Archives April 2025

At the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, the 2025 BIH Physics Olympiad – a physics competition for high school students – was held on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The organizer and host of the competition was the Department of Physics, in cooperation with the Republic Pedagogical Institute of the Republic of Srpska and the Physical Society in Federation of BIH.

A total of 22 students qualified for this year’s BIH Olympiad: 8 fourth-year, 7 third-year, and 7 second-year students.

The students who, based on their results, earned the right to participate in the 55th International Physics Olympiad, which will be held this year in Paris, are: Nedim Begović, Danilo Birčaković, Muhamed Numanović, Filip Krištić, and
Lejla Baturić.

The students who, based on their results, earned the right to participate in the 9th European Physics Olympiad, which will be held this year in Sofia, are: Nedim Begović, Danilo Birčaković, Muhamed Numanović, Vladan Mićić, and
Vuk Janković.

Congratulations to all the competitors, and we wish them great success in the upcoming competitions!

Details about the competition can be found in the BULLETIN.

Authors of the text:
Dr. Snježana Dupljanin and Mr. Bojan Kovačević

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

The survey will be conducted from May 12 to June 8, 2025, in accordance with the Rulebook on Student Surveying.

For more information and instructions, you can view the document available at the following link.

Our recently graduated students, chemists Nikolina Landeka and Milica Kosić, who are currently engaged in research within the Chemistry Study Program for the needs of domestic industry, presented their work at **INOST Youth 2025**. They showcased ideas for recycling electronic waste. While the process of mechanically separating copper from cables works well in our country, polymer recycling requires serious chemical methodology. In this area, we have several innovative ideas and significant experimental results, developed precisely through student research.

The presentation by colleagues Landeka and Kosić was part of a roundtable organized by the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska titled *”Innovations in Education”*, moderated by Mr. Slobodan M. Dragičević. The roundtable was supported by the European Enterprise Network, which includes entrepreneurs from 50 countries. The high quality of their presentation impressed the attendees and sparked a dynamic discussion.

A detailed report on the activities of the 27th International Exhibition of Innovations and Creativity of Youth – “INOST Youth 2025” is available on the website of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska – link.

Author of the text: Dr. Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, Associate Professor

At the Faculty of Science and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka, on May 14 from 2 p.m., a workshop on artificial intelligence will be held in the computer classroom, organized by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences within the SP Mathematics and Computer Science.

Due to the great “hype” and omnipresence of artificial intelligence models, this workshop will present a small part of what artificial intelligence is. As part of the workshop, four lecturers from Serbia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are planned with topics from Algorithm selection, large language models, graph similarity, and the design of hybrid optimization algorithms, etc.

You can register for the workshop via the QR code on the poster (in the attached document) or Google form at link. Due to limited resources (maximum 15 people), candidates with solid knowledge of computer and mathematical subjects are preferred.

Author of the text: Dr. Marko Đukanović, Аssistant professor

As part of the “Student Days” event, the traditional “Open Day” was held on April 11th at the University of Banja Luka, with active participation from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

On this occasion, students of the Faculty presented the study programs through exhibits, bringing the sciences studied at our Faculty closer to high school seniors and providing them with all the necessary information regarding the upcoming enrollment. Heads of study programs and faculty staff were available to welcome visitors and answer their questions.

The attendees were greeted by the President of the Student Organization of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Valentina Knežević, and the Vice Dean for Scientific Research, Dr. Milana Grbić, who gave a brief presentation of the Faculty and its achievements.

Sincere thanks to all volunteers, students, and academic staff for their support and assistance in organizing this important event.

Text author: Valentina Knežević

On April 22, 2025, the Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics in cooperation with the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency of the Republic of Srpska and the Institute for Genetic Resources of the University of Banja Luka celebrated Earth Day. In accordance with this year’s theme of the event called “Our strength, our planet”, appropriate lectures were held for students from four elementary schools from Banja Luka: “Đura Jakšić”, “Branko Radičević”, “Zmaj Jova Jovanović” and “Ivan Goran Kovačić”. The lecturers were professors of our faculty: prof. Dr. Dušica Pešević, prof. Dr. Biljana Lubarda and Dr. Dino Hasanagić, Assistant Professor. On behalf of the faculty, the gathering was greeted and the opening speech was given by prof. Aleksandra Petrašević, Ph.D., vice dean for teaching at the Faculty of Education.
After short lectures, the students of the mentioned schools planted one seedling each in the yard of the Faculty of Science for the purpose of developing ecological awareness about the importance of preserving our planet and its natural resources.
Author of the text: Dr. Dušica Pešević, Full Professor

On April 5, 2025, the 31st Republic Physics Competition for high school students was held at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (FNSM) and the Department of Physics, University of Banja Luka. A total of 48 students from across the Republic of Srpska qualified for the competition: 14 first-year, 12 second-year, 12 third-year, and 10 fourth-year students.

Based on their performance in this competition, two students qualified for the Balkan Physics Olympiad, which will be held this year in Ohrid. In addition, ten senior students earned the opportunity to participate in the 2025 BiH Physics Olympiad, which will take place on April 26, 2025, also at the FNSM. The BiH Physics Olympiad also serves as a qualifying event for international competitions – the European Physics Olympiad, to be held in Sofia, and the International Physics Olympiad, which will be hosted this year in Paris.

Prior to the competition, regular preparation sessions were held at the Department of Physics. The preparations were organized in cooperation with the Republic Pedagogical Institute by Mr. Bojan Kovačević, Senior Teaching Assistant at the Department of Physics, and Aleksandra Radić, a physics teacher at the Banja Luka Gymnasium. Former competitor Miodrag Ostojić, a bronze medalist at the 2024 International Physics Olympiad held in Isfahan (Iran), also contributed to the preparations through online sessions. Materials from the preparation sessions are available at the following link.

After completing the competition tasks, all participants had the opportunity to visit the Department of Physics laboratories and attend demonstrations of several engaging experiments. The thematic areas included electromagnetism and optics, and the following experiments were demonstrated: Magnetic Field of a Circular Conductor, Helmholtz Coils, Hoffmann Apparatus, Geometric Optics, Magnetic Hysteresis, and Tesla Coil.

Authors of the text:
Dr. Snježana Dupljanin, Assistant professor and Mr. Bojan Kovačević

Senior teaching assistant Marko Ivanišević, who is employed in the Spatial Planning study program, stayed in Manchester from April 6 to 13, 2025. The visit was conducted as part of the UK-BiH Fellowship Program, implemented by the British Council and supported by the UK Government. The study visit was thematically focused on spatial planning and natural disaster management, with the aim of exchanging experiences and knowledge transfer.

During the visit, lectures and meetings were organized with: Leeds City Council, Manchester City Council, The Risk Management and Resilience Sector of the Greater Manchester, The Environment Agency (Manchester, Cheshire, and Merseyside division), Staff at the University of Salford (Think Lab and the School of Science, Engineering, and Environment).

In addition to lectures on planning practices, strategies, and procedures, participants of the fellowship program also took part in guided field visits. These allowed them to observe firsthand implemented solutions related to: climate change adaptation measures, flood prevention strategies, nature-based solutions.

Text author: Marko Ivanišević, MA

On April 4 and 5, 2025, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, in cooperation with the Republic Pedagogical Institute of the Republic of Srpska, hosted regional and national competitions for primary and secondary school students.

At the national mathematics competition for secondary schools, 70 students from all parts of the Republic of Srpska took part. On the second day, students competed in Russian language (16 participants) and physics (46 participants). The national competition in Serbian language will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

The regional competition in geography and history was held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, with the participation of 34 schools from the Banja Luka region. This year, the organization of the competition was entrusted to the Primary School “Ivo Andrić” from Banja Luka.

We congratulate all awarded students, as well as those who participated in the competitions. We look forward to their future successes!

Author: Dr. Aleksandra Petrašević, Full Professor

The Students’ days at the University of Banja Luka, the largest students’ manifestation in the Republic of Srpska, was formally opened at the Students Cultural Center on 7 April 2025.

The Rector of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, said that many scientific, technical, educative and promotive activities will be realized during the manifestation.

,,In this way our students promote the Students’ Parliament, but also all the faculties and study programs of the University. The key manifestation is the Days of open doors, where we expect the high school graduates who intend to continue their education”, said Gajanin.

The Minister for Scientific-technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska, Associate Professor Željko Budimir, PhD, stressed that this manifestation is one of the best students’ activities in the RS.

,,This is also one of the most important activities of Banja Luka Students’ Parliament, as it promotes the University to future freshmen. The students are the best ambassadors of the University and all its faculties” said Budimir, and added that Students’ Days will have several activities, including the Days of open doors.

The President of the Students’ Parliament at UNIBL, Ana Sibinčić, said she was very satisfied to have the opportunity to present the students’ life in Banja Luka during the ten days of the manifestation, through sport, socializing, fun, and education.

The Vice-president of the Union of students of the Republic of Srpska, Nikola Šobot, said that the goal of the manifestation is to present all that the student’s life in Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska has to offer to young people.

The Vice-Rectors of the University, Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD and Prof. Aleksandar Ostojić, PhD, along with the Chairman of the Steering Board of the University, Prof. Biljana Antunović, PhD, were also present at the event.

The event is organized by the Students’ Parliament of the University of Banja Luka and the Union of students of the Republic of Srpska, supported by the University and the competent ministry.

Text and photos taken from the UNIBL website – link.