Higher education
Due to unforeseen circumstances the Mitrovica Summer
University did not take place during 2009, but was postponed to early 2010 and
renamed the Mitrovica Winter University 2010. This will be reported on in the
2010 Annual Report.
Pristina Summer
University
Item
2007
2008
2009
Courses offered
15
15
15
International professors
15
17
15
Co-professors
16
15
16
ECTS per course
4
5
5
Forums/debates organised
5
6
6
Applications
2212
1283
Participants
374
312
348
Issued certificates
10
215
228
Student evaluation forms handed in
177
221
164
Overall Satisfaction (based on the statement "On the whole, the quality of the
course was high") <scale 1-5>
4.22
4.32
4.56
Between 5 and 16 July 2009 SPARK together with
An-Najah National University (NNU), hosted a summer university.
The goal of NSA is to provide a unique
learning experience for students and staff. It also aims to familiarize
visiting academics and students with the situation in Palestine.
Nablus Summer Academy
Item
2009
Courses offered
3
International professors
3
Co-professors
3
Participants
22
Issued certificates
27
Student evaluation forms handed in
8
Overall Satisfaction (based on the statement "On the whole, the quality of the
course was high") <scale 1-5>
4,3
Private Sector Development
In 2009 The Business Start-Up Centers in south
East Europe that SPARK has been running started their route towards independence,
a process that continues in 2010. The
objective for the private sector development is to support job creation and
entrepreneurship in various ways. In 2009 that meant hosting an
Entrepreneurship Development Conference in Brussels, to discuss entrepreneurship
in developing countries, and continued capacity building in the South East
European Business Start-Up Centers.
Result 2008
Target
2009
Result
2009
New
SMEs (companies) established
100
120
163
Jobs
generated
463
240
706
People
(beneficiaries) trained1
2944
3210
4543
Satisfaction
with quality of Business Skills Training2
9,12
>7.00
9.20
Does
the BPC increase the motivation to take action to start-up a business after
writing the business plan?
72.25%
75%
72.84%
Does
the BPC accelerate the process of putting their ideas into a business plan
(due to deadlines and ‘competition element'?
59.58%
75%
63.33%
Survival
rate of BSC businesses after 2 years
-
80%
97.75%
1
- Beneficiary: 1
person that completed 1 training course (average 20 hours).
2
- On a scale of 1-10 where 10 is highest quality
2008
Midterm Impact Assessment Business Start-up Centres
As part of the private sector development projects, SPARK supports five Business Start-Up Centres in the Western Balkans. These centres are run as joined undertakings by Ministries, local governments, Chambers of Commerce and Universities and are part of the South East European Network for Start-up Centres and Incubators (SENSI). This project is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007-2010).
Recently, the impact of these centers has been evaluated and reported in a Midterm Impact Assessment. This report reviews the extent to which the endeavors of SPARK have been successfully implemented through the four Business Start-Up Centres in Bar (Montenegro), Kragujevac (Serbia), Zenica (Bosnia & Herzegovina) and Bitola (Macedonia). The primary goal of this report is to submit to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on account of midterm outcomes and progress. In addition, the impact of the Business Start-Up Centre Kosovo has been reviewed in a brief report to be submitted for the internal use of the SPARK program and its regional partners. The reports have both been conducted by Megan Price.
You can download the full Midterm Impact Assessment here.
You can download the brief report on the impacts made by BSC Kosovo here.