“The Symposium we are organizing together with Croatia will last three days, a day and a half in Croatia and a day and a half in Serbia. Two hundred students from the EU will participate with their works.  After that, from 18-20 of October, we will have the Sixth International Symposium Nikola Tesla, which has a great tradition.  The first was held in 1936, for Tesla’s eightieth birthday.”

Prof. Dr. Branko Kovacević, dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade

Belgrade University is currently in the process of implementing the Declaration of Bologna.  How far have you gone at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering?

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering has started working on a reform three years ago, not only because of the Declaration of Bologna, but also because of a process taking place in the entire world, primarily in our field, and in education as well.  In 2001 we started thinking about a reform, and we enrolled the first generation of students according to the new educational program in 2003. 

That means that already next year the first generation of students, who studied according to the program adapted to the ones in Europe and in the world, will graduate.  However, there are differences here as well, a few models.  After a long period of deliberation, we decided to use the 4+1 system because we concluded that every level of education has to be somehow final and to have clearly defined results, i.e. when a student finishes his four-year studies, he should be able to start working, and not only to be able to continue with schooling. 

It is also important to stress that this method of education is accepted in countries outside of the EU.  USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, China have signed a declaration and decided to use the kind of education we have introduced.

Up to now, technical colleges lacked practice in the field during the studies.  Is there a plan to include some companies into the program of educating engineers?

Europe is moving towards having internships in some full-time studies.  The proposal is that 10-15 percent of classes are in the so-called humanities, languages, introduction to management, then about 30 percent should be dedicated to some basic courses, and the remaining 60 percent is to be divided between theory, courses in the area of specialization and classes connected to practice. 

The model you are mentioning, where students go and work somewhere during their studies is realizable in highly developed and affluent countries, where industry is sufficiently strong to accept students.  In Germany, for example, it is required that student spends six months to a year doing internship during his studies, and to really do something there. 

Our industry is still too weak and, beside some research institutions such as the Vinca Institute, Pupin, no one is interested to employ students in practical activity.  The faculty, however, is trying in its labs to provide conditions for technical improvement and acquaintance with new technology.

It seems that there are some means, nevertheless, reserved for a reconstruction of college resources?

Money is always a problem, but we are managing somehow.  Some firms are interested in helping us by giving us equipment they manufacture to use them in instruction.  That’s how we received a very valuable donation form Siemens in the form of wireless equipment, which was installed at the faculty and which we use in instruction. 

Also, last year HP computer equipment was given to us as a present, and installed in our computer center.  The American firm Cisco also gave us valuable equipment which we use, beside for teaching classes, for offering courses to other people.  All these donations were realized thanks to our former students who work in those companies.  We mustn’t forget the donation of our former student, who graduated in 1952 and in 1956 went to America, and from which a whole laboratory block was built.

I have noticed that you are currently renovating classrooms as well.  One amphitheater at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering bears the name of Nikola Tesla, and it is labeled 56.  Is this an accident, or is there symbolism in it, since Tesla was born in 1856?

Certainly it is not an accident.  There is a lot of symbolism there.  For example, on the stamp of the Faculty, beside the logo ETF, recognized by everyone as Faculty of Electrical Engineering, there are hidden meanings in these letters.  E is electric field, T is Tesla – the unit for magnetic induction, F is flux, and there is the letter for electric potential. 

Beside that one amphitheater we named after Tesla, we dedicated the other one to Mihajlo Pupin.  The two of them marked the history of electrical engineering.  Pupin even founded electrical engineering at a university in New York.  From his laboratory at Columbia University, 29 Nobel-prize winners came out.

Since this is the year of Nikola Tesla and the year in which we celebrate 150 years from his birth, how did the Faculty join in the celebration of this anniversary?

The Faculty joined several manifestations.  First of all, Serbian prime minister named a committee with me as the dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, then the president of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, ministers from the government, the director of the Museum of Nikola Tesla, director the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, rector of the Nish University, president of Matica Srpska, and we had fourteen boards who occupied themselves with different aspects of the celebration. 

The faculty is participating in the areas connected to the symposium organized by the Academy in collaboration with the international association of electrical engineers IEEE, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering from Novi Sad, Faculty of Electronics from Nish, and we participated primarily in the part connected to the promotion of Tesla’s work.  This year we had the fiftieth conference ETRAN, seventieth anniversary of Nikola Tesla Institute, and all the manifestation began with a plenary session dedicated to Tesla.  Also, a professor from our faculty, Nikola Rajakovic, organized a series of lectures at the Academy of Arts and Sciences about Nikola Tesla. 

The Faculty is helping the exhibition of Tesla’s inventions in the Museum of Nikola Tesla by helping to complete it.  I would like to stress that our students organized their own symposium.  They invited colleagues from abroad, there will be about a hundred participants at their function.  All these activities are connected to the celebration of 150 years from the birth of Nikola Tesla, including promotions in elementary and high schools included in the official program of the government.

Tesla’s miniature boat with remote control

Tesla practically founded automatics, the field you specialize in the most?

Yes, Tesla, with his famous teleautomaton, a boat with remote control, practically began something that is a lot more developed today, but he initiated many things.  His high-frequency currents are used in medicine today, the pneumatic diodes he made are quite similar to today’s logic circuits that form the basis of digital electronics.  He intuitively felt a lot of things.  In the past twenty years, however, technology has gone so far that no one could have predicted it.  When Tesla worked at the beginning of the 20th century, that was the middle ages of technology.  We have some machines from the period that still work, and we use them.

Do you talk to students about Tesla in your classes?

Unfortunately, no.  That was lost after some time.  Older generation who graduated in the ‘50s, the ‘60s, they were told about Tesla, and even senior theses about Tesla’s patents were given.  Students were supposed to understand how do patents function, to repeat some experiments, to change them a little.

How are students who graduate from this faculty valued abroad?

It is interesting that in the past twenty years or so, when we had a difficult period, when the country was falling apart, when we had economic sanctions, when the industry was falling apart, everything suffered.  The education system was damaged as well as the health and the judicial systems.  Still, we managed to keep the credibility and the value of this school’s diploma in the world. 

Our students do not have to have their diplomas verified, and they can find a job anywhere, on any continent.  One should not be satisfied only with that.  In the late eighties the faculty was ranked fifteenth on the lists of schools in the world.  Today it is almost not found on any.  I have noticed that on one list published by the Chinese, Belgrade University is found around the two hundredth place.  Young people choose this job with difficulty because it is not very profitable, a lot of work is needed.

It seems that, in spite of that, our students have significant results in international competitions?

Yes, our students in international competitions have good results.  An example is the mini Drive team.  They responded to the call announced by the international association IEEE with the topic “Low-power, single-motor control.”  It is also interesting that it involved an asynchronous motor made according to Tesla’s principles. 

A motor had to be controlled with the purpose of decreasing loss of energy in it.  There were schools from all over the world participating.  At the end three teams were left – two American  and ours.  Our team won in several categories.  And only their model worked.  Our country gave a special award to this team of successful, young people.

About this symposium taking place in September, dedicated to Tesla?

This symposium is organized together with Croatia.  The symposium will last for three days, a day and a half in Croatia and a day and a half in Serbia.  There will be 200 students from the EU participating with their works.  After that, it is important to emphasize that in October we will have the sixth international symposium Nikola Tesla.  It is a symposium with a great tradition.  The first was held in 1936 when the Tesla’s eightieth birthday was celebrated.  This year’s event will take place at the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences from 18-20 October.

Both Tesla and Pupin are world-known scientists who built their careers in America where they could, at that time, find more opportunity for the development of their ideas.  Nevertheless, we are proud of both of them because they are of our descent.