As part of the Erasmus+ project GEAR (Gender Equality in Academia and Research), which deals with gender equality in science and research, on May 10, 2024, in the Sports and Cultural Center of the University of Montenegro (UCG), a training was held on the topic of balance between private life and work, inclusion and skills.
The host of this training is the University of Montenegro, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, while in addition to representatives of this University, the training was attended by professors from the Faculty of Management Herceg Novi, the University of Adriatic Bar, which is also the coordinator of this project, and professors from the Independent University of Banja Luka, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla and University of Maribor, as well as representatives of the NGO Socio-Economic Center of Montenegro (Podgorica) and NGO GirlThing (Tuzla).
The professors of Vilnius University from Lithuania, prof. Dr. Aurelija Novelskaitė and Dr. Vilana Pilinkaitė-Sotirovič, with the aim of raising awareness and raising important issues related to the balance between private life and work, especially when it comes to female students and working women, and presenting approaches and ways in which this balance can be achieved and maintained.
The topics covered in the training are, among others, the conceptual framework and practice, forms of imbalance, and the physical, mental and social consequences of imbalance, as well as methods for recognizing it and solving it, along with the methods and tools most useful for achieving balance, and self-empowerment techniques.
As part of the project, two more trainings with the same topic are being prepared, which will be organized for students of these higher education institutions.
On the same day, a conference for students and researchers on gender equality and equal opportunities in education was held.
The conference was accompanied by four workshops for students, held at four higher education institutions: the Faculty of Management Herceg Novi, the University of Adriatic Bar, the University of Montenegro (at the Faculty of Philology, Economics and Maritime Affairs), and the Independent University of Banja Luka and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Tuzla.
The aim of these workshops was primarily to involve students in the project, but also to better understand their views, attitudes and experiences regarding gender equality.
At the conference, students' works created after the held workshops and examples of good practice were presented, all with the aim of raising the awareness of both the academic and the general public about gender equality at universities, not only in Montenegro, but also in the Western Balkans, but also involving the general public in the GEAR project.
In the following period, an anthology will be prepared, which will include some of the papers presented at this conference.