South East European University

The faculty has developed the study  program based on the interest of students and the experiences of faculty itself, which has the following objectives: students to acquire general knowledge and understand the subjects in the field of agribusiness, especially the concepts and the content of sustainable agribusiness, as well as preparing students to plan a sustainable agribusiness, understanding the environment and sustainability, and management of clients in agribusiness. By training them to be able to plan new policies in this area. This interdisciplinary program provides students with extensive knowledge in the field of agribusiness, and information about its impact on global society. This program is focused on several areas related to sustainability of agribusiness as agribusiness economy, formulating agricultural strategies, and analysis of agribusiness environment.

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to

• Develop an awareness of the environmental, socio‐cultural and economic impacts of agribusiness;
• Acquire knowledge of the possible measures to redress the negative impacts of agribusiness;
• Develop an understanding and appreciation of sustainability in agribusiness;
• Develop knowledge and understanding of the concept of agribusiness;
• Incorporate the principles of sustainable agribusiness into developing and managing agribusiness and products.

Graduate students acquire basic knowledge about economic, political, social and technological issues related with agribusiness, which can help them change their lifestyle and work. They are capable of being successful in free market economies, being involved in the international labor market, able to manage public and private companies in orden to improve management of agribusiness in the country, professionally skilled and competent to take part in integration processes of the country in the European Union.

Knowledge and understanding

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of subjects from the field of agribusinessand its sustainability;
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding agribusinessissues, like: sustainable development of agribusiness, environmental impacts of agribusiness, Principles of agribusiness, , Case studies of (un)sustainable agribusiness practices, etc. 

Applying knowledge and understanding

• Apply their knowledge and understanding in agribusiness by solving problems in new or unfamiliar agribusiness environments;
• Independently research the agribusiness market by analyzing their needs and managing plans, relations, destinations, prices, promotional activities, and sales;
• Work in agribusiness sectors and  market;
• Prepare and design plans, and carry out a necessary market research for getting authentic data for developing agribusiness strategies. 

Making judgement

• Evaluate and assess marketing implications  for sustainable agribusiness such as service design, pricing strategies, media assessment, effective promotion and customer satisfaction in a systematic and creative way;
• Evaluate market conditions (market share, target customers, known and unknown environment) in order to plan products or services, to coordinate marketing activities within the agribusiness sector and control and monitor those activities continuously within the company;
• Think critically on marketing issues (product, price, place, promotion, people) and business situations in agribusiness environments. 

Communication skills

• Present marketing strategies and plans within the organization and to audiences from different institutions and organizations, along with using the proper media and form of expression for all the audience;
• Leading and initiating activities considering touristic plans and strategies;
• Choose the proper means of communication while producing, , promoting and selling products/services;
• Share and transfer the knowledge to new generations in the field of sustainable agribusiness.

Learning skills

• Identify personal need, and select proper learning resources for further knowledge and operate independently;
• Acquire new knowledge and skills autonomously;
• Carry out self initiatives independently researching market needs in order to fulfill customers’ needs and wants. 

Semester 1

• Research Methodology (6.0 ECTS)
  The main goal of this course is to develop research methods and techniques that are used in studies of agribusiness. This course will help students to improve their analytical skiles, and to use different research methods in the field of agribusiness. The main focus will be on application of research methods, that the business communities face in the field of agribusiness in the internal market and in the global market. This course will also examine the role of research methods, its theoretical justification and their application in the field of agribusiness. Finally, this subject will enable students to use different analytical techniques and methods in their research on issues related to agribusiness.
• Management for Agribusiness (6.0 ECTS)
  This subject Management for Agribusiness will help students to gain specific knowledge about rural change and how managing them. Taking into account the nature of the subject, it will be practically fully adapted and special attention will be paid to practical situations faced by business organizations in the field of agribusiness in Macedonia.
• Climate Changes (6.0 ECTS)
  The subject includes the study of possibilities for development of ecological awareness, and the potentials and possibilities for its development. It will also study the system of managing environmental climate change, and regulations and strategic documents that lay the foundation for climate change and the need for their development. Moreover, it puts an emphasis on the environmental movement with the economic and social condition and location of climate change in the overall strategy for agribusiness. The course will try to connect conditions of climate change by promoting and protecting the environment and the concept of sustainable development. The subject will also study and compare the comparative system of eco-agribusiness in European countries and the region.
• Free Elective Subjects (12.0 ECTS)

  Language Courses

  • Albanian Language for Professional Purposes
    After finishing the course Albanian Language for Professional Purposes the students will be able practically use the knowledge which will serve them throughout their employment as well as in their future carrier. Students will be expected to know the differences in spoken and written language, the characteristics of professional communication (report, CV, email), the specifics of professional writing, the most common grammatical forms, to recognize the differences amongst the scientific, administrative and the socio political styles of writing. The students should be able to know the rules of how to organize interviews and debates, to know how to properly write cover letters and to interpret particular texts in a written and spoken form.
  • Academic Writing in English
    In this course students’ academic writing skills will be enhanced in a variety of ways. Students will be enabled to communicate their ideas in a clear, fluent and effective way in order to produce a piece of writing. Students’ academic writing skills will be developed through activities that promote writing like: writing different types of paragraphs and essays. Also, students will be introduced to paraphrasing and citing rules as well as will be made aware of what plagiarism is. Giving feedback on students’ pieces of writing will involve self-correction, peer-correction and teacher-correction of content, organization and language errors.
  • Academic Writing in Macedonian
    After finishing the Academic Writing in the Macedonian course the students are expected to gain appropriate knowledge and advanced communication in Macedonian language with particular emphasis on writing skills. In addition, it is expected that students will become more autonomous and responsible learners. Moreover, students will be able to improve their writing skills in more levels and thereby they will become more confident and more competent when writing in Macedonian. They will be able to reflect critically on different topics, to make conclusions and they will develop skills for excellent written and oral communication in Macedonian.
  • Academic Writing in Albanian
    By the end of each level the students are expected to write an essay and a research paper based on the rules learned during the semester. Specifically, from them it is expected to know the function, the structure and the different types of paragraphs, ways of choosing research topics, collecting the material, the rules for source documentation and the final model.
  • German Language (level 1 to 4)
    After completing each level students will be able to gain appropriate knowledge according to the European Language Framework (specifically and concretely determined by level). In addition, students are expected to become more autonomous and more responsible language learners. By the end of the course, students will be able to think critically and make conclusions about different topics based on the texts that they have read, as well as to express their thoughts and opinions in written and spoken German.
  • French Language
    The French language is now spoken by 200 million people worldwide: 115 million native French speakers and 85 million learners of French, making it the most widely learned second language after English. French is the native language on 5 continents. In addition French is the most used language after English, in international organizations. French is, alongside English, language of work of the secretariat of the United Nations, and official language along with five other languages (English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese). French is the official language of the Universal Postal Union. French is one of the three working languages of the European Union, the other two being English and German. French is the only language used in the deliberations of the European Court of Justice. French is, alongside English, the official language of the International Olympic Committee. In international institutions such as UNESCO, NATO, the Council of Europe and the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), the World Anti-Doping, FIFA (International Federation of Football Associations), French is the official language, and in others, like the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the African Union and Interpol, French is preferred language of work. French is language of work in non-governmental organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders, Lawyers without Borders, Doctors of the World.

  Communication Skills

  • Public Speaking
    Upon completion of this course the students will gain knowledge about the communication process, the ethical responsibilities of public speaking and the different types of informative and persuasive speeches. In addition, the students will acquire skills necessary for preparing and delivering different types of speeches, audience analysis, researching speech topics, preparing speeches etc. After completing the Public Speaking course, the students will be able to think critically through constructive self-criticism and criticism towards the speeches of the others.
  • Intercultural Studies
    Having completed this course the students will able to identify global questions and problems from the perspectives of different cultures, the communication dynamics in the other cultures, the similarities and the differences between their values and those of other cultures, as well as the similarities and differences between their communication practices and those from other cultures. In addition, students are expected to become more aware of the stereotypes that society has for different cultures and as a result will better understand their place in the global community. The students will start thinking critically about topics related to their ethnicity, gender identity, class, religion, national origin, age and other demographic characteristics and their impact on the communication process. After finishing Intercultural Studies, the students will also gain communication skills for working in groups through participation in research projects and will acquire the necessary skills to present their research projects.
  • Communication Skills
    The course Communication Skills is designed to enable students to practically apply interpersonal communication. Students will have the opportunity to learn interpersonal skills (such as perception, listening, verbal and non verbal communication); public speaking (such as: organization, delivery and the basics of writing public speeches) and small group communication (such as: leadership, self confidence and listening). The course will also focus on providing basic knowledge and understanding of the job hunting process through written and oral communication by doing tasks such as writing a resume and a cover letter, conducting interview simulations etc.

  IT Skills

  • Advanced Excel
    The purpose of this course is to provide the students with advanced knowledge of this application and of the opportunities offered by the Microsoft Excel application. As well as to enable them to carry out advanced tasks which are associated with their faculty’s programe.
  • Advanced IT skills
    The aims of this course are: * To enable students to acquire basic knowledge and skills in the field of information sciences * To enable the students to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge in Microsoft Office applications (Windows, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access) and to apply them in real life situations. * To enable the students to work individually or in groups on practical projects.
  • Advanced knowledge of Word and PowerPoint
    The aim of this course is to enable the students to acquire advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and to familiarize them with the opportunities which are offered by them. Moreover, it will enable the students to independently implement various projects and specific complex tasks which are associated with the program in which they study.
  • Google Apps
    The aims of this course are: * To enable the students to acquire advanced knowledge and skills in the field of electronic services (cloud applications). * To enable the students to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge in Google Docs (G-mail, Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Drawings and Forms) and to apply them in real life. * To enable the students to work individually or in groups on various online projects, directly through the web browser.
  • Advanced Access
    Databases are ideal tools for tracking large volumes of Data and Microsoft Access is a quite popular and powerful tool which is used for designing and developing Windows-based databases. This course is intended for new users of Access where the most important functions needed for working with databases are processed.
  • Desktop Publications
    The aim of this course is designing and processing raster and vector graphics through the leading programs Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as designing and publishing commercial materials for print using Adobe InDesign.
  • Web Publications
    Developing even a simple web page according to current standards requires knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Most of the websites also use images, whether in the form of banners, buttons, logos, photos or scans. Adobe Fireworks is built as a tool to create and manipulate images from the web and to allow the makers to optimize these images in order to reduce the file size. Firework also provides an excellent integration with Dreamweaver. This series provides a comprehensive introduction to XHTML, CSS and creating web graphics.

  Miscellaneous

  • Environmental Protection
    The aims of this course are: * To familiarize the students with the basic environmental problems. * To familiarize the students with the role of humans as the key factor in the process of pollution and environmental protection. * To familiarize the students with the influence of various environmental pollutants on health, the professional activity and the organizational ability of the human factor. * Creating positive habits for the environment and raising the awareness for a healthier and cleaner environment. * International and national legislation and international conventions on the environment. * Introduction to international and national global policies in the field of environment. * The environment as a condition for sustainable economic development. * The role of the society in the protection of the environment. * Introducing the major risks to a healthy environment. * Introducing the National Environmental Strategy of the Republic of Macedonia.
  • Sports, Recreation and Culture
    Theory: (in general about sports, disciplines, hygiene, sports medicine, nutrition and general culture). Practical teaching: organizing collective and individual sports games and other activities in the hall and the sports facilities in the campus.
  • Cultures of Macedonia
    This course will familiarize the students with the main characteristics of the contemporary cultures in the Republic of Macedonia with a special focus on the Albanian and Macedonian culture in the form of literature, film, language, art and architecture. The students will also gain general understanding about the complexity and the wealth of other cultures such as Turkish, Roma, Vlach, Serbian and Bosnian. The students will learn in detail the similarities and the differences between these cultures with special emphasis on what unifies these cultures in the wider Balkan context. The literature and the films for this course will be selected from contemporary works of art and each semester new ones will be chosen, yet, they will all focus on the artistic work created after 1945. Moreover, the students will improve their presentation skills (academic writing in English and oral presentations) and their research skills.

Semester 2

• Economics of Rural Resources (6.0 ECTS)
  The main objective of this course is to develop different theories of regional growth and development of methods of regional analysis. This course will help students to improve their analytical skills, and to use economic theory to analyze rural and regional development. The focus will be on applying techniques and instruments that will be useful for the analysis of rural and regional development. Arguments for and against government intervention in rural and regional economies will be included within this subject. It will also examine the various policy, planning and strategies and their application in the economy of rural resources. The course will analyze the impact of government policy on economic growth and development of rural areas.
• Strategies for Agribusiness (6.0 ECTS)
  The subject Strategies in Agribusiness is conceptualized to enable students to evaluate and to apply the key elements of strategic analysis, choosing the right strategy within a flexible plan, and to stimulate thinking about the problems associated with implementation of the formulated strategy. The aim of the course is to help students learn to think critically about issues and problems associated with the choice of strategy in turbulent and dynamic environment and to understand that there is not only one way to develop a strategy.
• Elective 2/2 (9.0 ECTS)
  • Management of Information Systems
    The subject Management Information Systems aims to prepare students with adequate knowledge of information systems and possibilities for their use by business organizations. The focus within the object is placed on opportunities for using information provided by the information systems supporting managerial decision and other activities performed by the managers of business organizations.
  • Risk Management in Agribusiness
    The subject is directed to include ways to perform the quantification and management of various sources of risk by corporations. This especially concerns the scope of the financial sector, and a special emphasis is given to non-financial companies. This subject covers a broad approach to risk management in the enterprise or "integrated risk management" - the new managerial approach to risk management. Beside the other topics covered by material, a particular attention will be given to market, credit and operational risk. The subject relies to a large extent on the active application of analysis of real cases.
  • Local Rural Economic Development
    The subject Local and Rural Economic Development offers students an adequate fund of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of local and rural economic development. The trainings of students go through a special emphasis on achieving the following objectives: * An appropriate use of modern economic theories in the field of local, rural and regional economic development, * Introducing to students the appropriate techniques and methods for analyzing the situation of local and rural development, * Directing students to contemporary forms of support and to stimulate the business activities of local, regional and national levels, * Indication of the role of the degree of decentralization at local level as an important factor of local development, familiarize students with appropriate strategies and policies of local and central government affecting the development of rural & urban areas and nationwide.
  • Public Finances and Agribusiness
    This course provides students with knowledge of public financeс as one of the main levers of macroeconomic policy instruments and fundamental to the functioning of a national economy as a whole and as a subsystem of an economic system of the country. The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with knowledge about the budget and extra-budgetary funds as the main instruments of fiscal policy, procedures about preparation, approving, implementing and controlling the budget, and techniques of budget at the local, and at central level.
• Elective 2/1 (9.0 ECTS)
  • Management of Information Systems
    The subject Management Information Systems aims to prepare students with adequate knowledge of information systems and possibilities for their use by business organizations. The focus within the object is placed on opportunities for using information provided by the information systems supporting managerial decision and other activities performed by the managers of business organizations.
  • Risk Management in Agribusiness
    The subject is directed to include ways to perform the quantification and management of various sources of risk by corporations. This especially concerns the scope of the financial sector, and a special emphasis is given to non-financial companies. This subject covers a broad approach to risk management in the enterprise or "integrated risk management" - the new managerial approach to risk management. Beside the other topics covered by material, a particular attention will be given to market, credit and operational risk. The subject relies to a large extent on the active application of analysis of real cases.
  • Local Rural Economic Development
    The subject Local and Rural Economic Development offers students an adequate fund of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of local and rural economic development. The trainings of students go through a special emphasis on achieving the following objectives: * An appropriate use of modern economic theories in the field of local, rural and regional economic development, * Introducing to students the appropriate techniques and methods for analyzing the situation of local and rural development, * Directing students to contemporary forms of support and to stimulate the business activities of local, regional and national levels, * Indication of the role of the degree of decentralization at local level as an important factor of local development, familiarize students with appropriate strategies and policies of local and central government affecting the development of rural & urban areas and nationwide.
  • Public Finances and Agribusiness
    This course provides students with knowledge of public financeс as one of the main levers of macroeconomic policy instruments and fundamental to the functioning of a national economy as a whole and as a subsystem of an economic system of the country. The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with knowledge about the budget and extra-budgetary funds as the main instruments of fiscal policy, procedures about preparation, approving, implementing and controlling the budget, and techniques of budget at the local, and at central level.

Semester 3

• Marketing for Agribusiness (6.0 ECTS)
  This course describes the way the company achieves its marketing - goals by determining the target market using marketing strategies to successfully serve the target market. The role of marketing and marketing management in agribusiness, managing the marketing environment, managing the agribusiness market, the interconnectedness of markets agribusiness division of markets, market segmentation, evaluation of market demand, positioning of agricultural products, market demand , consumer behavior, management and marketing - mix elements, managing the pricing policy, managing the politics of distribution and sales, managing the promotion. Students are also introduced to elements of process management, planning marketing activities and marketing plans, marketing strategies, marketing tactics, the organization of marketing and marketing control and successful application in practice.
• Financial Accounting in Agribusiness (6.0 ECTS)
  The purpose of lecturing this subject is to assist students understand the essence of accounting. The subject financial accounting relates with the fundamentals of financial accounting. It introduces students the field of financial accounting and covers the following areas: general accounting, bookkeeping, financial statements - balance sheet and income statement, cash flow statement and statement of changes in ownership equity, assets and liabilities and so on.
• Elective 3/1 (9.0 ECTS)
  • Operations Management
    The study of the subject allows students to become familiar with the complex issue of managing production and services seen as a process of planning and organizing of production and services, as well as the control of the operation of production and services as a system in order to achieve the objectives of production and services in the most effective and efficient way. In this context, a particular attention is done to the following aspects of operational management: manufacturing and services as a system, scheduling system of manufacturing and services, product design and service, product quality and service, manufacturing and service program, location, capacity, manufacturing equipments, factory buildings, factory space planning, manufacturing and service processes, planning and following the production time, inventory control, the system of internal storage and transport, maintenance of equipments and buildings and ensuring the production with energy, controlling costs and organizational structure of production
  • Technological Changes in Agribusiness
    The basic structure of the subject technological changes in agribusiness has taken on added significance in the context of debates about "sustainable development", and the occurrence or more properly, re-emergence of different schools of "sustainable agriculture". It includes contents that are focused on improving aspects of technological change on agribusiness. Despite the interest in this "alternative", the agriculture is stuck firmly on the path of increasing industrialization and probably unsustainable depletion of soil, genetic resources, potash and nitrate. In many countries, it is a major consumer of more scarce water resources. The efficiency of conversion of energy is low in industrial farming systems, and greenhouse gas emissions are significant.
  • Project Management in Agribusiness
    This course describes the way the company achieves its marketing objectives by determining the target market using marketing strategies to successfully serve the target market. The role of marketing and marketing management in agribusiness, managing the marketing environment, managing the agribusiness market, the interconnectedness of agribusiness, market segmentation, evaluation of market demand, positioning of agricultural products, market demand , consumer behavior, management and marketing - mix elements, managing the pricing policy, managing the politics of distribution and sales, managing promotion. Students are introduced to elements of process management and planning marketing activities and marketing plans, marketing strategies, marketing tactics, the organization of marketing and marketing control and successful application in practice
  • Managing Sustainable Development
    The subject management with sustainable economic development prepares students with theoretical knowledge and experience in the field of sustainable development. Sustainable development is a very complex category and very dimensional and therefore the purpose of this course is: * How to achieve and maintain economic growth along with environmental maintenance, * How to achieve scientific and technical and technological development, * Managing the challenges of sustainable development, * Use of appropriate policies to achieve goals, * The use of adequate resources from within and from external financial institutions for sustainable development, * Measuring sustainable development and others.
• Elective 3/2 (9.0 ECTS)
  • Operations Management
    The study of the subject allows students to become familiar with the complex issue of managing production and services seen as a process of planning and organizing of production and services, as well as the control of the operation of production and services as a system in order to achieve the objectives of production and services in the most effective and efficient way. In this context, a particular attention is done to the following aspects of operational management: manufacturing and services as a system, scheduling system of manufacturing and services, product design and service, product quality and service, manufacturing and service program, location, capacity, manufacturing equipments, factory buildings, factory space planning, manufacturing and service processes, planning and following the production time, inventory control, the system of internal storage and transport, maintenance of equipments and buildings and ensuring the production with energy, controlling costs and organizational structure of production
  • Technological Changes in Agribusiness
    The basic structure of the subject technological changes in agribusiness has taken on added significance in the context of debates about "sustainable development", and the occurrence or more properly, re-emergence of different schools of "sustainable agriculture". It includes contents that are focused on improving aspects of technological change on agribusiness. Despite the interest in this "alternative", the agriculture is stuck firmly on the path of increasing industrialization and probably unsustainable depletion of soil, genetic resources, potash and nitrate. In many countries, it is a major consumer of more scarce water resources. The efficiency of conversion of energy is low in industrial farming systems, and greenhouse gas emissions are significant.
  • Project Management in Agribusiness
    This course describes the way the company achieves its marketing objectives by determining the target market using marketing strategies to successfully serve the target market. The role of marketing and marketing management in agribusiness, managing the marketing environment, managing the agribusiness market, the interconnectedness of agribusiness, market segmentation, evaluation of market demand, positioning of agricultural products, market demand , consumer behavior, management and marketing - mix elements, managing the pricing policy, managing the politics of distribution and sales, managing promotion. Students are introduced to elements of process management and planning marketing activities and marketing plans, marketing strategies, marketing tactics, the organization of marketing and marketing control and successful application in practice
  • Managing Sustainable Development
    The subject management with sustainable economic development prepares students with theoretical knowledge and experience in the field of sustainable development. Sustainable development is a very complex category and very dimensional and therefore the purpose of this course is: * How to achieve and maintain economic growth along with environmental maintenance, * How to achieve scientific and technical and technological development, * Managing the challenges of sustainable development, * Use of appropriate policies to achieve goals, * The use of adequate resources from within and from external financial institutions for sustainable development, * Measuring sustainable development and others.

Semester 4

• Master Thesis (30.0 ECTS)