Cooperation agreement signed between the Faculty of Food Technology Osijek and Belje Plus
03. April 2023.Prof. Jurislav Babić, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, and Damir Leko, Chairman of the Board of Belje Plus and executive director of agriculture in Fortenova Group, signed a Business Cooperation Agreement in Osijek today.
By signing this important agreement, which represents the basis for future cooperation, Belje will become a teaching base for students of the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek, which will enable further development and realisation of joint objectives in the sector of higher education and training, research and realisation of new projects and products.
When signing the Agreement, Dean Babić stated: “With this Agreement, we enter into a new period of cooperation with Belje, in which we will enable students to undergo part of their professional training in the company’s production facilities, thus ensuring that they connect directly with the economy and gain insight into everyday work in production. The uniqueness of cooperation with Belje is seen in the opportunity to observe traceability of the production process from the field to the table, as well as the complexity of production, including of dairy products, smoked and cured meat products with long shelf life produced using traditional methods, wine production and production of animal feed. This diversity which is present in Belje will make it possible for us to exchange experiences, as well as to establish and maintain a relationship between academic and scientific personnel and production technologists working in the same or similar fields.”
Belje also confirms its satisfaction regarding the signed agreement; Damir Leko, Chairman of the Board, states: “For us, this is an important step in further development of the company and our employees, through better and increased cooperation with the scientists employed by the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek. I believe that our cooperation will result in new scientific papers, as well as projects that will be created together for the purpose of developing new products or improving existing production processes. I am certain that learning about the latest developments in the field of biotechnology, engineering and natural sciences, as well as the possibility of undergoing further training will be of interest to our employees as well. This year, we plan to conclude several such agreements with scientific institutions, in order to jointly promote our production and higher education.”
