From this year on, our Foundation organizes Futures Leaders Summit (FLS) which aspires to become BHFF’s annual event in the years that come. This year, FLS gathers 120 prospective STEM change-makers – both students and recent graduates – in Tuzla from 15th to 17th December and provides them with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge by learning from the global and local experts and to broaden their professional network - participants can meet fellow STEM colleagues, visit companies, share CVs with companies' management, and through networking even get their first working experience and internship.

Una Karabeg, our Senior Scholar Y1, and winner of the Global Management course business competition in the Netherlands got the honor to be Event Coordinator of the first Futures Leaders Summit and its Marketing and Branding Team Lead. She decided to share her thoughts with you on the importance of youth-oriented events such as the Futures Leaders Summit.

“Young people in our country don’t have enough opportunities focused solely on them and their development, especially if we talk about learning from international experts. We can notice that challenge in every industry, and as the STEM industry is rapidly growing in B&H, it is inevitable for us to go along with the youth in developed nations. I always emphasize – if you excel here, you are probably average abroad. That’s why we need to go a step further, which is exactly a step we encourage STEM students and recent graduates to take.”, said Una.

This year, we partnered with many local and international organizations and decided to highlight the importance of interdisciplinarity in STEM, and throughout three days, FLS focuses on education, leadership, and technology - three pillars of BHFF's mission on which we believe shapes the next generation of change-makers. The program includes keynote sessions of international and local experts, panel discussions, company visits, and brings more to the companies that partner with us through Talent Pool – a base students’ and graduates’ CVs, the same people they will be able to meet during the sessions and company visits.

Una also highlighted the importance of companies as one of the key stakeholders for further development: “Companies should be aware that, by investing in young people and their advanced education, they will bring the best ones to their workplace. That is why I would like to invite all STEM-oriented companies and companies that throughout their work use modern solutions to support the Futures Leaders Summit and to, through workshops and Talent Pool, become aware that our country indeed does have leaders of tomorrow.

You can find out more about the Futures Leaders Summit by visiting fls.ba, or following us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

What is the Future Leaders Summit and why do young people need it?