OSCE Kosovo Mission launches student support centre

PRISTINA, 24 April 2007 - University students in Pristina now have better resources to prepare themselves for the labour market, thanks to a Student Services Centre inaugurated today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

"With more than half of Kosovo's young people willing to find new horizons abroad, it is of the utmost importance to assist them to find opportunities here in Kosovo and encourage them to become the builders of their society," said Wilma Theuws, Deputy Director of the OSCE Mission's Department of Good Governance and Democratic Institutions.

The Student Services Centre, dubbed Link, will serve as a bridge to students, offering opportunities for personal, academic and professional development through information, academic advising and career guidance. It will provide a wide range of resources on university degrees and courses, and how these fit into the needs of the labour market.

"Link will help students in making choices relevant to the job market and in developing the skills required by future employers," Theuws said.

In addition, the Centre will organize workshops on writing CVs, presentation skills and job interview techniques. It will also promote internship and international exchange programmes.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, together with its partners, started the process of developing student services at the University of Pristina in 2006 and to date has invested 100,000 euros to establish a network of Centres in Pristina, Prizren, Peje/Pec and Mitrovice/Mitrovica.

"Investing in education is investing in the future. This is true everywhere in the world but it is particularly relevant in Kosovo where there are so many young people. The centres are elements of a wider reform aimed at paving the way for the integration of the University of Pristina into the European higher education community," said Ambassador Werner Wnendt, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.