From academic year 2017/2018 the professional practice was envisaged within the Curriculum of the first cycle studies of the study program Economics and Business Management. Students are obliged to perform professional (summer holiday) practice during the third and fourth year of study. Professional practice is organized one day in a working week or a minimum of 52 working days in a non-teaching period, in the winter and summer semesters, in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth semester, according to a set schedule.
Students will attend the professional practice at a company or other institution based on a bilateral agreement of the Faculty of Economics through the Office for practical teaching and the company or institution which is the organizer of the professional practice. The professional practice will last 13 working days per semester (13 weeks out of a total of 15 weeks; two weeks are devoted to written colloquiums, i.e. a total of 26 working days during the academic year, or a minimum of 52 working days during the two academic years, the third and fourth year). In professional practice, the student will have a professional practice manager from the institution where the professional practice will be conducted, about which the professional practice manager will keep a journal. Professional practice will carry 2 ECTS points per semester, and must be performed as a prerequisite for writing the final paper. In total, students will have 8 ECTS points for professional practice in four semesters. In order to monitor student's practice, each student has a teacher mentor who will review the practice journal and decide whether or not the practice was successfully completed.
The Practice Agreement is signed between the Faculty of Economics of the University of Banja Luka, the student and the employer, specifying the learning outcomes to be achieved. There should be clear procedures for evaluating learning outcomes and awarding ECTS points, which will be included in the final paper of students. The roles of signatories in the process of specifying, achieving and evaluating learning outcomes must be clear. It is an opportunity to learn in working conditions and to strengthen professional competences (professional development). The actual tasks performed in the workplace should be complementary to the content taught in the study program. The purpose of the professional practice is:
- learning about special models and techniques of work,
- improving work skills required in the workplace,
- developing new skills that facilitate employment such as teamwork, use of technology and problem solving,
- opportunity to acquire skills gradually, from simpler to more complex,
- real-time evaluation,
- forming an opinion on the relevance of the program content for the workplace,
- providing a documentation basis for the completion of the final paper.
After completing the practice, the student prepares a report on the completed practice, and, which is not obligatory, describes the lessons learned from the practice in the empirical-perspective section of the final paper. ECTS points are awarded after proper review and assessment and the outcomes achieved by the mentor teacher.