The Future is in Digital Marketing - Interview

Why did Ledra College choose MEF faculty from Serbia as a partner in this common master program?

First of all, because both Serbia and Cyprus have very good relations. Therefore, the most important thing when you sign a contract is mutual trust. We believe that new generations deserve high quality education and that’s why we believe in MEF. Today IT is present in every segment of society. We can’t think of any further development without IT taking its place. That’s why we’ve made a decision to join forces and give our contribution, help student to acquire new knowledge in internet technologies and its use in Digital Marketing.

Why do you think it’s important to study Digital Marketing?

It is the future! We have to educate new generations to keep up with their needs, with societal needs etc. We simply have to keep up with the societal needs. When someone is looking for a job, we have to predict the future for the next five, ten, even twenty years and in that way we prepare students to get into the market as well as the digital world.

Considering you are a journalist, as you said, how has IT affected your work?

Everything has changed. For example, in the past we were trying to send an article by a fax-machine. Now, it is much easier - You can write an article and send it to whomever you want. When I was here in Yugoslavia during the bombing, I could barely find a fax-machine. Nowadays, the fact that we have Internet which represents the main societal and political source of strength, makes everything much easier. So, when we talk about marketing, we have instant access even abroad, unlike earlier when we had reach out to many people to acquire the foreign market. But today, thanks to technology and digital marketing, we can easily cross the borders. It is a huge advantage!

From year 2004. you have been working as a counselor in the European parliament in Brussels, which implies that your students will have the opportunity to hear you speaking about the use of digital technologies in the EU politics. Can you tell us more about it?

Let me put it this way. For example, when you go to Brussels, you look like a newborn, and you get a chance to be a part of your own maturing process, and to see the European’s way of thinking. That’s the knowledge we want to pass onto our students.

Could you tell us something about importance of digital marketing for the EU?

The only thing I can say is that Germans base their economy on digital marketing. As the leading country in the European Union, they stay focused on the digital marketing because they consider digital marketing the most powerful weapon on the European market.

Will students of this common master program have the opportunity to be a part of any student exchange program? And will students have the opportunity to do their internship in Cyprian companies?

Yes, throughout this program there is a plan for the students to come to Cyprus and see how one of the biggest complexes in the mass-media – Sigma works in practice. They will acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge in many fields, which is very important.

We have been researching your biography and we’ve discovered that the President of Republic of Serbia awarded you with Silver medal. Could you tell us more about it?

I spent a lot of the time here in Serbia and with Serbian people, especially during the war as a war journalist. I consider myself one of you, I feel like a Serbian, here in Belgrade. I’ve been fighting for years for Serbian rights and status, in Cyprus and beyond, because I think it was unfair what happened here in Serbia during the war. I was a whiteness, I know the reality, it's not what mass-media placed. Serbian people were victims of the war, they had no choice, they could not avoid it, they were pushed to fight for dignity and for their country, and for their rights.

What is your message for the students who are thinking about master studies in IT?

Our aim is to make them better, to be able to find a job, and to make their lives easier and better, not only here in Serbia, but we want to create opportunities for them to find a job beyond the borders as well. This is the idea of joining forces of Ledra College and MEF faculty – to change the views, to share the views, to bring the Serbian and foreign students closer – to share ideas, and to prepare them for the market, which is very important. It's not important only to take the diploma but you have to know how to use it, we want to prepare them to use it not only in Serbia but elsewhere in Europe, USA... not only in general marketing, but also in digital political marketing. Politicians use technology during campaign.

Technology is pivotal in politics in Europe and in USA because it directly influences the constituencies. Finally, everything has changed, so the courses need to keep up with the trend.