Production and Profitability improvement in Serbia Enterprises by adopting Lean Thinking Philosophy and strengthening Enterprise – Academia connections

Research Project, 2010 – 2013

The wider objective of this project is the development of partnership between universities and enterprises in order to improve practical aspect of Bologna process implementation in Serbian Universities. Also, the goal is to help enterprises to become more competent in order to prepare themselves for real, free market.

The specific objectives are:

• capacity building for cooperation between universities and enterprises, specifically to work together on the resolving Lean implementation practical problems and educating their employees,
• educating and training university staff and students in Lean thinking,
• and improve existing curricula with Lean thinking philosophy.

Improved curricula will enable students to get more practical knowledge (they will get opportunity for practical placement in enterprises - members of consortium) and better prepare them for the first day of their employment. By adjusting curricula and accepting methodology for teaching Lean from EU partners, project will fulfill Bologna process requirements for more practical knowledge. Established Lean Thinking Centres will become a starting point for spreading knowledge and ideas about Lean thinking and they will offer that knowledge to all of the Serbian enterprises, in order to improve really low productivity rate of the whole Serbian economy.