Conclusion
In societies where transition has caused crises in professional action, academia can assume a leading part in re-defining the position and role of the profession in spatial development and, as such, bring about a shift in the planning paradigm. The PM for the production of master’s degree projects outlined above is primarily oriented toward the creation of sustainable professional solutions that owe their quality and complexity to the multitude of stakeholders involved. Here, the construction of knowledge is directly conditioned by the thematic framework, selected so as to reflect the most up-to-date professional experience and issues of global importance for the planning community but, at the same time, to relate to problems currently faced by the planning profession in Serbia caused by its inadequate planning system, with limited focus on shared decision-making and issues of sustainability, as well as problems linked to transition and urbanisation.
The proposed PM provides a forum for permanent communication between all stakeholders across domains in the production of final projects. Various venues for organised discussion – such as meetings, group debates, lectures and workshops – provided an extensive area for experimentation and open professional dialogue. In addition, collaboration between students from different courses of study and differing professional backgrounds in tackling the same topic made a major contribution to the quality of their learning and master’s projects. Moreover, co-operation with a foreign university substantially enriched the learning process for both students and teachers. Finally, the involvement of an international organisation as the sponsor of collaboration and guarantor of the relevance of the thematic framework greatly contributed to the diversity and quality of communication. This allowed the creation of a communications platform to make decisions that concern spatial development as a framework for contemporary planning.
