Kosovo

Since its declaration of independence in 2008, Kosovo has faced serious political, ethnic, economic and social problems. Corruption, lack of transparency, outdated curricula without labour market relevance and extremely high youth unemployment are some of them. The country's current development phase is crucial for establishing democracy, rule of law and a market economy regime in the country. Therefore, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) focuses on the modernization of the education sector, the rural and economic development and promotes local institutional capacities. This and the support of the private sector contribute directly to poverty reduction, increase of employment and improvement of the investment climate, and have an impact on the economic growth.

EDUCATION IS THE FUTURE

As people are the most valuable resource a country has to offer, the Austrian Development Agency's work in Kosovo focuses on developing a modern higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) system and adapting it to international standards. The Austrian Development Cooperation has been supporting Kosovo's education sector for more than 20 years now, with a particular focus on higher education and VET. The overall objective of the education projects supported by Austria is to strengthen the integration of higher education and VET both at the European and at a regional level, and to align educational systems with labour market needs. The Austrian Development Cooperation supports smart governance, efficient management in the education sector and strengthens the private sector and helps its partner country to align relevant qualifications with the National Qualification Framework (NQF) and EU key competences.