Congratulations! BH Futures Foundation 2017 Scholarship Recipients - Round 1

BH Futures Foundation would like to thank all applicants, who submitted their applications for the scholarships. We were more than overwhelmed with the response and interest, which we have received. We are looking forward to the applications in Round 2-2017! On that note, we would like to congratulate the chosen recipients for Round 1 - 2017 Scholarships. 

The BH Futures Foundation scholarship awards continue to support the education sector in Bosnia & Herzegovina by giving students, studying engineering or related fields the chance to win a scholarship to embark on the journey of academic excellence and professional development.

For the Round 1 - 2017 grants, BH Futures Foundation selected three outstanding students on the basis of the rigorous selection criteria of the scholarship, as well as academic merit, leadership qualities and willingness to develop professionally.  The students will be presented the scholarships at the Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering, in Sarajevo on Friday 17th of March.

Eddie Custovic, chair of the foundation congratulated all the scholarship winners and applicants of the 2017 Round 1 Scholarships.

“This round’s recipients showed an exceptional amount of enthusiasm and creativity in the work that they are doing in their academic fields of study. It’s an honour to be able to support such great students and help to facilitate their professional development,” he said.

“The selection process was not simple, as we had over 100 applicants, who were extremely interested in attaining this exciting opportunity! We were more than overwhelmed with the response that we have received and look forward to the application in Round 2. We would also like to thank all the students who applied, your effort is appreciated!” said Eddie Custovic.

One of the three recipients, Amer Muratovic, who is presently studying electrical engineering at University of Tuzla, is enthusiastic to be accepting the prospect of academic and professional support through the BH Futures Foundation scholarship program.

“After participating in the IEEE Congress, which BH Futures Foundation was involved in, has made me realize the potential impact that engineering can have on society. The contribution in these activities even gave me ideas worth of further development and investment.”

“I truly believe that the BH Future Foundation scholarship will motivate me for further academic and professional improvements. I also plan to share the knowledge that I gain from this experience with my colleagues, which will support my leadership skills”, described Mr. Muratovic.

“I have to say that I was really moved by so many of the applicants. It was not easy to pick the three that we did but they all demonstrated something, which made them stand out. Being good at what you study is important but being a good citizen of Bosnia & Herzegovina, helping others is equally important,” says Aleksandar Mastilovic one of the foundation board members.

Director of the Office of AFS Intercultural programs, Inc. in Bosnia and Herzegovina, student with highest GPA for two subsequent years at the University of Eastern Sarajevo and active volunteer in several student-run programs in the Balkans, Milan Kusmuk, was chosen as the second recipient of the BH Futures Foundation scholarship.

Mr. Kusmuk notes the importance of interpersonal, social and soft-skills in professional development and he hopes that the scholarship will enable him to progress his present career standing. BH Futures Foundation will invest significant resources and time to support Mr. Kusmuk in achieving his goals for the future.

The last recipient, Vildana Hrnjic, Senior Student of Graphic Engineering on the Faculty of Technology from the University of Banja Luka, was awarded a one-semester scholarship. Ms. Hrnjic highlighted, “The true value of a human should be seen not only through [their] knowledge but their ability to apply it for socially useful purposes”.

We at BH Futures Foundation agree with Ms. Hrnjic, therefore we aim to support the passion of all our scholarship recipients, with hopes that they will share their successes for the betterment of humanity.

In addition to the three students who will receive financial support scholarships, the judging committee noted some exceptional applicants who the committee found not to be in immediate need of financial support. The foundation will look at working with these students in providing career mentoring and opportunities to undertake internships.