Aviation Academy (Vazduhoplovna akademija)

Aviation Academy has 11 educational profiles: Aircraft Maintenance Technician, Aircraft Mechatronics Engineer, Air Traffic Technician, Air Traffic Rescue Technician, Air Traffic Safety Technician, Air Traffic Information and Communication Systems Security Technician, Technician for Aircraft and Engine, Aircraft technician for electrical equipment, Aircraft technician for electronic equipment, mechatronics for missile systems, mechatronics for radar systems.

The school cooperates with enterprises so that all learners can carry out learning in the workplace (placements or internships) to meet formal requirements specified in relevant qualification or curriculum frameworks. The school has signed long-term memoranda of understanding with the following enterprises: airline company Air Serbia, “Nikola Tesla” airport, MRO JAT Tehnika, Aeronautical Repair Institute, Military Airport Batajnica, where work placements for all learners are organized. The school has also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Inferior, international company "MTU Aero Engines". The school systematically develops and updates a catalogue of training programmes designed to meet the needs of identified employers for both initial and continuing vocational training. Enterprises regularly contribute to assessment processes for students along with school teachers. 

Professional development is done in many different ways and is coordinated by pedagogical coordinator or lead teacher. The school provides mentoring and introduction for all Beginning Teachers following the prescribed procedures and manuals. Teachers regularly attend seminars and workshops according to pedagogical needs. Teachers of theory and of skills regularly set learning tasks that closely resemble real, up-to-date tasks in the world of work. All teachers at the school regularly practice a range of pedagogies that are appropriate to vocational subjects and to different learners (group work, problem solving, critical thinking, role play). Pedagogues regularly observe teaching and provide feedback to all staff. Teachers and instructors regularly collaborate to prepare and support their teaching, for example, through mentoring, team teaching or joint lesson preparation, esp. in bilingual classrooms. The school participates in international networks to share good practices in teaching and learning (Erasmus+ jobshadowing activities). 

The school has an institutional quality assurance system which it implements (Quality Management System and ISO9001:2008 standard by Bureau Veritas). The school is able to make changes to nationally defined curriculum frameworks or profiles in order to adapt curriculum to local needs. The school has appropriate and sufficient laboratories, classrooms and workshops, sufficient tools, equipment, infrastructure and consumables which permit to develop the competences required by employers. The school has 840 students and 85 teachers. Equipment of the Aviation Academy with teaching, technical and other funds is at a satisfactory level and in accordance with the norms and specific requirements of the educational profiles. In line with this, the school has cross sections of five aircraft engines, specific teaching materials in cabinets for the aviation group of items, as well as four aircraft, classroom for navigation (simulator), and many workshops for aircraft maintenance training. Equipment and furniture in classrooms and cabinets are standard. Each classroom is equipped with the required number of desks and chairs, blackboard, smart tv, projectors, tablets, multimedia classroom. Classrooms are renovated at the beginning of each school year with the necessary inventory. Cabinets for computers and informatics are renovated and equipped with new computer equipment and new inventory. All computers in the school are networked into a single computer network and connected to the Internet. 

In September 2007, the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia authorized the school as a training center for ground, aircraft and baggage handling personnel, and in October of the same year as a PART-147 organization for training aviation authorized non-flying personnel. The school received the authorization to be a pilot training center from the Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia in September 2010. Certifications from the national aviation authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Montenegro followed. Personnel for the needs of the Air Force and anti-aircraft defense of the Serbian Army are being trained in our school again from March 23, 2010. The decision on that was made by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Serbia. In the history of the school "side by side", the date December 21, 2011, is important, when the Aviation Academy became the authorized center of the European Aviation Safety Agency. We constantly align and adjust curriculum with national and international requirements. The Aviation Academy is recognized and certified as an educational institution that meets all standards of European and national aviation authorities. The Aviation Academy strives to make the greatest contribution to the building of a modern and efficient educational system in the Republic of Serbia, educating the future of the Serbian civil and military aviation.

The school collaborates with local bodies, business associations and civil society responsible for local development. The school constantly develops and modifies its curriculum or the range of programmes that it offers in response to labour market analysis. The specialist programmes offered by the school match well with the current and future employment needs of local and regional enterprises.

We are the leading organisation in strategic partnership (Italy, Spain, Turkey and Serbia). Our Erasmus + project aims at designing new innovative drone design with reference to anti-collision system and the use of multispectral camera for environmental protection. The results and research analysis will be implemented into curriculum and published online.

The school develops the digital skills and competences of learners. Digital and on-line instruction is regularly used as a mode of teaching and learning. We have just started the project of digitalisation in our school. The first stage consists of preparing lectures in powerpoint presentation and interactive e books. We expect in the next 2 years the whole school will be covered by digital teaching/learning. We are currently using Moodle as teaching platform and all students and teachers are involved in it. The school collaborates digitally with other skills providers through etwinning, video-conferencing or Moodle/Microsoft 365 platforms. Some learning programmes develop the competence of learners to make use of up-to-date industrial digital technologies, e.g. CAD, CAM, 3D printing, and other digital competences relevant to Industry 4.0.

School conducted some awareness raising activities supporting sustainable goals campaigns (electric batteries campaign). School is designing drone and is researching the use of multispectral camera for environmental data obtaining as a part of Erasmus Strategic partnership for innovations.