The science and practice of the New Public Health (NPH) today play an important role in sustainable health development and provide tools in Serbia for transition to a modern democratic civil society, as well as a choice of well-defined steps towards integration into the family of European countries.
     The existing health care system (orientated towards specialists) is not in position to combat the numerous health problems related to the living environment and lifestyles of the population. Furthermore, the existing knowledge in public health is still based on the traditional bio-medical approach, which is inadequate to provide solution for the current health and health policy priorities. Specialists’ knowledge in the field of public health is confined within different and particular specialist branches (epidemiology, hygiene, social medicine, health statistics and informatics, and occupational medicine). Overall public health is medically orientated, with very little participation of other professions in the design and implementation of its programmes and activities. The education of public health personnel is not multi-professional (which can best be achieved in postgraduate programmes).
     At the same time, many health problems in Serbia could be perceived as public health problems. The challenge for public health is to cope with conflicting priorities for improving the health status of the population, as well as to reform public health and the health care system. Therefore, public health and other health professionals need a broad range of skills and selective depth in the specialised areas of  NPH.
     The educational needs of Institutes of Public Health (IPHs) employees are highlighted during the assessment of IPHs network in 2002 year. A total number of 23 Serbian Institutes answered to questions about the need for improvement of different employee skills. The result of this analysis showed that the existing skills and knowledge were insufficient in virtually all fields of the IPH activities. Approximately 80% of IPHs expressed high educational needs of planning, management, communication and intersectoral cooperation. The same results were obtained for educational needs in the field of quality of life assessment, health care quality assessment and the health technology assessment. A need for the improvement of skills for work on public health programmes and projects was demonstrated in a significant number of the Institutes. More than half expressed a high need for the improvement of evaluation skills. A similar situation regarding educational needs is expected to be found among staff within the Ministry of Health, as well as other public health institutions in Republic of Serbia.
     It is obvious that the health reform process, as well as new public health and health promotion development in Serbia, is dependant on the accompanying training of new public health professionals and re-qualification of staff employed within the Ministry of Health and in the network of Institutes of Public Health.
     Health managers in Serbia now require skills both in strategic management and in managing individual institutions. At the same time it is estimated that all other health professionals must be educated in faculties specifically in managing people, negotiating, and communicating. Hence, the efficiency of the management itself, beside theoretical knowledge and training, mainly depends upon the existing evidence on possibilities of acting upon health care performance. The starting point is to aim for improved organizational development characterized by decentralization in decision making, professional linkages and cooperation, demanding objectives, acceptable and transparent standards, responsibility division and decreasing job failures. In such an organization, evidence based management should be developed. The programmes for education and development must include those oriented towards skills in using evidence. A “complete manager” of an evidence based health system should possess, apart from general managerial skills, evidence based decision making skills, as well.
     An institution that would support continuous education in the field of public health, offer postgraduate programmes, provide expert consultations to the Ministry of Health, and conduct priority surveys in this area, such as a university “School of Public Health” (the commonest form in Europe), did not exist in Serbia before the end of 2004, when the Centre – School of Public Health (C-SPH) was established within the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, thanks to the support of the European Agency for Reconstruction.
     At the moment the C-SPH offers only postgraduate courses for Master in Public Health (academic specialisation), and short courses (continuous education for public health workers). The first generation of MPH students (24 students) enrolled in the C-SPH in February 2005. Programmes of continuous education intended for public health workers of different professions coming from different institutions were organised within the Public Health Summer Campus and Public Health Winter Campus 2005, with six intensive course weeks dedicated to six important and future-oriented public health topics. Experienced international experts from Germany, Great Britain, Canada, the Philippines, and Switzerland, together with national experts, shared their knowledge and created an international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary frame for exchanging professional experiences. More than 400 public health professionals and decision makers in public health from Serbia and Montenegro, and neighbouring countries in South Eastern Europe used this advanced public health learning opportunity. About 96% of the participants gained units of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) after passing the course examination. Recently, the C-SPH has become a full member of the ASPHER.
     According to the Ministry of Health strategy, and the experience of other countries with a similar number of inhabitants, one School of Public Health in Serbia will be enough to meet the needs of public health professionals through interdisciplinary and practice-oriented PH Programmes such as the Master of Public Health coucse (already existing), Master of Health Policy and Management course (to be developed through this TEMPUS project), and doctoral studies in the field of public health sciences (to be developed in the future).
     In order to meet the above mentioned educational needs as well as to train new public health professionals and successful managers of health care institutions, the Master of Health Policy and Management course must be developed. Such a course should provide public health professionals with the necessary skills in contemporary management and policy analysis, with the knowledge to use these skills effectively, and to develop the values that are essential for addressing the unique problems and humanistic goals of health care and public health. The course should produce complete and competent professionals capable to provide consultation for the government, as well as to run and supervise the process of staff re-education.