UNIVERZITETSKO OBRAZOVANJE – KAKO PROKRUSTOVU POSTELJU TRANSFORMISATI U OBRAZOVANJE ZA PROTEANSKU KARIJERU / UNIVERSITY EDUCATION - HOW TO TRANSFORM PROCRUSTEAN BED INTO EDUCATION FOR A PROTEAN CAREER

Abstract

What is the purpose of universities - education or job training? What should be our priority - competences for the 21st century or finding a job within a year after graduating? The future is unpredictable and today’s actions are not necessarily good, but the worst thing to happen would be doing nothing. The survival and development of university depends on our vision of who are the generations to come, what we will teach them, how we will develop the curricula and how far we will succeed in moving away from linear careers as a Procrustean bed, punishing and forcing us to believe that what we have is the only thing possible if deviations from the prescribed norm happen or if one attempts spurring development. On the other hand, the context in which education takes place is constantly changing, and today’s careers, defined as a collection of all experiences and changes in values and attitudes (not advancement in the workplace) are changing their forms just like Proteus. Therefore, the important question is how to reject the Procrustean bed and accept the concept of a protean career as a guide in the development of higher education? The development of new study programs and the revision of existing ones should be guided by the following postulates: internationalization, interdisciplinarity, equality in access and adaptation to the needs of people who need to build their careers in the next dozen years. Innovative study programs should offer: experiences that will be attractive to students from all over the world, a holistic approach to the learning experience and multiperspective, equality in access to all interested parties at every moment of their lives, and flexibility that will allow the student to have his own pace of learning. Some examples of such programs are dual studies, short cycles, combined studies and recognition of prior learning. The University of Sarajevo is a participant in two ERASMUS+ projects aimed at the development of dual studies and short-cycle programs with the aim of increasing access to education and adapting to the needs of students and employers, which directly support the principles of a protean career.