Academic mobility is not just an educational phenomenon, but also an instrument of social development, a form of “soft power” and diplomacy, as well as an important factor in the circulation of knowledge and experts. Students who go abroad most often migrate temporarily to deepen their education, thereby influencing both their countries of origin and their host countries. The way the system for educating Serbian scholars abroad developed from the 19th century to the present day, the role of the state in this process, and how all this still affects globalisation and knowledge economies in Serbia are the main questions of the monograph International academic mobility in Serbia: From the idea of the driver of modern society to the globalisation of education (Belgrade, IDN, 2024) by Dr Nene Vasojević, which serves as the starting point of this conversation.
Historically, and particularly during the latest wave of globalisation that began at the end of the 20th century, the departure of students abroad was always viewed in two ways: on the one hand, as a loss for their country of origin, but on the other, as an opportunity for development through the return of knowledge, experience, and thus human capital. However, the extent to which education functions as an instrument of “soft power” always depends on the role played by the state, the level of encouragement and direction of academic mobility, as well as how the potential of both outgoing and incoming international student scholars is utilised.
We will discuss how Serbia is coping with the contemporary challenges related to academic mobility and the globalisation of higher education – from brain drain and the return of highly-educated professionals, over its positioning as a peripheral state in the global higher education, to the extent to which academic mobility can still be considered a progressive driver of Serbian society.
In addition to the author, the speakers will be Jovan Filipović, a full professor at the Faculty of Organisational Sciences, and Ana Pešikan, a full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and former Minister of Science of the Republic of Serbia. The discussion will be moderated by Irena Ristić, Research Associate at the Institute of Social Sciences.
Nena Vasojević is a senior research fellow and head of the Centre for Sociological and Anthropological Research at the Institute for Sociological Research. She conducts interdisciplinary research, and her main field of expertise is the sociology of education. Her work focuses on the topics of temporary migration of talented students, the creation of educational policies, and issues in the history of science, with a special focus on the development of the female education system. She was a scholarship recipient and winner of a Research Grant for the ‘Open Serbia’ project, She has worked on several projects, including one for the Science Foundation of the Republic of Serbia, and is currently involved in two research projects.
The series “Conversations about books of the Institute of Social Sciences – Let’s talk about…” is dedicated to IDN publications. Through discussions with the authors, we examine the results of their research, consider the broader scientific and social context of the book’s topic, and assess its relevance to society and public policies. The editor of the series is Dr Irena Ristić (IDN).