Špedicija kao naučna disciplina na visokoškolskim ustanovama Republike Srbije

Abstract

Freight forwarding is a complex economic activity that requires multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge. The paper explores teaching freight forwarding as a scientific discipline at higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this research is to show the connection between the development of freight forwarding courses at higher education institutions with the development of profession, technique, technology, necessary knowledge and skills. The accredited academic bachelor's, master's and PhD programs, as well as applied studies programmes are included in the analysis. The results of the research show that freight forwarding is mainly studied under traffic and transportation engineering programmes. However, certain areas of vital importance for freight forwarding are studied, from different aspects, at several different faculties and under various accredited programs. Two basic conclusions emerge from the obtained results. First, there is a raising need for the knowledge of new techniques and technologies in order to manage the shipment, delivery and transit of goods in a qualitative manner. This is the reason why the contemporary studying of freight forwarding is closely connected with traffic and transportation engineering and, in a narrower sense, logistics. Secondly, multidisciplinarity and complexity are the main characteristics of the necessary knowledge and skills to perform freight forwarding activities. Thus, certain freight forwarding topics and important issues are studied at various faculties and different scientific fields.