Trainers
Biographies of Selected Trainers
Bojan Bojovic is a trainer with Eduka Plus from 2009 to the present and the CEO of Preduzetnik.rs from 2007. He is the owner of an accounting firm since 1995, owner/director of a marketing start-up since 2007 under the umbrella of ANP Accounting and Finance with headquarters in the Nis and Prokuplje area.
Slobodan Teofanov is an IPARD consultant and trainer for Smart IPARD. He worked as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Vojvodina, as a consultant in the field of economy and agriculture and member of the Novi Sad Municipal City Council (Head of the Secretariat for Agriculture). In the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM) he was an assistant for rural development and head of the Rural Development Authority.
Sladjana Gluscevic is the managing director of Smart IPARD. She received her M.Sc. in the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Program, submitting her thesis under the title Development Possibilities of the Rural Sector in Serbia by Using IPARD Fund Assets. As director of Smart IPARD, she advises clients on the possibility to apply for IPARD, organizes trainings to MSMEs and agricultural holding throughout Serbia and writes business plans and applications for IPARD and national agricultural subsidies. Parallel to this, Ms. Gluscevic works as a marketing manager for a private company in Sid, is a journalist, consultant and editor in chief of the AgroSmart web portal.
Dejan Serdar, trainer with Smart IPARD, is the general manager of AxiomQ, a coding and computer application company, and GST Irbil, a food wholesale company in Erbil, Iraq. Mr. Serdar was the Director of Directorate of Agrarian Payments in the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, 2008-2013, responsible for establishing the IPARD program in Serbia. He received his M.Sc. in Engineering/Industrial Management at the University of Novi Sad and a B.Sc. at Bethany College (Bethany, West Virginia) in International Economics and International Relations.
Maja Mitic Nikolic, PMP, is a long-term expert in SME development. She has extensive experience in business planning, international trade and project management through various sectors. Committed to local economic development and focused on business development services in the following fields: Innovation and Technology, EU regulations, Risk Management, Certification, Environmental Protection, Access to Export Markets. Author of many projects supported by different international institutions such as: World Bank, USAID, Interreg Cross-Border Cooperation, EBRD, FAO, and bilateral projects with Kingdom of Denmark.
Petrana Odavić, trainer for Smart IPARD, has been engaged with the Government of Vojvodina carrying out Macroeconomy and Fiscal Analysis since 2005. She recieved her PhD from the Faculty of Agriculture/Agroeconomy in 2014 and M.Sc. Agriculture/Agroeconomy in 2008 at the University of Novi Sad.
Dario Balazevic, trainer for Smart IPARD, is Managing Partner and Consultant for Equiteam Consulting in Belgrade, experienced with improving clients access to credit and non-refundable funds from the Serbia Development Fund and IPARD. Currently, is a licensed trainer engaged with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing Start-up Facility project which aims to train business start-up’s access to credit. In past engagements, consulted to Alpha Bank improving internal sales and growth income and Delta Generali Insurance regarding product characteristics and opportunities for sales growth.
Andjelija Marinković is a leader in digital marketing, heading a reknown digital marketing agency in Serbia. Angelia has many years of experience in the digital business field and is the co-owner of Digital Masters, a digital marketing agency. Ms. Marinkovic is a trainer for Eduka Plus.
Jelena Veljković is a known marketing expert in a great number of fields. She is a trainer in the Center for Business Skills, already for five years. Jelena cooperates with a large number of small and medium-size enterprises local and abroad. Her main specialities are in marketing strategy and digital marketing. Ms. Veljkovic is a associate trainer with Eduka Plus.
Dr. Dusan Radivojevic, is Full Professor, Head of academic programs of undergraduate, master and doctoral studies in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade. Professor Radivojevic has extensive knowledge and practical experience in housing systems of dairy cows and related categories of farm animals. He is experienced in development of housing systems and equipment on family farms for dairy cows and related categories of farm animals, creation and development of design methodologies for different housing systems both for family and large scale farms. During years of practical work in the field, Professor Radivojevic utilized his knowledge of farm management and farm development planning, forage production on the farm, manure management, milk production technology and dairy production.
Dr. Milan Adamovic is a dairy cattle nutritionist with nearly fifty years of experience in this subject. Graduating with a B.Sc. in Animal Science at the Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade; a M.Sc. at the Group for Physiology and Nutrition of Domestic Animals, Belgrade; and PhD studies at the Group for Physiology and Nutrition of Domestic Animal, again in Belgrade. Dr. Adamovic was engaged in the Department of Animal Science, Belgrade, 1973-2002; Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Department for Physical Chemistry and Materials for Agriculture and Ecology, Belgrade, from 2002-2013. Dr. Adamovic authored a multitude of books, monographies, handbooks and scientific papers on dairy cattle nutrition and feed production.
Dr. Predgrag Ikonić received his M.Sc. in Food Engineering, Food Preservation Technologies at the University of Novi Sad and a PhD in Food Engineering, Meat Science and Technology, University of Novi Sad. Dr. Ikonic since 2005 has been engaged as a Young Researcher, Research Assistant, Research Associate and currently as Senior Research Associate, all at the University of Novi Sad. He is is an expert in Geographical Indication and establishment of a control system for Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographic Indication (PGI), having been engaged as an expert/consultant on this subject in various points in the past ten years. Dr. Ikonic is a cooperative trainer for Smart IPARD.
Dr. Aleksandra Novaković is a Research Associate at the Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad. She received her PhD at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Departments Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad. Dr. Novakovic is an expert in Geographical Indication and establishment of a control system for Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographic Indication (PGI), having been engaged as an expert/consultant on this subject over the past decade. Earlier in her career, Dr. Novakovic worked in the private sector as microbiologist and assistant in quality control in food production. Dr. Novakovic is a cooperative trainer for Smart IPARD.
Aljoša Uzelac for the past seven years has been involved with agricultural insurance activities with two major insurance houses in Serbia. He is licensed by the National Bank of Serbia to execute insurance activities in Serbia. Mr. Uzelac is an Agricultural Engineer-Agricultural Economist graduate of the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Novi Sad.
Djordje Bugarin finished high school in Futog and the Faculty of Agriculture in Zemun in 1975. As a scholarship holder, he was employed in the Agricultural Cooperative Vojka, and after three years he became the director of the OOK Stara Pazova, and soon a member of the Management Board for cooperative relations of PD "Napredak" in Stara Pazova.
Since 1986, he has been working in the Federal Committee for Agriculture as an Advisor for Socio-Economic Relations and later as an Advisor for Agricultural Cooperatives. He is the main author of the Federal Law on Cooperatives (1990) and worked in working groups for the drafting of systemic laws in the period 1988-1990 (Law on Enterprises, Law on Social Capital).
Since 1990 he has been working as the director of the Agricultural Cooperative in Vojka, is the founder and volunteer president of the Cooperative Union of Srem. Since 1995 has been elected secretary and from 2000 to 2006 the president of the Cooperative Union of Vojvodina.
From 2004 to 2008 he was elected a member of the Management Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina and in 2006 the Secretary for Agriculture, Food Industry and Water Management. From 2014 Mr. Bugarin was acting Secretary for Forestry, Wood Processing and Furniture Industry in the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina.
He is the author of the brochure: "Towards a New Cooperative", published by the agency "Nature", Belgrade in 1990, the main author of the brochure: "How and Why to Organize into Cooperatives", published by SANU (Village Committee), Belgrade, 2012 and edited several publications published by the Cooperative Association of Vojvodina Novi Sad.
Training Module Description
| No. | Training/target group | Hours | Course Description | Trainer (see trainer details below) |
| 1. | IPARD/National Government Agricultural Subsidies (online training)
Target Group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
5 | The aim of the interactive training is for participants to gain insight into the process to apply for IPARD and national subsidies.
Topics covered:
Impact – participants will be provided with knowledge of legislation, opportunities, procedures for competing on national and IPARD public calls. Participants will be able to prepare applications for national competitions and some of the IPARD calls themselves. |
Smart IPARD (Slobodan Teofanov, Dejan Serdar, Sladjana Gluscevic) |
| 2. | IPARD Program Measure 7—Rural Tourism (online training)
Target Group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
2 | This IPARD training will cover an abbreviated version of the regular IPARD program training topics (listed above), with emphasis on Measure 7—“Diversification of agricultural households and development of business operations” (rural tourism).
The training will cover:
|
Smart IPARD (Slobodan Teofanov, Dejan Serdar & Sladjana Gluscevic) |
| 3. | Preparing a Business Plan (classroom and online training)
Target Group: micro and small enterprises |
5 | The aim of the interactive training is for participants to gain insight how to prepare a business plan.
Steps in this training:
Training impact: Participants will gain practical skills in order to understand requests from financial institutions and prepare a business plan with minimum assistance. Participants will be able to make business, market and financial analysis and to evaluate cost effectiveness of a project or business idea. |
Maja MItic
Eduka Plus (Bojan Bojovic) Smart IPARD (Dario Balazevic) |
| 4. | Preparing a Bank Loan Application (incl. negotiating with a bank) (classroom training)
Target Group: micro and small enterprises |
5 | The aim of the interactive training is for participants to gain insight how to approach a bank to apply for a loan.
Steps in this training:
Training impact: Participants will be familiar with the aspects of the loan approval process, and how to negotiate better lending conditions. |
Maja MItic
Eduka Plus (Bojan Bojovic) Smart IPARD (Dario Balazevic) |
| 5. | Digital Marketing (online training)
Target Group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
5 | The aim of this online, interactive training is for participants to gain insight how to develop digital marketing plans and strategies on the internet.
The scope of the training contains the following elements:
|
Eduka Plus (Anđelija Marinković) |
| 6. | Digital Transformation and Business (online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
2 | Digital transformation is everything that surrounds us in the digital world and enables us to organize our company in the most efficient way, to place our products and services on local, national and international markets.
This online training will cover:
|
Eduka Plus (Bojan Bojovic) |
| 7. | Enterprise Management in a Crisis Situation (online training)
Target Group: micro, small & medium-size enterprises |
2 | In this time of economic crisis and unknowns in Serbia, sudden and unexpected events can bring harm to your organization. Crisis occurs quickly in the short-term, creating fear and threat to the individual and the company. To react and prepare for this, SRFP Program is offering a new seminar, Enterprise Management in a Crisis Situation.
The online seminar will cover:
Training impact: To assist with current disasters and be prepared for new ones, the business owner will think differently how the disaster will affect employees, customers, suppliers, the public and the value of the company. |
Eduka Plus (Bojan Bojovic) |
| 8. | Financial Planning (incl. working cash / cash flow and investments) (online training)
Target Group: micro, small & medium-size enterprises |
5 | The Financial Planning training is for participants to get a picture into their cash inflows & outflows and how to budget resources to reduce financial shocks in the long-run. The interactive training contains the following elements:
|
Smart IPARD (Petrana Odavić)
Eduka Plus (Bojan Bojovic) |
| 9. | Market Research (online training)
Target Group: micro, small & medium-size enterprises |
5 | Training objective: The participants will be able to identify the consumer’s response to the company’s product, know the consumers’ needs and expectations, identify and solve the marketing problems of the company.
Training topics of this online training:
|
Eduka Plus (Jelena Veljković) |
| 10. | Risk Management (online training)
Target Group: micro, small & medium-size enterprises |
5 | Training objective: Participants will be able to develop skills in assessing the risks and plan appropriate response; learn how to enhance positive risk-opportunities and to reduce negative risks in their business operations.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 11. | Raising Milk Production Quality Standards (classroom training)
Target group: small, medium and large-size dairy farms |
5 | Training objective: The participants will gain new knowledge and techniques in milking systems pertinent to raising quality and handling.
Training topics:
|
Dr. Dusan Radivojevic |
| 12. | Feed Technology, Advanced Genetic Breeding, Best Practices in Animal Husbandry (classroom training)
Target group: small and medium and large-size dairy farms |
5 | Training objective: The participants will gain new knowledge and techniques in selecting advanced milking breeds, raising quality feed for milk cows and feed storage.
Training topics:
|
Dr. Milan Adamovic |
| 13. | Developing Export Markets for Products and Services (online training)
Target group: micro, small, medium-size enterprises |
5 | Training objective: The training is targeting enterprises which are interested in moving into foreign markets for their products and services for the first time.
Training topics:
Training impact: After the training, the participant will have enough knowledge to make the decision to move into export markets and make the next step to compile an export development plan. |
Eduka Plus
(Bojan Bojovic) |
| 14. | Geographic Origin (online training)
Target group: micro, small, medium and large-size enterprises |
2 | Training objective: To inform producers of traditional and origin based products of the steps to designate their produce under Serbian and European Union standards protected as Geographic Origin.
Training topics (broken down by two parts): Protection of Geographic Origin of Food Products
Systematic Control of Certification and Regional Marking as Geographical Origin
Training outcome: At the end of the training, the participant will be informed of the possibility of marking their product as Geographic Origin, steps in legally registering their product as Geographic Origin and legally maintaining the product as such. |
Smart IPARD (Dr. Predgrag Ikonić & Dr. Aleksandra Novaković) |
| 15. | E-Commerce for Agricultural Producers (online training)
Target group: agricultural producers of micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
3 | Training objective: How to develop an electronic/online presence of producers for agricultural products and to establish E-commerce for semi-natural products.
Training topics:
|
Eduka Plus
(Bojan Bojovic) |
| 16. | E-Commerce for MSMEs (online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size MSMEs |
3 | Training objective: How to develop an electronic/online presence for MSMEs to establish E-commerce for goods and services.
Training topics:
|
Eduka Plus
(Bojan Bojovic) |
| 17. | Design and Packaging/ Brand Management (online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
3 | Training objective: To put the training participant into an open mindset how to develop their products and services for the open market by stepping back from traditional thinking.
The purpose of the course is to:
|
Eduka Plus and Smart IPARD |
| 18. | Human resources management/ Employment regulations and taxes (online training)
Target group: micro and small -size enterprises |
3 | Training objective: To inform micro and small companies expanding or maintaining their workforces on the basics of administratively managing their employees or just learning new information on human resources, government regulations or tax obligations on employees.
The training is expected to cover the topics:
|
Eduka Plus |
| 19. | Agricultural Insurance (online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size farms |
2 | Objective: The training is intended to introduce farmers on how they can mitigate the risks that are associated with farming. Like any business, farmers need to understand the risks that could make him lose his investment and how much is expected at the end of the growing season.
Topics to be covered:
Outcome takeaways: Farmers will come away with greater knowledge of agricultural insurance as a tool to mitigate potentially economically crippling situations. |
Smart IPARD |
| 20. | Marketing and Product Distribution
(online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
3 | Objective: In this marketing and product distribution course, you will learn how to apply advanced concepts on product decisions, as well as learn the best ways to distribute and sell your offering to consumers.
Topics covered:
Upon completion, the training participant will:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 21. | Product Development
(online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises |
3 | Training objective: An effective process for conceiving, developing and launching new products or services is key to becoming competitive in most industries. This training includes concepts like new product development strategy, types of product development strategies and steps.
The training will cover:
Training takeaway: The participant will come away with the understanding of the entire product development process from the product idea to eventual launch with an appropriate business model. |
Maja Mitic |
| 22. | Setup and Management of Cooperatives
(online training)
Target group: agricultural producers and micro, small and medium-size enterprises
|
3 | Objective: Core members of a cooperative largely determines its success. Therefore, identifying the right people from the start is critical. The core members must have united interests and goals to solve the same problems when starting a cooperative and subsequent management.
Participants will learn the basics on cooperative start-up and functioning:
Upon completion of the training the participant will have a more clear idea of the complexity and steps to forming a cooperative and later managing the cooperative to success. |
Smart IPARD |
| 23. | Health and Safety (phyto, sanitary, processing standards, standards entering new markets – ISO, HACCP, GLOBAL Gap, etc.)
(online training)
Target group: micro, small and medium-size enterprises
|
3 | Objective: Industries in the food processing sector have to be cognizant of the health and safety handling and producing food products with ultimate destination to the consumer, whether for local or international markets. This training will inform participants of the phyto, sanitary and processing standards for local but also for new markets. Participants will be apprised on ISO, HACCP, GLOBAL GAP and other certifications essential for entering new markets or maintain existing ones.
Training will cover some of the topics:
Upon completion of the training, the participant will have greater insight into health and safety standards useful for food processing locally and abroad. |
Maja Mitic |
| 24. | Strategic Planning (online training)
Target group: Micro and small enterprises managers. All sectors |
3 | Overview: MSME managers will be able to develop strategic plans for their businesses in the next 3-5 years, as well as to prioritize goals and prepare viable annual, quarterly, and monthly action plans to achieve goals. Participants can create the most powerful goals that will help take business to the next level. Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to confront potential obstacles and threats and plan appropriate responses. Strategic planning is a business strength and market opportunity. A good strategy provides a roadmap for meeting the goals and assessing progress on the way to achieving these goals.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 25. | Agile Entrepreneurship (online training)
Target group: Micro and small enterprises managers. All sectors. |
3 | Training objective: Training is created as a practical guidance geared toward project leaders and team members adapting to an agile approach in planning and executing projects in production and service industries. Training will provide training participants the overview of an agile mindset, values, and principles, and practical approach to project agility. Upon training completion participants will be able to adopt and implement acquired knowledge into everyday business organization and operations.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 26. | Export/Import Custom Procedures (online training)
Target group: Micro and small enterprises managers, finance managers. All sectors (manufacturing, trade and sales, food industry, metal and plastic Industry, textile industry, IT and telecommunication sector, etc)
|
3 | Training objective: Improving exporting process of Serbian products to International markets. Understanding of the rules and procedures requested by Serbian and international institutions. Customs procedures, customs clearance process, necessary documentation, customs fees and taxes. Upon completion, participants will have close insight of international trade procedures and plan business operations accordingly.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 27. | Project Management for Successful Entrepreneurship (online training)
Target group: MSMEs in all sectors (production and service industries) |
3 | Training objective: The lack of formal training makes companies suffer large losses due to failed projects. The training is intended for managers who will be able to manage a project to achieve business goals and understand the processes necessary for successful completion of a project. The training is designed to help participants to reduce the stress associated with project management activities, to increase the chances that the project will be completed on time, within budget and to the required quality.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 28. | International Standards Implementation, Purpose and Benefits (online training)
Target group: Micro, small and medium enterprises. All industries (excluding the food industry) |
3 | Training objective: The purpose of the training is to give an overview of the standards that can increase company’s productivity, speed up growth and provide access to the international market. Participants will learn which standards apply to their business and benefit from applying them in everyday work. They will learn how standards may decrease expenses and increase profit, how to harmonize the technical characteristics of products and services, making the industry more efficient, and helping to remove barriers to international trade. Upon completion of the training, the participant will have greater insight into International standards that may be implemented.
Training topics:
|
Maja Mitic |
| 29. | MoAFWM Agricultural Incentives/World Bank Agricultural Grant Program (online training)
Target group: All agricultural enterprises and agricultural households
|
3 | Training objective: Participants will also be apprised of the new $50 million World Bank program that will be providing grants to agricultural households in 2021. Training participants will be apprised of MoAFWM agricultural subsidies coming out for the 2021 working year in Serbia
Topics:
Participants will be able to prepare applications for national competitions and the new World Bank Agricultural Grant program. Impact – participants will be provided with knowledge of legislation, opportunities, procedures for competing on national public calls. |
Smart IPARD |