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The Megatrend University (Serbian: Мегатренд универзитет / Megatrend univerzitet) is a private university located in Belgrade, Serbia. Megatrend Business school, which later became Megatrend University, was founded in 1989.

History and profile

The very first institute of the university was Belgrade's Megatrend Business School which was established 1989, and later on was the founder of all other institutes which comprise the present Megatrend University.

During 1991, Megatrend Business School, together with the Technical Faculty of Bor carried out the project of management graduate studies introduction. This project which was the first one of this type in South-East Europe, was financially supported by the European Union TEMPUS Fund which was specifically intended for the development of business education. This success has caused further expanding of Megatrend educational network.

In the previous educational system, institutes were missing that could provide the similar kind of knowledge. Most notable is the Faculty of Geo-economy the first institute of this kind in this part of the world.

In June 2000 the Serbian Ministry of Higher Education approved the formation of the Megatrend University of Applied Sciences in Belgrade. Similar agreements were stipulated with "Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli" from Italy, with Berlin University of Applied Sciences from Germany, then, with Yanbian University of Science and Technology from China, Bournemouth University from United Kingdom, Academy Eliteâ from Moscow, European School of Business, Rome, Italy and Faculty of Economics, Donetsk National University, Ukraine.

In 2011 Megatrend purchased the operations of the failed International University Vienna, creating Megatrend International University Vienna which did not achieve accreditation before insolvency in 2013.

Megatrend University is a member of the Euro-Asia Management Studies Association (EAMSA), which runs yearly conferences in Europe and Asia to discuss economic and management issues as well as promoting research and publishing.

Organization

These are the 11 institutions in 6 cities:

Notable alumni

• Jelena Janković, Tennis player
• Marija Šerifović, popular singer, winner of the Eurovision
• Nebojša Stefanović, politician, President of the National Assembly of Serbia
• Miloš Teodosić, basketball player

Controversy

In the wake of the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, a proliferation of private universities appeared that took advantage of the political instability. Many of them were short lived cash generating operations that granted diplomas of dubious value. This has damaged the perception of private education in the public opinion. Even though Megatrend University was established well before this period, as the largest private University on the Balkan peninsula, it continues to be the prime target of criticisms by supporters of the state education system, as well as competing smaller private universities.

The University has responded to it's detractors by asserting that it has demonstrated it's long term commitment to forging a modern and international education institution that can adapt to the demands of the 21st century. Besides it's official national accreditation, it's a full member of the global university network NEWS (North East South West) and all it's faculties are members of EAMSA (Euro Asia Management association). It has received multiple awards both domestically and internationally. In addition, it has several articulation agreements with universities in Europe and North America where students can continue their education. . The university regularly organizes speaking events by international experts and diplomats at it's facilities. Tuition profits have been heavily reinvested into it's campus and state of the art facilities. The organization meets the high quality ISO standard 9001:200.

Proponents of free market competition in the area of higher education argue that the success of private universities such as Megatrend arose as a response to the archaic dilapidated state run education system whose modernization is impeded by state corruption. In the past decade, state universities began charging most of it's students for tuition, whereas previously it was free of charge to those that maintained an average grade percentage. The loss of market share tuition due to the rapid increase of enrolment at Megatrend University in the past decade may be a motivating factor in what appears to be a concerted effort to discredit the institution by certain elements of the mainstream domestic media. Due to the crisis in the educational system and keeping the future of the youth in mind, a line of cooperation would be better that would result in desperately needed reform in the state system and support for all students.

See also

• List of universities in Serbia
• Belgrade

References

1. http://www.megatrend-edu.net/wstr.php?language=1
2. http://www.megatrend-edu.net/o_univerzitetu.php?bs=o_nama
3. Radikic, Vasilije (2010). "A New Page in the History of Higher Education in Serbia" (PDF). Megatrend Review. 7 (2): 345–350.
4. "International University Vienna". Internet Archive. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
5. "Jahresbericht 2013" (PDF). Wien: Die Agentur für Qualitätssicherung und Akkreditierung Austria (AQ Austria). May 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. "Megatrend International University Vienna". Internet Archive. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
7. http://www.megatrend-edu.net/o_univerzitetu.php?bs=o_nama
8. http://www.megatrend-edu.net/o_univerzitetu.php?bs=nagrade_i_priznanja&language=1
9. http://www.megatrend-edu.net/m_saradnja.php?bs=m_saradnja
10. http://www.megatrend.edu.rs/fkm/str.php?bs=Sistem%20kvaliteta&language=1

External links

• Megatrend University Website
• The minister, his mentor and the fight against a suspect system in Serbia

Template:Belgrade

• Universities in Serbia
• Education in Belgrade
• Universities in Belgrade
• Educational institutions established in 1989