The independent association of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) UNION2000 was established in 2000 with the intention to unite many companies to achieve common goals. It now has 235 active members that are grouped into 9 business areas, depending on the primary line of business. The basic principles on which UNION2000 is based include:

• improving the quality of mutual cooperation of all members
• promotion of the activities for all members
• support for a common market approach and joint presentation
• developing the culture of association and respect for business ethics
• support for knowledge initiatives in production and services
• development and implementation of projects for improving the members' competitiveness
• informing the local and international business community about the possibilities of production and development projects
• cooperation with other business associations

Role in the project

The role of UNION2000 in the project is to provide the following opportunities and activities:

• traveling to EU partner institutions for collecting the practices and polices on matching the labor market needs to curriculum development
• creating (with the help of other labor market partners and university partners) the Matrix on competence for six new interdisciplinary study programmes in computing based on labor market needs
• participating in development of interdisciplinary curricula
• signing of formal agreements with Serbian universities for long-term cooperation
• providing opportunities for students from the partner universities to do their training and student practice
• conducting external quality assessment for implemented programmes
• spreading of information related to new programmes among its numerous members in order to to increase the employment opportunities of future graduates in interdisciplinary computing
• supporting dissemination and all relevant project activities

Key person

Radisav Marjanovic

Project-related experience of Radisav Marjanovic includes:

• project formulation, training, public presentation, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation
• development of business plans for SMEs and large companies
• training for unemployed, would-be, and start-up entrepreneurs
• orientation training – motivation for self-employment and how to start one's own business
• delivering training to SMEs and entrepreneurs in the areas of business planning, marketing planning, company profile based on financial reports, small business management, financial management of small businesses
• development of business associations and clusters, delivering services to the members, and sustainable development