WiFi Facility Management Academy – Distance learning platform soon available in Serbia

The company Kala Konsalting is participating in the international project WiFi Facility Management Academy within the Erasmus+ program and under the sponsorship of the European Union.

WiFi Facility Management Academy has two main goals: to develop an innovative, multilingual platform for distance learning in the area of facility management and to provide prestigious training materials in 5 languages: English, German, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Serbian. The project will last 36 months and should end on August 31, 2017.

The participants in the project are: WiFi Austria (WiFi Institute of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber), WiFi Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Facility Management Association, WiFi Hungary and Kala Konsulting from Serbia.

– The best Austrian business practice has served as a foundation for preparing training materials. It was first needed to prepare the materials, which we spent a year on, and then to adapt them to distance learning. I must emphasize that this step proved to be a particular challenge, because two approaches have been prepared. One is the standard approach to distance learning, in which trainees work on their own with the help of prepared materials, and the other one is the online approach, in which trainees can communicate with trainers in virtual classrooms – Zoran Djurdjevic, director of Kala Konsalting explained.

The entire academy has 9, or 8+1, modules, and each module can be attended independently.

– You can also attend modules individually, one by one, and then schedule the final certification. This approach demanded the development of an innovative distance learning internet platform. The task was accomplished by our Bulgarian partners quickly and professionally – Djurdjevic adds.

After the completion of the platform and the preparation of the materials in English, the training of the future trainers started. Twelve trainers, 4 each from Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria, were selected. At the first training, they were taught the contents of individual modules, and at the second one, they were taught how to use the internet platform. The members of the Serbian team of trainers are: Tatjana Kosic – professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, Zorana Petojevic – professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, Martin Elezovic – manager of Atrium Consulting and architect Stefan Aleksa Djurdjevic. Each of them will be a trainer for 2 modules at the Academy.

– The team is currently translating all its materials into Serbian. This way, FMA will get an academy in its native language, and the trainees will have their trainers who are familiar with the best European practice and with the state of FMA in Serbia. So, even though this is the Erasmus+ project, financed by the European Union, Serbia, even though it`s not a member of the EU, will be among the first four countries which will be able to use the results of the projects – Djurdjevic said.

The next phase of the project is testing, during which 400 trainees, which will be selected to represent target groups, will go through the training materials on their own or with the help of trainers.

The content of the academy`s modules will provide access to a vast array of knowledge and skills which facility managers need to possess. Module 1 entails familiarizing oneself with the standards of the European Union in this area. Module 2 deals with the development of managerial skills, with the focus on communication, running meetings, visualizing and other skills a modern manager must have. Module 3 deals with managing services and certain basic FM services like: maintenance, cleaning, catering, security, logistics etc. Module 4 is truly large and encompasses project management, quality management and environmental protection.

– In talking about project management, we are talking about the entire life cycle of the project, from the preparation, through the planning, through running the project, to its completion. In the part dedicated to quality, basics of ISO and CEN standards, TQM – Total Quality Management, securing quality, managing risks and many other things are presented. Environmental protection from the FM angle deals with, above all, waste management. Module 5 is still drawing the most attention, as it deals with energy management, or energy efficiency, in constructing new facilities or reconstructing and rehabilitating current ones – our interviewee says.

Module 6 is dedicated to economic and financial skills applied to FM. Module 7 explains how information and communications technologies contribute to a faster development and maintenance of FM. Here the trainees will get a clear overview of the most important software products used in various areas of facility management. Module 8 consists of FM strategies and best business practices. Here the trainees learn how to organize their teams, set goals and follow their achievement through a smart setup of key performance indicators (KPI).

What the current trends are and what has given the best results in the EU are just some of the topics discussed in this module. Finally, Module 9 consists of practical examples of what is taught in the previous 8 modules.

When and how those interested can apply for the academy will be published in the next article.

The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EU nor the Human Resource Development Centre of Bulgaria are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Kala konsalting Beograd

Arhitektonski fakultet Beograd

Građevinski fakultet Beograd

NET ZERO

Kala konslating

WIFI Facility Management akademija

Erasmus plus

facility management

Wifi Austrija

WIFI Institut austrijske privredne komore

Wifi Bugarska

Bugarska asocijacija za facility management

Wifi Mađarska

Tatjana Kosić

Zorana Petojević

Martin Elezović

Stefan Aleksa Đurđević

TQM

Total Quality Management

KPI

Key Performance Indicators