Telekom Srbija CEO Vladimir Lučić and Rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini have signed in Bruges a memorandum of understanding under which Telekom Srbija will provide 10 scholarships for College students who, in return, will work one year for the Company.
Following the signing of the memorandum, the CEO said that by providing scholarships for 10 students, Telekom Srbija would obtain a new generation of managers who would learn about the functioning of the EU and thus contribute to the Company’s business operations. He added that the College of Europe was the most important academic institution in Europe, given that a majority of European Commission employees had completed their post-graduate studies, including in economics, law and administration, precisely at the College. “We believe that by providing scholarships for ten young people, we, as Telekom, will obtain a brilliant new generation of managers who will have the opportunity to find out how the EU is functioning, establish new contacts with other young people and contribute to our Company being even more successful”, Lučić said.
He went on to say that prospective scholars would have to work for Telekom Srbija for a year and added he hoped that some of them would remain in the Company. “We hope that some of them will also be employed with the administration of the state of Serbia and thus assist our country in better understanding the functioning of the EU institutions”, said Lučić. He added that the entire process would be public and transparent and that the College of Europe would lend its professional assistance in selecting ten students to be funded by Telekom Srbija as of September the following year. He said there was a plan for turning Telekom Srbija into a world and European company and added that it was already operating in four EU member-countries. “As we have already stressed on several occasions, this Company was committed to the promotion of business connections and better cooperation with the European institutions, European financial institutions and European companies”, Lučić said.
He also said that Telekom Srbija was the first company, not only in the Western Balkans, but further afield, that had decided to make that move and said he hoped that would be an incentive for others to try and bring Serbia closer to Europe through knowledge.
