Archives December 2024

The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Banja Luka extends its warmest wishes for the New Year and upcoming holidays to all students, professors, collaborators, as well as our partner institutions from the academic community and industry, and partner faculties from the country, region, and the world.

Thank you for your support and cooperation in 2024. We wish you good health, happiness, and success in the New Year 2025, and we look forward to new joint projects and opportunities for the development of science and education.

Happy Holidays and a successful New Year!

The first winter camp for talented and gifted primary and secondary school students, “I Want More,” will be held from January 16 to 18, 2025, at the University of Banja Luka.

Organized with the support of the Republic Pedagogical Institute of the Republic of Srpska, the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education and the University of Banja Luka, the camp includes various workshops that combine theoretical and practical knowledge. At the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, workshops in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biochemistry will be offered, providing participants with the opportunity to explore the application of these sciences creatively.

We invite students from the fifth grade of primary school to the fourth grade of secondary school to apply by January 10, 2025.

Details about the program and workshops, as well as application links, are available on the UNIBL page.

With deep sorrow, we inform you that on December 27, 2024, at the age of 42, our dear colleague, Assistant Professor Dr. Ivan Samelak, passed away.
Ivan Samelak was not only a scientist and lecturer but also a person who enriched the life and work of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka. His journey at our faculty began as a student in the Chemistry Study Program, where he graduated in 2008. Following that, he dedicated his life to science, education, and our faculty.

As an assistant, senior assistant, and later assistant professor, Ivan was a member of our academic community for the past 15 years. His scientific contribution culminated in his doctoral dissertation, defended in 2020 at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, which focused on the identification and monitoring of petroleum-type pollutants in river sediments using organic chemistry methods.

His work and dedication will forever remain etched in the memories of all who knew him—as a colleague, teacher, and friend.

A commemoration in honor of Assistant Professor Dr. Ivan Samelak will be held in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics on Sunday, December 29, starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by the funeral on the same day at 1:00 p.m. at the cemetery in Nova Topola near Gradiška.

With eternal respect and heartfelt gratitude we remember him,
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka

On December 20, 2024, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka, an agreement on scientific, professional, and business cooperation was signed between the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka and the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the Government of the Republic of Srpska. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics by the Dean, Prof. Dr. Radoslav Dekić, and Denis Šulić, the Minister of Trade and Tourism of the Government of the Republic of Srpska.The agreement includes various areas of cooperation:

• Exchange of experiences and achievements in science and expertise;
• Professional collaboration of employees aimed at their advancement and acquisition of new knowledge and experiences for the mutual benefit of the contracting parties;
• Mutual promotion of the signatories of the agreement;
• The possibility of working on joint projects in the field of tourism and applying the results of scientific research for the development of tourism;
• Participation in scientific and professional symposia, conferences, seminars, and promotional and professional activities in areas of mutual activity and interest both domestically and internationally;
• The possibility for students to visit the Ministry of Trade and Tourism for internships, gaining new knowledge, and applying theoretical knowledge acquired at the faculty in practice, as well as engaging in other activities of mutual interest.

After the signing of the agreement, the first working meeting was held between representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism and professors of the Geography Study Program at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, which includes a Tourismology track for educating future professional staff in tourism. The signed agreement is one of many similar agreements that connect natural, mathematical, and informational sciences studied at the Faculty with the needs of societal practice.

Author of the text: Dr. Mira Mandić, Full Professor

The project “Knowledge Suitcase” (Eng. RIS BRIEFCASE) is entering its final phase in the upcoming months. During this period, results, reports, publications, and the last creative outcomes of the project will be summarized, and a plan for the next joint application of this consortium will be prepared. Coordinators from Seville—Gomez Pardo Foundation—along with team representatives from Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Portugal, and North Macedonia, spent several fulfilling days at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and left with very positive impressions of our Faculty and the trends in the development of our country that they learned about here.

The program unfolded through several sequences:

• Final meeting and planning of concluding activities in the upcoming months (Faculty amphitheater)
• A visit to the local industry, “Carmeuse” lime plant and quarry in Doboj, with a presentation of the technology from quarrying to standardized chemical products produced in the factory
• A visit to the Faculty of Agriculture and a presentation of the results of establishing a botanical garden in the university campus as an example of reclaiming polluted land
• A visit to the Science and Technology Park of the Republic of Srpska, with a presentation of the project’s current state and the Park’s ambitions
• A cultural and historical tour of Prijedor, a city with around 2,000 years of mining tradition
• Participation in the traditional cultural event “Leap over the Skin” organized by the Faculty of Mining, University of Banja Luka

The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics expresses its gratitude to both the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (Knowledge and Innovation Community “EIT RawMaterials“) and the Ministry for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education, which has supported this project for four consecutive years through additional activity funding, with a special emphasis on promoting material sciences in high schools.

Author: Dr. Suzana Gotovac-Atlagić, Associate Professor

First-year Geography program student, Aleksandra Zekanović, was declared the most successful athlete of Banja Luka for the year 2023.

This outstanding award is a testament to her hard work, discipline, and success in swimming, as well as her academic life.

‘I am very happy to receive this recognition. I would like to thank my coaches, family, friends, and the Faculty. The year 2023 has been very successful because I became a multiple champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the absolute champion of the Republic of Srpska in swimming,’ shared Aleksandra Zekanović.

Congratulations to our Aleksandra on this great achievement!

Author of the text: Dr. Aleksandra Petrašević, Full Professor

In the student elections held on December 9, 2024, student representatives were elected for the University and Faculty bodies. Following the expiration of the complaint period, the final results have been announced.

The final results of the student elections for the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics are available at the following link.

Congratulations to all the elected representatives, and we wish them great success in their work!

In the student elections held on December 9, 2024, student representatives for the University and faculty bodies were elected. The preliminary results for the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics have been published and are available at the following link.

All students are invited to participate in the survey on the quality of the teaching process for the winter semester of the 2024/2025 academic year.

The survey will be conducted from December 23, 2024, to January 19, 2025, in accordance with the Rulebook on Student Surveying.

For more information and instructions, please refer to the document available at
this link.

On December 3, 2024, Prof. Dr. Svjetlana Lolić, together with the exhibition’s author, biologist-curator Vukašin Zekić, and the museum director Nebojša Dragojlović, officially opened the exhibition titled “The World of Mushrooms” at the premises of the Regional Museum in Doboj. This marks the first exhibition inaugurated at the natural history department of the Doboj Museum.

The exhibition is the result of two years of field research conducted in the Doboj area, primarily in the hilly and mountainous regions of Mount Ozren. It features models of 70 species of macrofungi, predominantly edible and poisonous mushrooms, accompanied by a catalog publication containing illustrations and detailed descriptions of each species presented. The catalog’s author is also Vukašin Zekić, a former student of the Biology Study Program at our faculty, while Prof. Dr. Lolić served as the reviewer of the publication.

The exhibition will remain open for the next six months, and we warmly recommend that all colleagues in the Doboj region take the opportunity to visit.

Text author: Prof. Dr. Svjetlana Lolić