On 06/07/2021 a delegation of the National Erasmus+ Office in Montenegro consisting of two members, Ms. Drljević and Ms. Muhaj visited the University of Montenegro, a partner in the STAND project, “Strengthening university autonomy and increasing accountability and transparency of Western Balkans Universities,” no: 618805-EPP-1-2020-1-XK-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP.

Erasmus+ representatives met with the representatives of the University of Montenegro and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Montenegro, and were briefed on the STAND project state-of-play, progress made so far, and future steps to be taken in achieving the projects’ objectives and goals.

Erasmus+ representatives Ms. Drljević and Ms. Muhaj expressed their satisfaction with the way the project is being managed, commending the communication between the Project coordinator and other partners/actors, establishment of cooperation modalities between partners, successful creation and
management of multi-national, multi-institutional teams, and lack or non-existence of threat and weaknesses as hindrances to the project implementation.

Ms. Drljević and Ms. Muhaj praised the communication established between partners as impactful and vital for balancing between challenges that may have adverse effects on project development and ultimately project design itself, causing the changes in timeline and misalignment of project objectives. Also, they emphasized that the STAND project is relevant for all Western Balkan partners, in the context of achieving significant progress in assessing the situation of each country, stimulating the discussion and exchange of best practice between the project partners, in achieving the ultimate goal of impacting the policy reforms in each of their educational systems.

The project tasks have been timely distributed between project partners, ensuring the project implementation initial flow remains effective and consistent with the planned activities. National Erasmus+ Office in Montenegro representatives Ms. Drljević and Ms. Muhaj emphasized the importance of having the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Montenegro actively present and involved in the project activities, as their approach will ultimately lead to changes in policies on the system level. In general, they were satisfied with project implementation, with room for improvement in strengthening the role of an Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Montenegro, promoting and improving the visibility of the STAND project, and activities related to dissemination and quality assurance activities.