The training of professional mountain guides according to the International Mountain Leader standard is carried out at the Center for Education and Scientific Research Mountain Academy Macedonia.
Mountain Academy was registered in 2018 and is engaged in conducting training and research in the field of outdoor sports and mountain tourism. With the decision of the executive board of the Macedonian Association of International Mountain Guides from July 2020, the Mountain Academy takes over the training of candidates for mountain guides according to the platform and program of the international union of professional mountain guides UIMLA.
Training at the Mountain Academy is conducted by UIMLA licensed mountain guides who have completed instructor training with guide candidates.
For certain topics that are outside the specialties of mountain guides, such as meteorology, biodiversity and environment, cultural heritage, legal aspects of tourism and the mountain guide profession, etc., external collaborators who have academic education and professional experience are included in the training. in the relevant activity.
Twice a year the instructors at the Mountain Academy attend a seminar to renew their instructor title and upgrade their knowledge in order to ensure a high level of quality in the training process and create organizational capacity for acting in a wider range of activities in mountain tourism and mountain sports.
The team of Mountain Academy Macedonia consists of:
- Kostantin Ciriviri, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate tourismologist, mountaineering and mountain rescue instructor, expert in rural tourism and tourism in protected areas.
- Antonio Dodevski, UIMLA mountain guide, professional mountain rescuer and mountain rescue instructor, expert on tourism in protected areas.
- Jovan Bozhinoski, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate tourismologist, expert in rural tourism and tourism in protected areas.
- Dragan Ilievski, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate surveyor and cartography expert.
- Martin Pejovski, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate architect and expert in mountain infrastructure and tourism in protected areas.
- Rubin Nikoloski, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate in tourism, expert in rural tourism.
- Riste Kalinov, UIMLA guide in the mountains, IT specialist.
- Ilija Ciriviri, UIMLA mountain guide, graduate producer, assistant professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, mountaineering instructor.
- Nikola Treneski, UIMLA guide in the mountains, graduate in informatics, expert in mountain tourism promotion.
- Jonche Ilievski, UIMLA mountain guide, mountain professional.
- Grigor Žura, UIMLA mountain guide, cultural heritage expert.
- Dr. Aleksandar Manolev, UIMLA mountain guide, specialist in internal medicine.
- Dr. Viktor Bojkovski, UIMLA mountain guide, doctor, professional army pilot.
- Svetlana Ciriviri, candidate for UIMLA guide in the mountains, graduate psychologist, expert in tourism of local communities.