Rectorate

• Professor Dr. Suad Bećirović was born on May 4, 1981, in Freudenstadt, Germany. He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown. In 2004, he earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Reutlingen in Germany.
• He completed his master’s thesis in banking and finance at the International University of Novi Pazar in 2007, obtaining the title of Master of Economic Sciences.
• In 2009, he completed his doctoral studies at the University of Novi Pazar and received the title of Doctor of Economic Sciences.
• In 2007, he began working as a teaching assistant at the Department of Economic Sciences, where he became a professor in 2009, focusing on management-related courses.
• That same year, he was appointed Head of the Center for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Novi Pazar. In 2014, he was elected as the Rector of the University of Novi Pazar.
• He is the author of more than fifty scientific and professional papers written in Bosnian, Serbian, English, and German, most of which have been published in international journals. His research interests include finance (particularly Islamic finance) and economic development.
• Professor Bećirović has participated in the implementation of numerous research projects, including: Analysis of Financing Possibilities for Local Communities in Novi Pazar, Tutin, and Prijepolje (EU Delegation to Serbia), Cross-Border Project Serbia-Montenegro: "Better Cooperation for a Better Future" (EU Delegation to Serbia), Resource Identification as a Basis for Future Investments in Southwest Serbia, Consultant for the Development Strategy of the Municipality of Rožaje (Municipality of Rožaje). He is fluent in German and English. Professor Bećirović is married and the father of three children.

The establishment of the University of Novi Pazar marked a historic breakthrough that forever changed Novi Pazar, Sandžak, Serbia, and even the entire region. In 2002, courageous visionaries, led by the Mufti Muamer ef. Zukorlić, made the decision to found an institution not for material gain or personal interests, but to sacrifice their money, time, and energy in order to provide this region, this area, with a better and brighter future.

A home of science was founded in a region historically known for the emigration of its people, where the youth left for the world to acquire knowledge. At a time when, unfortunately, intolerance and hostility prevailed.

In Novi Pazar, an institution emerged that succeeded in combining traditional values with modern scientific achievements. It offered our youth new perspectives, uniting professors and students of different nationalities and religions to develop their God-given potential, talents, and creative ideas in order to achieve excellent results in theory and practice for the benefit of the entire community. Today, we have a situation where individuals from different regions come to Novi Pazar to acquire knowledge.

The positive energy of the founders has been passed on to all the employees of this University. We can responsibly say that all the employees of the University carry the vision and mission of its founding within themselves.

Therefore, we are convinced that this institution, based on sincere foundations and genuine intentions, will always endure and will always be successful.

Welcome to our and YOUR University in Novi Pazar!

Academic Mufti Muamer Zukorlić
Rector (2002 – 2008)

The first rector and main initiator of the establishment of the University of Novi Pazar was academic Muamer Zukorlić. His vision for founding the University in Novi Pazar is best described in the following words:

“The University of Novi Pazar was founded in Sandžak, in a land inhabited by people characterized by cultural and other differences, yet united by universal values and the needs of life. For the progress and welfare of society, education is an essential prerequisite.

This University was established with the aim of helping and serving all people, especially those who recognized it as a beacon of prosperity and a guide on the path to freedom for individuals and communities as a whole.

Born out of the light of the sun and love for humanity, the University appeared to dispel the clouds of dogmatism that hovered over our skies, causing darkness and ignorance.

The main universal value needed by every person is knowledge. Knowledge does not recognize borders of time, space, race, nationality, or any other. The only real boundary is the one that separates knowledge from ignorance.

Only harmonious knowledge, in its strength, power, and quality, as well as in its spirituality and humanity, measured by the scale of humility, is true knowledge. Knowledge, the best and the highest quality, universal knowledge, useful knowledge aimed to serve humanity.

This has been and remains the ideal for the establishment and development of this University.

As a young institution full of strength and energy, we are ready to face all the challenges of modern higher education, offering our students the best knowledge services.

From the very beginning, students and their parents have entrusted us with their trust, aware that we will guide them with firm steps toward full success in knowledge and careers. They can rely on the University and the professors who continuously contribute to the scientific achievements of our time.

The University of Novi Pazar meets all the criteria for quality and excellence like the most successful world universities. With innovative thinking and daily activities, the University is designed in accordance with the demands and needs of the community and students. It is a University with a balance between education and scientific research, accompanied by the acquisition of necessary skills, providing an answer to the constant academic curiosity of students, whose results will be of direct benefit to the wider community. We are preparing our students for the future, giving them the essential tools they will use in their professional lives.

This University is raising new generations of capable people, making it a key player in the development of the wider region, contributing to the general welfare and stabilization of this area. All the criticisms and obstacles that have followed this institution from its inception are understood as confirmation of its unparalleled quality and authenticity.

We draw strength for the raising and development of this University from the first words of the Qur’an:

„Read, in the name of your Lord who creates…'“

Prof. Dr. Mevlud Dudić
Rector (2008 – 2014)

The second rector of the University was Prof. Dr. Mevlud Dudić, who led the University into the second decade of its existence. He said the following about the University:

“In the first decade, we invested all our strength and capacities to complete a quality offering of sustainable study programs, form our own staff, and create conditions for normal work. In terms of spatial requirements and technical facilities, we succeeded in building a large number of classrooms and equipping them with the most modern teaching tools. The University strengthened daily, improving existing and creating new potentials aimed not only at building its own brand but also at leadership in higher education in the region.

For these reasons, today, a decade after its founding, the University of Novi Pazar is rightfully called a miracle, and we who participated in the birth and growth of this institution proudly say that it is all a divine blessing and the result of responsible behavior toward the entrusted mission. Therefore, in the next decade, we will diligently work on the general humanization of our society and create staff that will equally be a source of pride for all those who cherish the idea of internationalism and the common good.

Students are, of course, our greatest treasure and will always be our top priority. The entire existence and activity of this institution are focused on providing the best and highest quality education to those who have entrusted us with their trust. Our desire is to further enhance the interaction between students, teaching staff, and external university factors, so that the mission of our University is fully realized and the knowledge, skills, and achievements attained by our professors, assistants, and students benefit the wider community and serve as one of the progressive factors for the whole of society.

In line with the needs and interests of the environment, we will strive to create an intellectual elite that will adhere to the following values in their lives and work: honor, dignity, honesty, courage, expertise, trustworthiness, and consistency.

Aware that we enter this second decade with great ambitions, we do not lose optimism because we are confident that with the resources at our disposal, the experience gained from this decade of strengthening, and our faith in ourselves and institutional work, we are destined for success. The University is already establishing its roots in this area, as well as its bright future, which, despite all the challenges, necessarily arises from the intention of goodness and the mission of enlightenment, shining through the dawn of a new day. A man is a being of choice and, therefore, of freedom, and a free man is only one who possesses knowledge.

Therefore, the doors of this University are wide open to all those who thirst for knowledge, to those who wish to pass knowledge onto others, to all who desire a better future, to all who want to be free people.”