Prof. Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković has over 18 years of continuous teaching and pedagogical experience in the fields of Disaster Risk Management, emergency management, risk assessment, crisis management, civil protection, and broader security studies. His teaching profile combines academic instruction with practice-oriented, scenario-based learning, drawing on extensive professional engagement in emergency protection and rescue, applied risk assessments, and inter-institutional cooperation.

Since 2022, he has been employed at the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade, within the Department of Emergency Management and Environmental Security Studies, in the academic rank of Associate Professor. Prior to that, from 2017 to 2022, he was employed at the same faculty in the rank of Assistant Professor. He currently teaches at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral academic studies on the following courses: Risk Management in Emergency Situations, Protection Against Natural and Anthropogenic Disasters, Security Risks and Disasters, Society and Disasters, Crisis Management in Natural and Industrial Disasters, and Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction.

Throughout the entire evaluation period, he achieved positive results in student evaluations, confirming the continuity of high-quality and responsible pedagogical work. In the course Risk Management in Emergency Situations, he received an average student evaluation score of 4.84 in the 2021/2022 academic year, 4.71 in 2022/2023, 4.56 in 2023/2024, and 4.46 in 2024/2025.

He was appointed to the academic title of Adjunct Professor at the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, within the Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, based on the decision of the University Senate of June 4, 2025, for a period of five years (2025–2030). In this capacity, he has been engaged in teaching and research within the international master’s program Safety and Disaster Management in the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic years, where he teaches the courses Preventive Planning and Protective Measures in the Surroundings of Industrial Plants as course leader, Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Vulnerability, Stress, Resilience, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of the fields of risk management, security, and community resilience.

During 2024, he was engaged as a visiting professor at the Austrian university Montanuniversität Leoben, at the Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, within the master’s program Safety and Disaster Management (interdisciplinary studies). This engagement represents an important international recognition of his scientific, teaching, and research work in the field of risk management, security, and disasters.

He is also engaged as a lecturer at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, in the doctoral academic studies program Software Engineering and E-Business, for the course Risk Management in E-Business, in the summer semester of the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic years. This engagement was realized on the basis of an official decision of the Teaching and Scientific Council of the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade, by which his engagement was approved and he was granted full authorization to teach and sign the accompanying documentation for this doctoral course.

He is also engaged as an Associate Professor at the Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade – Department of the College of Health Studies, within the study program Professional Master Sanitary and Environmental Engineer, in the narrower scientific field Risk Management in Emergency Situations and Civil Protection, for teaching the course Contemporary Strategies and Systems of Civil Protection in the 2025/2026 academic year.

During 2024, 2025, and 2026, he was also selected as a lecturer in the prestigious program of Higher Studies of Security and Defence (VSBO), implemented within the National Defence School “Vojvoda Radomir Putnik”, of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia and the University of Defence. This program brings together senior officers of the Serbian Armed Forces, leaders of state institutions, members of the National Assembly, representatives of ministries, as well as participants from partner countries, thereby making an important contribution to strengthening international cooperation in the field of defence and security. During intensive teaching and professional work, Vladimir Cvetković actively participates in the realization of the program through lectures, practical analyses, and the preparation of participants for contemporary security challenges. His role includes not only the transfer of knowledge, but also the development of key competencies in crisis management, the analysis of current security issues, and the encouragement of an interactive and analytical approach to learning. In this way, he contributes to enhancing the professional capacities of participants and shaping a new generation of experts dedicated to the stability, resilience, and security of the region.

Since 2025, he has been engaged as a professor in the new international master’s program International Disaster Management and Civil Protection at the University of Vienna, where he participates in the delivery of the course Climate Change and Global Transitions – Challenges for Disaster Management. This engagement takes place at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe, founded in 1365. It is a significant and modern study program that connects the academic community, operational teams, and decision-makers, with the aim of strengthening knowledge, competencies, and cooperation in the fields of disaster management, disaster risk reduction, and civil protection. The program is implemented in two formats, adapted to different professional and academic needs of participants: the master’s program comprises 120 ECTS credits, lasts four semesters, and leads to the degree of Master of Science with the completion of a master’s thesis, while the Academic Expert Program comprises 60 ECTS credits, lasts three semesters, and is oriented toward the development of practical and professional competencies in international disaster management, risk management, and civil protection. A special value of the program lies in its international and interdisciplinary character, as the teaching is delivered in English through a combination of block teaching at partner universities across Europe and online teaching units, enabling participants to acquire theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and international professional networks. The teaching contents cover the entire disaster management cycle — from prevention and preparedness to response, recovery, and resilience building. The program is implemented in cooperation with several renowned European universities, including the University of Vienna, the University of Twente, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Pisa, the University of Bonn, and Dublin City University. It was developed within the framework of the EUMA project, with the support of the European Union, and the role of the academic director of the program, Prof. Dr. Thomas Glade, who coordinated the consortium and made a significant contribution to shaping this innovative curriculum, is particularly noteworthy.

He is also engaged as a lecturer at FH Campus Wien – University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, on the course Integriertes Sicherheitsmanagement within the program Integrated Safety and Security Management (ISM), combining theoretical teaching and practical work. During 2024, he delivered a guest lecture on Risk Management in Emergency Situations at the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security in Belgrade.

An international academic lecture by invitation was delivered at the University of Vienna, within the lecture series Frontiers in Spatial Science: Natural Hazards, Vulnerability and Disasters, on the topic “Disaster Risk Management and Environmental Security: Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction – the Case of the Western Balkans”, on April 15, 2026. The lecture was delivered in English, in hybrid format, and was intended for students of various academic profiles from the University of Vienna and partner universities of the Circle U network, confirming his international academic recognition and teaching engagement.

He is also the director of the platform ProSafeNet – The Global Hub for Safety, Security, Risk & Emergency Professionals and Scientists, which represents an international professional and academic platform aimed at connecting experts, researchers, practitioners, and institutions in the fields of safety, security, risk management, and emergency situations. The platform is conceived as a space for the exchange of knowledge, experience, and good practices, the advancement of international cooperation, professional networking, as well as the promotion of contemporary approaches in disaster risk reduction, community resilience, civil protection, and crisis management. Through this engagement, he further confirms his strategic and organizational capacities, as well as his ability to integrate scientific knowledge and professional experience into contemporary forms of international cooperation and professional networking.

A Memorandum of Strategic, Professional, and Academic Cooperation was signed between the international platform ProSafeNet and the Faculty of Security – Skopje, University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola, ceremonially signed by Prof. Dr. Jonče Ivanovski, Dean of the Faculty of Security, and Prof. Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković, Director of ProSafeNet and President of the Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations. The memorandum established a long-term partnership in the field of security, risk management, crisis response, and resilience building, with the granting of permanent Premium access to the ProSafeNet application to the Faculty of Security, for the use of advanced digital tools, institutional profiling, publication of academic and professional activities, work with students and alumni, and the enhancement of regional and international cooperation.

A consolidated, publicly available scientific and teaching profile was opened for him at the Technical University of Leoben (Montanuniversität Leoben), Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering – Safety & Disaster Management (SDM), on the University’s PURE platform, including an overview of publications, projects, and teaching engagements, with open access works specially marked. This profile is open for scientific and professional cooperation with researchers and institutions of this specialized Austrian technical institution, recognized for strong results in the field of engineering.

He is the Editor-in-Chief of two international scientific journals — International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) and International Journal of Contemporary Security Studies (IJCSS). Through this editorial engagement, he actively contributes to the development and promotion of scholarly publishing in the fields of disaster risk management, security, civil protection, and contemporary security studies. His editorial role includes the coordination of editorial and peer-review procedures, the improvement of scientific quality and journal visibility, the strengthening of international cooperation with authors, reviewers, and editorial board members, as well as the continuous improvement of publishing standards. In this way, he makes a significant contribution to the internationalization of scientific production and the strengthening of academic visibility in the fields for which he is being elected.

During 2026, he was appointed a member of the Commission for preparing the report for the election of one teaching assistant in the narrower scientific field Police Organization, for the course Police Tactics, at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, on the basis of the decision of the Council of the Department of Criminalistics. During 2025, he was appointed a member of the commission for election to the title of assistant with a doctorate at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade. He has served as the mentor of 1 doctoral dissertation and co-mentor of 3 doctoral dissertations, as well as mentor of a total of 33 undergraduate theses and 16 master’s theses, while as a member of commissions he participated in the defence of 17 undergraduate theses, 16 master’s theses, and 3 doctoral dissertations. In addition, he has actively contributed to the development of the scientific and teaching junior staff through the organization and implementation of seminars, workshops, student training sessions, and practical exercises in the field of disaster risk management at the Faculty and within the Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations. A particular contribution is also reflected in the publication of a larger number of co-authored scientific papers with junior associates, graduate students, master’s students, and other young researchers, thereby directly encouraging their scientific development and academic advancement.

He has served as the mentor of 1 doctoral dissertation at the Faculty of Security Studies and co-mentor of 3 doctoral dissertations, of which 2 were at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences and 1 at the Faculty of Geography. He has also served as mentor of a total of 33 undergraduate theses and 16 master’s theses, while as a member of commissions he participated in the defence of 17 undergraduate theses, 16 master’s theses, and 3 doctoral dissertations at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, and the Faculty of Geography.

In the current evaluation period, he has served as mentor of one doctoral dissertation, co-mentor of three doctoral dissertations, and member of the defence committee for three doctoral dissertations:

  1. Adaptation of BRIC Indicators of Community Disaster Resilience in Serbia: A Predictive Model Based on the DROP Theoretical Framework — Dalibor Milenković, 2025, Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade. Role: Mentor.
  2. Application of Artificial Neural Networks and Internet Presence Indicators in Predicting the Bankruptcy Risk of Hotel Enterprises — Tijana Matejić, 2025, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. Role: Member of the defence committee.
  3. Integration of Forensic Accounting Techniques into the Control System — Marko Špiler, 2025, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. Role: Co-mentor. Mentor: Snežana Knežević.
  4. Predictive Model of the Resilience of Local Communities in Montenegro to Geohazards Caused by Earthquakes — Goran Grozdanić, 2024, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade. Role: Co-mentor. Mentor: Miško Milanović.
  5. Integrated Model for the Prevention of Financial Fraud in the Digital Environment — Milan Resimić, 2024, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. Role: Co-mentor. Mentor: Snežana Knežević.
  6. Resilience of Urban Communities to Fire-Induced Hazards — Jelena Dinić, 2023, Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade. Role: Member of the defence committee.
  7. Analysis in the Function of Improving the Efficiency of Fire and Emergency Medical Services in the Territory of the City of Niš — Matija Milić, 2026, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade. Role: Member of the topic defence committee.
 

2.2. Teaching and Pedagogical Work Following Election to the Title of Assistant Professor

 

From 2011 to 2017, he was employed at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, first as a teaching associate and then as an assistant on the following courses: Security in Emergency Situations, Prevention and Suppression of Fires, Explosions and Accidents, Risk Management in the Protection and Rescue System, Information Systems in Emergency Situations, and Crisis Management. During 2010, he was engaged as a demonstrator in the course Traffic Safety at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies. In 2011, at a Department meeting, he was elected Secretary of the Department of Security Sciences, a position he held until 2014. Therefore, Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković has six years of work experience in teaching and pedagogical activities within what is now the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies.

 

In addition, during his teaching and pedagogical engagement at that institution, he participated in the implementation of all special forms of practical instruction and training: basic police training with first-year students (handling and manipulation of firearms of the Ministry of the Interior); basic police-security training for emergency situations with second-year undergraduate academic and vocational students; and summer field training at the teaching center “Mitrovo Polje” of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia on Goč Mountain with third-year academic students and second-year vocational students. At the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, from 2014 he led the emergency situations section, and from 2016 also the police self-defense section. He was also engaged in the school police unit and as a member of the self-evaluation commission at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies. According to the results of a survey conducted among undergraduate academic and undergraduate vocational students of criminalistics at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, during his six-year engagement Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković received an average score of 4.52.

 

Since 2017 and up to the present, Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković has been teaching at the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade, in the following courses:


• At the undergraduate academic level, he teaches Risk Management in Emergency Situations, Security Risks and Disasters, and Protection Against Natural and Anthropogenic Disasters. In addition to these courses, he also taught Protection and Rescue System and Management in Protection and Rescue Systems;
• At the master’s academic level – studies of risk management of natural and other disasters, he teaches the following courses: System of Prevention and Reduction of Risk from Natural and Other Disasters, Risk Assessment Methodology and Preparation of Protection and Rescue Plans from Natural and Other Disasters, and Management of Protection and Rescue Activities in Conditions of Natural Disasters (course leader);
• At the master’s academic level – security studies, he teaches Crisis Management in Natural and Industrial Disasters;
• At the doctoral academic level – security studies, he teaches Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction.

 

During 2021, he delivered an invited guest lecture at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Law in Novi Sad, within the Legal Clinic for Environmental Protection, on the topic “The Impact of Climate Change on the Increase in the Risk of Natural Disasters.” During 2019, he delivered a series of guest lectures at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies within the master’s academic studies program NatRisk, in the course Natural Disasters, at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Slobodan Miladinović. As an expert in disaster risk management, he was engaged by the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, as part of the expert team for preparing the thematic study on natural hazards within the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2021–2035, led by Prof. Dr. Slavoljub Dragicević.

 

In the teaching process, he proved himself to be a conscientious and responsible teacher who applies modern and innovative teaching solutions in order to transfer knowledge in the field of risk management in emergency situations to students as effectively as possible. He strongly encourages students toward independent study and research work and the comprehensive use of literature in the field. In teaching, he applies modern teaching methods aimed at fostering student independence and enabling them to use diverse literature directly. He encourages students to connect and apply acquired knowledge to solving concrete case studies in the field of disaster studies.

 

For the purposes of teaching, Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković published one textbook, two practical manuals, and one collection of regulations through the Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations: Cvetković, V. (2020). Risk Management in Emergency Situations. Belgrade: Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations (700 pages); Cvetković, V. (2021). Security Risks and Disasters. Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations, Belgrade (practicum); Cvetković, V. (2019). Risk Management and Protection and Rescue Systems from Disasters. Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations, Belgrade (practicum); Cvetković, V., Filipović, M., & Gačić, J. (2019). Collection of Regulations in the Field of Disaster Risk Management. Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations, Belgrade, pp. 1–1050.

 

According to the average results of teacher evaluation by students through the Individual Statistical Report on the Evaluation of Teachers’ Work at the University of Belgrade, students evaluated the teaching and pedagogical work of Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković with an average score of 4.62 in 2017/2018, 4.65 in 2018/2019, 4.46 in 2019/2020, and 4.59 in 2020/2021. Based on the presented data and evaluations, it can be concluded that he possesses all the teaching and pedagogical qualities required for the position of Associate University Professor.

 

In addition to his teaching and pedagogical work at the Faculty of Security Studies, Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković founded the organization “Scientific-Professional Society for Disaster Risk Management in Emergency Situations,” which brings together scientists, experts, and interested students in the field of disaster risk management. Within the Society, numerous trainings, courses, seminars, and national and international research projects were implemented. A publishing activity was also developed within the Society, and to date several books, monographs, practical manuals, and conference proceedings have been published and are used in education at numerous faculties. Within the framework of this Society, Assistant Professor Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković organized the first national seminar for students in the field of emergency situations entitled “Protection and Rescue Tactics in Emergency Situations: Field Experiences and Lessons Learned,” held from April 16 to 18, 2021, in the Great Hall of the Kolarac Endowment. On that occasion, more than 250 students from different faculties and universities in Serbia were present, as well as more than 50 professors and experts in the field of emergency situations.

 

He also organized and implemented several trainings for students from different faculties in Serbia in the field of emergency situations: the first basic security training in the field of emergency situations, Stara Planina, from July 13 to 16, 2019; the second basic security training in the field of risk management and protection and rescue in emergency situations, Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, from November 29 to December 1, 2019; the third basic security training in the field of protection and rescue in emergency situations, Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, from October 29 to November 1, 2020; training for student response in inaccessible terrains, Košutnjak, 2019; and he participated together with students in the international field exercise on emergency consequences management “SERBIA 2018,” organized by the Ministry of the Interior – Sector for Emergency Situations and the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO EDRCC), from October 8 to 11, 2018, in Mladenovac.

 

Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković is also the organizer of numerous lectures in the field of emergency situations: at Student City, the lecture “Experiences and Lessons in the Protection and Rescue of the Citizens of Serbia During the Armed Aggression of 1999” during 2019; Operational Police Skills in Emergency Situations (online) during 2020; a command-simulation exercise on landslide remediation and the work of the City Emergency Headquarters in 2019; with the support of the Secretariat for Defence Affairs, Emergency Situations, Communication and Coordination with Citizens, a panel discussion was held on the state of emergency situations in the territory of the City of Belgrade in 2019; and the lecture “Natural Disasters – Challenges for Society and Security” was delivered at the Petnica Research Station in Valjevo in 2018. In the previous period, he was also engaged as a lecturer and seminar leader for the seminar “Safety of Students in School Facilities,” catalogue number 9 from the Catalogue of Professional Development Programs for Teachers, Educators, and Professional Associates of the Institute for the Improvement of Education, for the 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017 school years.

 

2.3. Teaching and Pedagogical Work Prior to Election to the Title of Assistant Professor

 

Since January 1, 2010, he has been employed at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies as a teaching associate in the position of teaching assistant on the courses Security in Emergency Situations, Prevention and Suppression of Fires, Explosions and Accidents, and Risk Management in the Protection and Rescue System. After joining the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, he was elected at a meeting of the Department of Security Sciences as the Secretary of the Department of Security Sciences, a position he held until 2014. From 2013 to 2016, he worked as a teaching associate in the rank of assistant on the courses Security in Emergency Situations, Risk Management in the Protection and Rescue System, Information Systems in Emergency Situations, and Crisis Management. Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković has six years of work experience in teaching at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies.


He participated in the implementation of all special forms of teaching and training: basic police training with first-year students (handling and manipulation of firearms of the Ministry of the Interior); basic police-security training for emergency situations with second-year undergraduate academic and vocational students; and summer field training at the “Mitrovo Polje” Training Center of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia on Goč Mountain with third-year academic students and second-year vocational students. At the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, from 2014 he led the emergency situations section, and from 2016 also the police self-defense (Jujutsu) section. He was also engaged in the school police unit and as a member of the self-evaluation commission at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies. According to the results of a survey conducted in 2013 among undergraduate academic and undergraduate vocational students of criminalistics at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies, Dr. Vladimir M. Cvetković was evaluated by students with a grade of 4.20.

 
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