The Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro organized the third Alumni and Friends evening where, in the presence of alumni and business partners, awards were presented to the best students for the academic year 2023/24.

The sponsors of the awards were alumni, who presented the awards to the students on behalf of the companies, institutions or organizations in which they are building their professional careers. 26 students met on the Amphitheater stage with 26 alumni, symbolizing the connection of different generations of students, alumni and business partners. For all of them, the Faculty of Economics is a common point of connection, a place where knowledge, friendships and professional connections are permanently built.

"We called this evening Alumni and Friends, but I don't think we would be wrong if we called it the Evening of Love and Respect. Love is perhaps the only thing in the world that you don't need to explain or look for reasons for - said Meša Selimović. And respect in our profession is earned by our attitude towards students and our attitude towards the work we do. As the dean of the Faculty of Economics, I am proud of the love and respect you show our faculty year after year," said the dean of the Faculty of Economics, prof. Dr. Mijat Jocović.

A significant prize fund for the best students

"This is one of the most important evenings of the year. An evening when we gather, evoke memories, add, multiply and share values ​​from our faculty. We are especially grateful to the Business Council, the economy and our alumni who, recognizing the value of education, continued to invest in rewarding our best students, and in the last two years a prize fund of 35,000 euros was secured for those who, with their efforts and success, represent our faculty in the best light. Jocović stated.

The dean presented another important initiative that additionally rewards the dedication and effort of the best students.

"It is about a scholarship project for the best students. Thanks to the support of NLB Bank, which secured five scholarships, Luštica Development with two scholarships, and Hipotekarna Banka with one scholarship, this year we will award a total of 20,000 euros through scholarships to our best students during the year. These projects are an investment in the future and in our students, who are the foundation of the development of Montenegro," he concluded.

 Connecting different generations through the work of the Alumni Club

Alumni and awarded students were also greeted by the president of the Faculty of Economics Alumni Club, Prof. Dr. Milivoje Radović.

Dear alumni, thank you for being sincere members of, I can freely say, the largest and most harmonious family in Montenegro. Thank you for thinking with us about those to come. It seems to me that you learned the lesson from economics that there is no good economist who only knows how to multiply, a good economist must also know how to divide. Dear colleagues - laureates of awards, I congratulate you on the achieved results and I hope that you, like your predecessors, in addition to excellent grades and everything you learn at the university, will also learn life. "Knowing the economy, knowing life, carrying empathy, encouraging togetherness, is equally important on the road to happiness and success," said Radović.

Special guest of the evening - full professor in retirement of the University of Belgrade, Prof. Dr. Miodrag Zec

"All we teach is to make a pre-defined product, but also that anticipation and innovation, which is required of all professions, brings success in life. If we are going to be an entrepreneur in a classic business, anticipation and innovation are also important - can we satisfy the needs that already exist in a new way or can we create new needs that we are not even aware of today and earn millions? The path to the success of the nation, individual and society practically depends on whether you understand where things will move, and you should guess, innovate and be the first, because the first takes. All paths to wealth and success are not possible without innovation and anticipation," said Dr. Zec.

More than two million euros of planned investments in improving study conditions

The Alumni and Friends evening was also an opportunity to draw attention to the successes and major projects of the Faculty of Economics in the past year. Dean Mijat Jocović reminded that they continuously organize round tables, guest lectures by renowned experts from the region and the world, trainings, workshops, debates that are always open to the public.

"I think that in this way we show that we are aware of our additional social responsibility. With the support of the University of Montenegro, we managed to significantly improve the infrastructure of the faculty in the past two years. Four modern lecture halls with a total area of ​​almost 900 square meters with a capacity for over 400 students were renovated in a project worth over 400,000 euros. In addition, with the understanding of the state institutions, the main project for the comprehensive reconstruction of the ground floor of the faculty was approved. The value of this project is over 2,100,000 euros, and we expect to announce a tender for the contractor at the end of this year," said Jocović.

26 alumni for 26 students

Prizes worth EUR 500.00 each were awarded to the best students of Basic Academic, Basic Applied Studies, as well as to the first generation of students of the Basic Economics and Business Studies program in English - Monteb.

The Alumni and Friends evening in 2024 will also be remembered for the fact that, after a long tradition of awarding students, now for the first time the students of the first program of basic studies in English at the Faculty of Economics have been awarded.

For Kenan Kaluđerčić, with an average score of 10, the award was provided by Petar Smolović, president of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje.

For Iva Roganović, with an average score of 10, the award was provided by Milica Daković, executive director of E3 Consulting.

For Milica Đurović, with an average grade of 9.10, the award was provided by Vladimir Drobnjak, acting director of the PIO Fund.