AMCHAM NEWS
Here are a few highlights from the discussion:
Computer science students in Macedonia generally
don’t struggle to find internship opportunities; instead,
many students are attracted away from their studies by
full-time job offers prior to graduation. Thus, internship
practices in the computer science sphere are at a more
advanced level than those in other sectors.
• Dr. Vlatko Stoilkov,
Vice-Rector for Teaching at SCMU
“The cooperation models foreseen by the Law
on Higher Education are unrealistic and detract
from more meaningful types of cooperation with the
private sector. University “Boards for Cooperation for
Cooperation and Confidence” should focus on involving
the business community in curriculum development.”
“Rather than hosting many students for 30 day
internships, companies that offer scholarships to
strong students and host them as repeat,
short-term interns produce the
best results.”
• Dr. Dimitar Trajanov, Dean
of Saints Cyril & Methodius University’s
(UKIM) Faculty of Information Sciences &
Computer Engineering (FINKI)
“Our challenge is to meet the demand for interns from
both SMEs and big, international companies active on the
IT labor market.”
“Internships are meant to accustom students to a
specific company; it’s not a good idea to try
to standardize internship experiences
across companies.”
• FINKI’s Vice Dean,
Vladimir Trajkovic
“80% of our students plan
to work abroad upon
graduation.”
• Dean Mile Stankovski
from UKIM’s Faculty of
Electrical Engineering and
Information Technologies (FEIT)
“Some companies are now seeking
students for 6 month internships,
which delay their
graduation.”
• Dr. Atanas Kocov, Dean of
UKIM’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
“We have supported tailored training programs for new
investors in the automotive sector. We also grant academic
credit for some company programs, such as Wabtec MZT and
ArcelorMittal.”
• Borka Petrovska,
Administration Manager at
Feni Industries
“We view our internship program
as a part of our corporate social
responsibility to help develop young
people in our local area, not a hiring
tool. We would welcome more
input from universities about
internship learning
objectives.”
20 Summer 2015
Issue 46
“The lack of R&D cooperation between universities and businesses
is the real problem. Such projects used to be supported by
Ministry of Education & Science funds, but this program was
cancelled to make way for the Government’s Fund for
Innovation and Technology Development, which
is not yet awarding funds for these
types of projects.”
• Romela Popovik
Trajkova, Head of Economic
Policy, Structural Regulatory Reforms
& Investments in the Cabinet of the Vice
Prime Min