Savremena Gimnazija selected for big European project

Savremena’s students participated in the international project “Girls Go Circular”.

Among fierce competition, Savremena Gimnazija has been selected to participate in the important European project "Girls Go Circular", whose objective is to increase the number of women in the digital industry and entrepreneurship in general. The project is a part of the larger "Skills for the Future" initiative, under the auspices of EU’s "Horizon 2020" program. This ambitious project was initiated at the prestigious European Institute of Innovation and Technology – EIT in cooperation with the international organisation "Junior Achievement Europe", a leader in entrepreneurial education.

Europe’s leading organisations dedicated to education have recognised LINKgroup, the founder of Savremena Gimnazija, as an important factor whose involvement is crucial for the implementation of such an ambitious project in this part of Europe. In other words, LINKgroup schools have been selected to actively participate in the implementation of “Girls Go Circular” plans and goals. By participating in the project, Savremena Gimnazija will join a wide network of European partnerships for the advancement of young people’s digital skills and provide their students with valuable opportunities for gaining experience and knowledge through cooperation with international educational institutions and their peers from all over Europe.

“Skills for the Future” – for young innovators who care about the planet

The "Skills for the Future" project is aimed at the development of secondary school students’ entrepreneurial skills and finding innovative solutions regarding climate change, food systems and the sustainable supply of minerals and metals. Mentored by Europe’s prominent economic leaders, over 1,000 students all over the EU are hard at work on the challenge of building a sustainable European society.

The project’s 4 strategic activities are:

  1. International brainstorming camps in Italy, Hungary and Slovenia;
  2. Communication skills training and development for adequate presentation of innovations;
  3. Developing entrepreneurial skills through work with mentors during which the students acquire entrepreneurial instincts, adopt financial literacy and learn how to found mini-companies which will compete at the national and European levels at the end of the school year;
  4. Summit where the best student teams present their ideas and acquire teamwork skills, while their teachers attend training designed to help them introduce challenge-based learning into the teaching process.

„Girls Go Circular” – for more women in digital and entrepreneurial realm

"Girls Go Circular" is a part of the "Skills for the Future" project focused on increasing the number of women in Europe’s digital and entrepreneurial sectors, i.e. decreasing gender inequality in these important areas of modern life, particularly in countries such as Serbia, where the number of women innovators among the population is small. According to 2019 research, in the European Union, there are 11% fewer women than men with developed digital skills, whereas women make up a mere 34% of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates and 17% of ICT experts.

This is why "Girls Go Circular" has set out to bring together 12,000 secondary school girls from countries with fewer innovators and give them an opportunity to attend workshops that connect digital skills and sustainable development. Through familiar topics such as food, recycling in the fashion industry, internet security and the use and disposal of technological devices, the students will use digital media to adopt important knowledge, become acquainted with various approaches, develop leadership skills and gain self-confidence that will help them make a creative contribution in the field of sustainable development.

Savremena Gimnazija students presented with sustainable fashion principles

The theme of the project was circular economy, with a special focus on sustainable fashion. 

Although the project focuses on female students, boys also took part in the project but in smaller numbers. Together with Biology teachers Dijana Šarac and Ana Vasilić, forty girls from Savremena Gimnazija explored various texts, videos and tests to discover how factories, companies and individuals promote and apply the principles of sustainable fashion. Through special workshop tasks, the students implemented their digital skills in the context of sustainable development. Given that they hadn’t learnt about the topic previously at school, the project was a great opportunity to gain new knowledge, learn about different approaches in circular economy, and apply their skills later on. 

Year 13 student Dunja Mićunović expressed her satisfaction with the participation, the skills, knowledge and experience she gained in this project, while professor Ana Vasilić said that the project is excellent because the learning platform and various interesting activities provide students with skills for developing entrepreneurial ideas related to the circular economy.

Savremena Gimnazija – important European partner in education, innovative approaches and sustainable development

Savremena Gimnazija students had the opportunity to adopt valuable knowledge and gain precious experience through the innovative platform for the development of digital and entrepreneurial skills within the "Girls Go Circular" project. In addition, participation in this ambitious project will bring the schools in the LINKgroup system important partnerships in Europe.

Notable results of the participation in these European projects include the exchange of experience and a shared initiative for the development of skills necessary for high quality of life and work in the 21st century among our students.

Savremena Gimnazija remains dedicated to providing top-quality Cambridge education and offering relevant international learning opportunities for its students. These efforts have been recognised by Europe’s leading organisations in education, which ensures that our students have a unique opportunity to gain and exchange knowledge through important European projects.

I am extremely pleased and proud to be the parent of a Savremena student. During my first encounter with the school management, when I asked about my child’s potential enrolment, I saw how much love, enthusiasm and professionalism you put in your work. I was impressed by your approach, ideas and methods. I couldn’t believe something like this existed in our country! It doesn’t take long to realise that this is a school you would recommend to everyone. Creativity, modern technology, top-quality education, and most of all, the humaneness that can be seen throughout the school, make it truly different and worthy of its name – Savremena Gimnazija. With such an approach, the success of this school and, consequently, our children’s success, is unavoidable. Congratulations! Jelena Đorđević, Andrija’s mum
Contemporary in any sense of the word, our school offers functional knowledge and quality preparation for tertiary education in Serbia and abroad. Implementing modern and creative teaching in the classroom, where the teachers’ pedagogy and students’ performance are aligned with the highest academic standards for the high-school finals, our school develops linguistic, mathematical, scientific, artistic, cultural, technical and ICT competence, which is a prerequisite for further education and professional development. Teaching is supported by the interactive whiteboards and educational software, whereas practice exercises research and critical thinking.