Banking, finance and trade management

Experts in the field of banking, finance and trade research, improve and develop knowledge, theories and methods and apply knowledge from specific areas of economics such as: actuarial economics, econometrics, finance, banking, trade, management and other applied social sciences, and provide specialist vital services related to banking and financial affairs and all domains of trade affairs to meet the needs of individuals, local communities and the economic system as a whole.

Economists in the field of banking, finance and trade lead and research to improve and develop economic knowledge, theories and operational methods used to understand and describe trends in the international and domestic market of banking products and services, financial capital market, money market and money derivatives , the market of commercial goods and services, and advise on the application of knowledge for the development of investment projects and development projects of banking and financial organizations and institutions.

These jobs include:

• studying, advising and dealing with various economic aspects in the field of banking and financing such as placement of capital and securities, marketing methods, domestic and international trends in the financial and capital markets, monetary and fiscal policy, price and consumption policy; 
• collection, analysis and interpretation of economic data in the monetary and financial field using economic aggregates and various statistical and other methods; 
• advising on economic policy and the direction of activities to be followed in the light of past, current and projected economic indicators and trends; 
• preparation of studies and reports; 
• related jobs; 
• supervision of other workers.

The most general generic competencies at the level of each of the cycles of education, which must be possessed by every graduate regardless of the study program or. institution in which he completed his higher education, are defined:

• Dublin descriptors, which represent a set of criteria for students' expected achievement and ability to distinguish between different cycles of education, proposed by the Joint Quality Initiative (JQI), and which are accepted as the basis for describing each cycle of education in ministerial meeting in Bergen in May 2005.
• The General Framework for Qualifications in European Higher Education (EQF for HE), adopted at the ministerial meeting in Bergen in May 2005.

These competencies are categorized as instrumental, interpersonal and systemic:

• Instrumental competencies include:
• Cognitive abilities, understanding and manipulation of ideas and thoughts.
• Methodological abilities of communication with the environment: organizing time and learning strategies, making decisions or solving problems.
• Technological abilities related to the use of technological means, computers and the application of information management skills.
• Language skills such as written and oral communication or knowledge of foreign languages.
• Interpersonal Competences: Individual abilities that include the ability to express one's feelings, social skills such as inter-personal skills, teamwork, or expressing social and ethical commitment. These competencies enable the processes of social interaction and cooperation.
• Systemic competencies are those skills and abilities that apply to the entire system. They represent a combination of understanding, sensibility and knowledge with which a person will be able to see in what relationship the individual parts are and in what way they form a whole. These skills include the ability to plan for change to improve entire systems and create new systems. Systemic competencies require prior adoption of instrumental and interpersonal competencies

Qualifications that represent the successful completion of the first cycle (180-240 ECTS credits) are awarded to students who:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the field of study, which builds on their secondary education and which is common at the first cycle level, with the support of appropriate resources for higher education (university textbooks, information and communication technologies), which includes aspects of knowledge of advanced achievements in a given field of study;
• can apply detailed knowledge and critical understanding of principles related to a given field of study / discipline in a way that demonstrates a professional approach to work or profession, and possess competencies that are usually expressed by the ability to form and support opinions and views and the ability to solve problems within a given field of study;
• have the ability to collect and interpret relevant data (within a given field of study) on the basis of which they make judgments that may also contain reflections on relevant social scientific or ethical issues;
• can apply basic knowledge acquisition methods and applied research in a given discipline, and are able to decide which approach to use to solve a given problem, and are aware of the extent to which the chosen approach is appropriate to solve such a problem;
• can present and convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to an audience that specializes in a given field of study, but also to an audience that is not specialized, using the appropriate language (and where appropriate, one or more foreign languages) and using communication technology;
• have built the learning skills necessary for further study, with a high degree of autonomy and the academic skills and characteristics necessary for research work, understanding and evaluating new information, concepts and evidence from a variety of sources;
• possess a foundation for future self-direction and lifelong learning;
• have acquired interpersonal and teamwork skills, suitable for employment and / or further study.

Graduates of banking, finance and trade will be involved in specific banking, financial, retail and wholesale, as well as logistical aspects of their banking, trade or. financial organizations, in the planning and management of financial, business and human resources. Therefore, the curriculum of banking, finance and trade is focused on building specific competencies that are necessary in different types of financial institutions, agencies and organizations as well as in different areas of investing, financing, import-export, franchising, merchandising and stock exchange business to prepare graduates. for constant and accelerated changes in the investment, financial and business environment.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES of the program arise from the teaching modules of the study core in the field of banking, finance and trade, which implies knowledge of management and operations of all forms of banking and para-banking organizations in the fields of business, commercial, investment banking, microcredit and savings and credit operations. Students are also trained for narrowly specialized functions in the field of banking market analysis and business banking. Students also possess significant competencies related to management, analysis, assessment and risk management, as well as competencies in the field of project and investment management. In the field of financing, students take over the competencies of stock exchange operations, operations of "portfolio" financial institutions, analysis and management of complex investment processes, operations on the securities market, and financing of import-export operations. In the field of trade, students take on competencies related to business, logistics and organization in retail and wholesale, modern trade technologies of merchandising, franchising and network sales, import-export business, forwarding, logistics and procurement management. In the elective corpus, students can also take on specific competencies related to team building, business partnerships, crisis management and conflict management, and international business negotiation. In the elective corpus in the field of trade, students can take on additional competencies in the field of consumer and customer research and marketing management of personal sales.

In the modular part of the teaching process, which is practically oriented, students take active and practical narrowly specialized competencies from innovative entrepreneurship in business incubation centers, which include: the process of birth and incubation of new ideas, technological predictions and innovative entrepreneurship, small business establishment and management, business development plans and development and selection of team business projects.

Students have competencies related to recognizing and managing the parameters of the business environment to be able to use the relevant economic, financial and other instruments by understanding the impacts of the macro / micro - economic environment and identifying the impacts of these elements on financial and business infrastructure, organization and business functions. This includes the ability to identify the essential characteristics and functional areas of the business organization and the ability to define changes in the banking and business organization that provide the prerequisites for an elastic response to changes in the business macro-environment.

During their studies, students take over the appropriate set of system competencies in the field of business economics so that they can successfully perform inter-departmental work tasks, and to be able to see the whole organization or. to see the consequences of the impact of individual functions of the organization on the whole and on its business environment.

Students are trained to understand the details of banking, financial and trade functions, types of financial, banking and trade operations and business operations, the specifics of different types of banking, trade and other financial institutions or. business sectors and to link these factors with basic knowledge. Competences of analysis, synthesis and critical thinking in business and management areas enable successful management of banking and financial institutions and institutions, as well as trade organizations and companies (tools and concepts), planning, control and audit of business organization and development of consulting plans.

Students also take basic competencies in ancillary areas that are indirectly related to business process such as: business law and business contracts, technology and engineering - understanding the technological background of business processes and links to market research, social and marketing psychology, mathematical and statistical methods and tools.

In the field of business logistics, students take on competencies related to management accounting, securities management, various payment instruments, stock exchange operations, freight forwarding and distribution, modern sales strategies and sales promotion methods.

Graduation in the study program "Banking, Finance and Trade" means acquiring a minimum of 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credit points, or an optimum of 240 ECTS, mandatory taking at least two foreign language exams, mandatory completion of at least six seminars or. defense of at least four seminar papers in the selected study area and defense of diploma / specialist thesis. 

First-cycle programs focus on the acquisition of basic knowledge to introduce students to the various business functions and the business environment in which these functions take place in banks and other financial and commercial organizations and institutions and in the various forms of their integration. Students should also be introduced to a set of basic financial instruments to support the business process, organizational and communication skills, along with the ability to analyze and structure the problems of a banking and trading organization.

To achieve these educational goals in the first cycle study, students should experience different types of teaching methods such as traditional lectures and exercises, seminars, research seminars, project assignments, pedagogical workshops, problem-oriented workshops, demonstration classes, student internships and practical work in banking and other financial institutions, work-oriented exercises, modeling of banking processes, especially in the field of risk assessment, research student work. In connection with that, students should go through various methods of knowledge assessment which document the achieved educational outcomes.

This means that the educational outcomes of the course should be achieved by appropriate teaching and examination methods, where students present not only the level of their basic knowledge, but also their ability to use tools to support the business process, organize their work, communicate in the context of their work and to argue the results.

After the first cycle studies, students have the possibility of employment, mobility in further studies, or the possibility of later inclusion in the system of "learning for life".

The teaching of the second cycle is based on the core knowledge of the first cycle. According to the teaching orientation, it can be vertical, horizontal or interdisciplinary, depending on the knowledge acquired during the first cycle studies. In the second cycle, as in the first, different teaching and examination methods are used which stimulate not only the acquisition of knowledge in the subject areas of banking, finance and trade, but also the preparation of students to find relevant problem-solving tools and their ability to organize and communicate and be able to present a solution to a problem in a broader business context.

Educational outcomes should give banking students general skills to formulate:

• Issues related to the background of the problem; 
• Research questions; 
• Problem solving methodology 
• Problem analysis 
• Conclusions related to problem elaboration 
• Recommendations related to problem solving 
• Sources for further elaboration of the problem 
• Orchestrating and harmonizing problem-solving teams 
• Problem presentation and problem communication 

Based on the educational profile of managers and managers of specialists in banking, finance and trade, in the field of graduate and postgraduate studies, the University has created a large number of operational and applied specializations / subspecializations, which qualify students for professional and managerial jobs in small and medium banks and other financial institutions. institutions, as well as various types of trade organizations in the field of retail and wholesale, to work in import-export trading companies, corporations and large business systems that carry out part of the business in the field of financing, specialized marketing agencies, investment funds, consulting agencies, public institutions, stock exchanges and brokerage agencies.

Graduates and graduate students-specialists in banking, finance and trade are trained to perform the following tasks: managers in banking, managers for trade and export affairs, managers of forwarding, logistics and insurance, managers of tourism and hospitality, managers-managers in all levels of business, financial, institutional and corporate organization, managers of revitalization and reengineering of financial institutions and companies in crisis, project development managers and investment managers, analysts and advisors for small business, trade and business incubators, business information system managers, accounting management experts and business finance managers, consultants for market operations, taxes and stock exchange operations, managers of new product development and development of expert teams, environmental protection managers, quality control managers, marketers, expert associates in research and planning, and control and audit of market operations.

The study created the foundations for lifelong professional mobility and permanent professional development.

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