BCSP interns gained numerous practical skills through a series of workshops

At the first workshop, BCSP senior researcher Bojan Elek introduced the interns to the concept of public policies and the ways in which they can be researched. In the first session, they discussed what public policies could be and different models for understanding them. The interns prepared their presentations for the second session and presented their research plans. After the presentations, the lecturer and the other interns discussed further steps in the research – a more precise formulation of the research question and objectives, as well as data collection and sources.

At the second workshop, the interns discussed the importance of communications during the research process with BCSP communications officer Dragana Belanović and together defined messages for their research findings.

The third workshop aimed to introduce the interns to advocacy and open a discussion about the different stakeholders towards whom advocacy can be directed. Marko Drajić, BCSP Advocacy, and Project Manager, discussed with the interns their research products and different advocacy strategies. The second part of the workshop focused on practicing different types of public speaking – giving statements to the media, participating in a live TV show, and presenting at a conference or a closed round table. The interns were given the task of preparing a public performance. After that they discussed their presentations with BCSP communications officer Dragana Belanović and learned how to improve their performances and messages further.

“The workshop on public speaking was particularly useful because in addition to receiving advice on how to improve public speaking, we had the opportunity to try it out in practice. Namely, we presented the products we worked on during the internship in front of the camera, and then we reviewed and commented on those recordings with the help of the BCSP communications officer. I believe that a good public performance is of key importance for any job, and that’s why facing the performance in front of the camera during this workshop was very important and useful for me”, emphasized Ivana Ranković, BCSP intern.

At the last workshop, the interns had the opportunity to receive the necessary guidelines for writing projects from the BCSP Advocacy and Project Manager, Marko Drajić, but also to try their hand at designing project proposals through a practical exercise.

“During my internship at BCSP, for the first time I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge acquired during my studies in practice and to create my first infographic with the support of my mentor. We got the opportunity to learn about project writing and advocacy, and acquire useful skills that will certainly be useful in the future,” said Gorana Pebić, BCSP intern.

The workshops were held as part of the project “Overcoming differences between the academic community and practitioners in the field of security studies” which the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy is implementing with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Government of Sweden as part of the project “Consolidating the Democratization Process in the Security Sector in Serbia”.