The conference named “New technologies in education 2017” about the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education has stated today in Beoekspo centre in Belgrade.

“When we say e-Education, we don’t have in mind the use of computers as a tool we use while learning, but the creation of the infrastructure which will ensure the application of contemporary devices in education, then the creation of a safe and secure online environment for children, direction of children to education in concrete fields which are scarce in our country and in the world labour market as well.”, Assistant Minister Sava Savić has said at the ceremonial opening of the conference and the fair.

The introductory speech at the fourth conference on the use of ICT in education has been given by Assistant Minister Sava Savić, Clare Sears from the UK Embassy, Jelena Jovanović from Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Ivan Sekulović from the Team for social inclusion and poverty reduction and Nemanja Đorđević from the Centre for promotion of science, along with the speech of the State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development Gordana Predić and the UK Ambassador to Serbia Denis Keefe.

In the introductory speech Mr Savić has underlined that the vision of the Ministry is a digital Serbia, which is supported by the data according to which today’s generations grow up in a digital culture where 90% of school children have the access to the Internet, 63% of pupils have smartphones and 54% of them have their own IT device.

The conference and the fair will take place in the period 9-11 February 2017, and their goal is to encourage creativity and innovations and modernise the learning process.

On the first day of the conference and the fair, Assistant Minister Sava Savić has given a presentation on the panel about “Digital knowledge – where we are and where we want to be?”

In Serbia it is possible to study ICT at more than 40 faculties and colleges, while in primary schools IT science is an optional subject, said Mr Savić, adding that we want to introduce IT science as an obligatory subject for pupils of the fifth grade of primary school, by which we would increase the capacities of pupils wanting to enrol into technical faculties, and thus create the staff for working in the IT industry, which today is in deficit.

More than a half of designed new jobs in the field science, technology and engineering are computer professions”, Mr Savić has said.

The conference and the fair tend to support the development of teaching and non-teaching staff in preschools, schools, universities and other organisations dealing with education in order to create the best way to use the opportunities offered by new technologies.

Assistant Minister has also said that the Ministry has been implementing for many years the programmes intended for strengthening of digital competences of teachers, such as a prize winning competition “Digital Class” within which a database was created of 1.083 papers published in the magazines and available at the website of the Ministry, and the goal is, as Mr Savić has stated, to keep the continuity in the organisation of such competitions, and a successful cooperation with the Ministry of Education in order to encourage the teachers to use ICT too more, both in IT subjects and non-IT subjects.

According to the opinion of Mr Sava Savić, the goal of the Ministry in charge of telecommunications and information society is the connection of all primary and secondary schools to the Internet. Namely, the Ministry has realised the project of expanding the number of edurom access points in higher education institutions in 50 cities in Serbia, while there are 180 now. Edurom provides its consumers in 82 countries with a free access to the safe Internet with over 19.500 locations in universities, institutes, schools, libraries, but also in public facilities such as airports and railway stations.

“We seek to connect all primary and secondary schools into the Academic network of the Republic of Serbia (AMRES). By this schools will get a stable, safe and free access to the Internet, active protection and online support, and possibility to use international services of electronic education. Through this project the previously installed digital cabinets will get full purposefulness and ensured further development of the ICT infrastructure in schools in Serbia”, Mr Savić has said.

As a priority of the Ministry, the Assistant Minister has stressed the creation of a safer, i.e. more secure Internet for children.

“In 2016, in the campaign Smart & Safe, the Ministry launched a project called the IT Caravan. In the IT Caravan, more than 5.000 pupils were presented with the advantages of the Internet use and the use of new technologies in education, business and communication, but also the dangers hidden in the irregular and unguided use of it”; Mr Sava Savić has said.

In that respect Mr Savić has announced the beginning of the work of the National Contact Centre for Online Safety of Children BIT by the end of this month, through which counselling of children, parents, pupils and teachers and all the citizens will be provided on advantages and risks of using the Internet, but also the receipt of reporting of harmful, inappropriate and illegal contents and behaviour on the Internet, or reporting of vulnerability of rights and interests of children.

Over 50 international companies will present their technical solutions in the seminar, and all ideas and experiences from this field will be shared with the audience by 120 lecturers from Serbia, the region and Great Britain. More than 6.500 teachers, educators and education workers have been accredited for this conference and fair.