International education and diplomacy: Education of Serbian students in internship in the 21st century

The education of scholarship students abroad throughout Serbian history was conceived as a key factor that contributed to the development of the country of origin after the completion of education. In accordance with the needs of society, the creators of educational policies in the country of origin enacted regulations and measures that encouraged Serbian students to study abroad, but also to return to their home country after their education had been completed in order to contribute with their knowledge, their contacts to the development at home. This tradition has been maintained throughout Serbian history, so even today we have Government scholarship students who study at prestigious universities in the world. As this topic is insufficiently researched and modestly represented in scientific circles in Serbia, we received an incentive for the research. The analysis of the content of the available documents and regulations allows us to see the way in which Serbian scholars are educated abroad in the 21st century. On the other hand, the data obtained from the representatives of the "Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia-Dositej" allows us to statistically look at the data related to Serbian scholarship students who studied abroad in the period from 2008 to 2022.. Based on the obtained data, it is possible to get a picture of the profile of students-scholarship holders of the RS Government Fund "Dositej "-who a are studying abroad today. This paper also makes a theoretical contribution to research that analyzes the importance of international mobility and soft diplomacy. This paper identified the population of Serbian students studying abroad in the 21st century as scholarship recipients of the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia, "Dositeja." Analysis of legal acts and quantitative data indicates that the scholarship program of the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia, "Dositeja," is in an undefined academic space, somewhere between development, education, schooling, and graduation. when talking about academic mobility versus soft diplomacy (see: Kent, 2018). Today, Serbian scholars study in as many as 42 countries and choose the most prestigious faculties from the Shanghai list. Also, the analyzed data indicate that the education policy in Serbia aims to educate young talents abroad in economically developed countries, but at the same time, despite the contractual obligations, there is no group that ensures that insuranc