law on Higher Education which came into force in 2005, it received the national accreditation in 2007, whereby it was transformed into a business college of applied studies, offering three-year study programmes and awarding Bachelor (applied) degrees. The number of students enrolled since its foundation amounts to over 20,000 and there are about 500 students currently studying. Valjevo Department offers two accredited first cycle study programmes: Business Economics (comprising four modules – Finance, Banking and Insurance; Marketing, Trade and Tourism; Accounting, Auditing and Taxes; and Agricultural Economics and Rural Development) and Business Informatics. As of 2017, it has also offered accredited second cycle study programme in Business Economics and Informatics.

With a view to continuously modernising the teaching and learning process, the Department applies modern methods and technologies in teaching and learning. For almost a decade it has been using the Moodle learning platform for e-learning, which complements the traditional teaching by enabling its lecturers to publish and share teaching materials, multimedia content and assignments with students, and facilitates  communication between the lecturers and students. Besides the educational activities, Valjevo Department has its R&D Centre, which provides professional development trainings and courses to other institutions, companies and employed individuals, as well as advisory services and project development. In 2017, the Department fulfilled special conditions and criteria in terms of programmes, teaching staff, space and equipment prescribed by the Law on Adult Education and acquired the status of publicly recognized adult education organizer. It offers approved non-formal adult education programmes in foreign languages, accounting, bookkeeping and digital literacy. Aiming to fulfil the  requirements and expectations of the modern 21st century students, Valjevo Department, which occupies an area of  about 2,000 m2, offers fully equipped lecture halls and  classrooms, several computer laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment, a library and a students’ club, thus providing its students and staff with an inspiring educational environment.