Studies in English

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the Dean's Collegium, we welcome you to ours and from today your School of Medicine as well, and we wish you a lot of success in your future work. We are sorry to address you in this way today, and not as how it has been done for decades. This is another proof, in a series of such, of how much this pandemic has changed our work and overall life. We will look at the pandemic once again, but now let us focus our self on this moment.

This is certainly one of the most significant events in your life. It was preceded by the successful completion of high school, graduation and finally the entrance exam. All that together required a lot of work. However, in this way, you have been chosen as the best among the best. You represent some of the best young people in our country and you are its future. Due to this, the selection must be strict. The profession which you will be educated for is one of the most difficult, but also one of the most beautiful ones. It brings with it many challenges, but also many valuable and unique experiences. The current pandemic is just another in a series of confirmations.

An education at the School of Medicine University of Belgrade is at the same time a great obligation, a great challenge, a great chance and a great honor. Those who manage to harmonize all this, will complete their studies successfully and become good experts for an extremely esteemed, prestigious, honorable and challenging job.

We said already that Sars Cov 19 pandemic has changed the life of the entire planet. Unfortunately, its effects on a global level can be measured with the effects of the two world wars of the last century. Accordingly, in the previous year and a half, the way of work of our faculty was changed. Online teaching, as it was the only acceptable option, deprived your older colleagues last year and at the beginning of this year of the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge, which is fundamental, especially in clinical medicine. It will not be easy to make up for it. We hope that your studies will proceed in the usual way. However, you have to and can influence it yourself. The only way out of this pandemic is through mass vaccination. According to a survey by the student parliament, for which we are especially grateful, until a few days ago, over 90% of sixth and fifth year students are completely vaccinated. That means also for more than  85% of fourth and third year students, and almost 70% of second year students. Parliament has no data for you because you are not yet involved in it. If you want your teaching to take place in an adequate way without danger to you, your family members, your friends, colleagues, those who teach you, we ask you to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Unlike much richer countries, as you know, this is not a problem in our country. Regarding vaccination, medical students have an additional obligation. Not only to vaccinate themselves, but also to influence others by personal example, that is, to talk about the need for vaccination. You will learn during your studies that vaccines are one of the most significant discoveries in the history of medicine. It is inadmissible for those who will treat others, after the end of their studies, to have a negative attitude regarding vaccination. This means that they do not believe in what they are learning and what they will do.

Traditionally, students of our School of Medicine have opportunities for numerous activities that are realized through scientific research, international cooperation, sports activities, etc. I invite you to take this opportunity as well. Student vice-dean Đurđa Rafailović can inform you more about that. She will also inform you about how our students are involved in the decision-making process at our faculty. Therefore, we will only look briefly at this topic. Students are one of the most important subjects of our faculty. The Dean's Collegium of our faculty attaches great importance to cooperation with students. However, there are topics that cannot be discussed with students and those that must. For example, we cannot discuss what level of knowledge is necessary for someone to pass the exam and what form the exam should take. That is why we invite you to use your rights in an adequate way, which means through the student vice-dean, your representatives in the student parliament and some faculties institutions. Let us not push problems under the carpet, but solve them quickly, actively and together. Dean, Vice-deans, Secretary and professional services of the faculty will always be at your disposal. Once again, welcome to our Shool of Medicine and we wish you a lot of success in future studies.

Professor Lazar Davidović, Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade
Professor Biljana Mihaljević, Vice Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade