The COVID-19 epidemic has greatly changed the way we function every day. Often we cannot escape the impression that we are missing out on some important opportunities in business, travel, education… But the truth is that crisis is always an opportunity for innovation. Thus, during the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 epidemic, elementary and secondary school students attend lessons broadcast on the third program of Radio-Television Serbia, which is largely made possible by the EU funds.
On March 30, students from the Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia joined them in using digital learning platforms.
To start, over 3.500 trainees will have access to the contents that fully follow the themes from the Annual Continuous Training Programme for judges and prosecutors for 2020, the Training Programme for the members of other judicial professions for 2020, the Initial Training Programme for 2020, and the programmes of compulsory training courses envisaged by special laws. The Judicial Academy is planning to expand both the number of the courses and the number of trainees.
Distance learning application, Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia
“As of 2017, the Judicial Academy, in cooperation with the EU projects, has been developing new applications in order to improve the methodology of implementation of the adopted curricula and to introduce innovative methods of work, such as „distance training“. The new equipment that the Judicial Academy got through the EU–IPA project by the end of 2019 enabled setting up of the Data Centre for the support to the developed applications.” – says Nenad Vujic, Director of the Judiciary Academy
With the European Union’s help, the Judiciary Academy purchased modern ICT equipment necessary for the establishment of a data centre, emergency backup recovery site and user-level daily operation. The equipment aims to ensure efficient operation of the Judicial Academy and smooth electronic interconnectivity with other judicial authorities in the Republic of Serbia.
Distance learning application, Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia
According to Director Vujic, the Judicial Academy offers not only passive monitoring of the content of its courses, but it will also organize interactive classes and lectures in real-time.
“In addition to video and interactive courses, the contents of which are prepared in advance, the provision of online training courses in real-time will also be enabled. This means that the lecturers will be able to provide the training courses that the trainees will attend from their computers from any location, with the full access to the working materials used by the lecturers. Also, the trainees will be enabled direct communication with the lecturers, so that, through interactive access, they will participate in the resolution of the presented problems and questions. At the end of the training course, trainees will evaluate the courses.”
The European Union strongly supports and provides assistance to Serbia’s judiciary on its reform path and Serbia achieved some progress. Notably, in recent years remarkable results were achieved in the area of backlog reduction and harmonisation of jurisprudence, which was to a large extent the outcome of the IPA assistance.
