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