On 22 September 2026, the Institute of Applied Linguistics at FEI STU welcomed colleagues from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Serbia: Jelena Anđelković, PhD, Associate Professor, and Marija Meršnik, PhD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Human Resources Management.
Our colleagues ran an interactive lecture for students titled Future-ready: Building Skills for the Changing Tech Job Market. The talk zeroed in on the current shifts on the job market and how artificial intelligence is reshaping entry-level roles. Not only were the challenges identified, the lecturers presented the list of skills that are necessary to stay ahead, as well as how to develop them. Afterwards, students dove into a set of well-prepared, engaging activities that pushed them to discuss, think critically, and collaborate.
The lecture finished with an exciting recruitment simulation task. In teams, students sifted through profiles for a Junior Tech Solutions Associate role, chose the candidate they liked best, and drafted a quick pitch to justify their choice. Recruiter teams fired questions, weighed the candidates, and debated their final hires. The exercise let students practice presenting and improvised speech, as well as engage in the processes of collaborative decision-making, arguing their point, working together, and handling unexpected questions.
What’s more, Jelena Anđelković and Marija Meršnik gave a wonderful talk for the teachers of our Institute. Their visit gave the two sides a chance to swap ideas. Participants shared their experiences and discussed the bumps they hit every day. Our colleagues focused especially on working with groups that differ in size and in language proficiency. In those moments they compared methods, brainstormed possible solutions, and swapped practical tricks for making teaching hit the mark and feel inclusive.
The visit blended a professional exchange among faculty with an engaging learning moment for students, creating a chance for everyone to share ideas and teaching tricks across institutions. It should be mentioned that one of the main outcomes of the visit was an agreement for a joint research project that compares the experience of teachers teaching language and soft skills classes to STEM students in Slovakia and Serbia.
We are thankful for the wonderful experience our Serbian colleagues gave this Institute, both its teachers and students, and are looking forward to our future cooperation.