Futures Leaders Summit ‘21 - Three days filled with valuable learning experiences, networking opportunities, positive energy and inspiration
From December 15th through December 17th, Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation organized the Futures Leaders Summit ‘21 - an event that will annually gather prospective changemakers in the field of STEM with the aim of creating a strong network that will change the way we perceive the industry and the future of our country's development.
This year, the big idea behind the event was the importance of interdisciplinarity in STEM, and we welcomed 100 STEM students and recent graduates in person in Tuzla combined with an opportunity for numerous other enthusiasts to follow the keynote speakers and panel discussions online via BH Futures Foundation’s YouTube channel.
The event was covered with three main tracks - three pillars of BH Futures Foundation’s mission for empowering the youth - Education, Technology, and Leadership.
Now, let’s take a deep dive into every day of the Summit and find out what were the main topics of discussion.
Day I - Education
The day started with workshops on the topic of designing the career you want, creativity, writing academic papers, needed skills for the future, and media and communication. Worth mentioning is that all workshops were held in different locations all over Tuzla - from public and private educational institutions to business incubators.
Day I: Workshops | Photo credit: Iman Hurtic
A huge shoutout goes out to our amazing workshop facilitators Melita Kurtovic , Edina Seleskovic, Suad Halilcevic, Maja Tursunovic, and Amir Zonic.
After the workshops and travel break were over, it was time to officially open the Futures Leaders Summit ‘21 at the event’s main venue - BKC Tuzla. FLS’21 Program Team Lead, Ena Dzemila, our Founder, Edhem Eddie Custovic and BH Engineering Weeks Director, Zlatko Berbic addressed the audience.
The program was kicked off by Mario Barosevcic with a talk focused on the importance of interdisciplinary thinking and skills for the future. Attendees heard how the top-performing academic institutions ensure their students stand out among their peers. In case you missed it, watch the presentation here: The importance of interdisciplinary thinking and skills for the future.
The program continued with a panel discussion hosted by one of our scholars, and FLS’21 Event Coordinator, Una Karabeg. Panelists were Katarina Urosevic, Emina Karahmet and Vedad Pasic. The discussion was focused on how to bridge the gap between academia and industry, and what are the next steps that both can do to bring a better perspective on the BH market. Watch the full panel discussion: Uniting Academia and Industry: Perspective on the BH Market.
The day concluded with Zinka Bejtic who taught us how to: Break Away from the Mold and Live Creatively with unique outlooks and original ideas that directly impact the quality of our personal and professional lives.
Day II - Technology
The second day continued with company visits. Attendees were able to visit and collaborate with HTEC Group - fastest-growing company in the region, Telemach - state-of-the-art telecommunications services provider, DKR - German Center for Robotics - German automation and industrial robotics expertise at one place, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Tuzla, Laboratory Complex - 3D printing and reversible engineering technical workshop, TEHNOGRAD-company - a construction company with over 70 years of international experience, and Tuzla Thermal Power Plant - producer of 50% of electrical energy in FBiH.
Day II: Company visits | Photo Credit: Iman Hurtic
Today’s program kicked off with Selma Zilic, who inspired us to be bold, tame the energy and change the world. She covered the topic of Let's Make Oil Europe's History.
Next up was a panel discussion on the topic of “Sustainable Innovation: The Voice of the Industry” moderated by FLS’21 Program Team Lead, Ena Dzemila. Panelists Sanela Klaric and Haris Muratovic talked about being leaders in sustainable innovation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and what is the future outlook in our country when talking about this topic.
After the lunch break, up next was Admir Masic who addressed Building Resilience in Humans and Materials through his personal life story and professional engagement.
Darko Todorovic from the HTEC Group continued next. He shared with us his experience with digital transformation throughout years of engaging with different projects tied to business digitalization and organizational transformation across industries. Listen to his presentation: Digital Transformation: Myth Versus Reality.
How COVID Accelerated Digital Transformation of Healthcare was our next topic brought to you by Mirza Cifric. He gave us an insight into both the temporary changes and those that are here to stay.
IEEE Innovation Nation Finals
The amazing day concluded magnificently with the IEEE Innovation Nation Finals. A night full of amazing stories by future entrepreneurs. During the night, the audience had a chance to learn who were the 7 winners of IEEE IN 2021, and hear a panel discussion regarding the Entrepreneurship ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel was moderated by Ena Dzemila, and panelists were Mersed Camdzic, Adela Kadiric, Senad Santic, Amra Omeragic and Muamer Babajic.
Day II: Innovation Nation Finals | Photo credit: Ismar Ajkunic
Day III - Leadership
The day started early with workshops on leadership-related topics all over Tuzla. We covered leading from a growth mindset, interdisciplinary integration in the pharmaceutical industry, leadership skills for the ongoing industrial revolution, unlocking assertiveness, and leading with innovation and creativity.
We received amazing feedback on these workshops, so special shoutouts to our workshop facilitators - Anja Bundalo, Snjezana Udovicic, Amra Ibric, Erol Mujanovic, Mustafa Suvalija, and Senad Santic.
Our last day continued with smaller technical issues so we weren’t able to listen to our next keynote speaker, Fedja Delalic, and his amazing talk in regards to delivering Olympic mega-events in an ever-changing world. But don’t worry, we will have a surprise for you later on.
The next session was an inspiration to many. 6 BH Futures Foundation scholars told the audience how they live the community’s core values each day with a lot of honesty and emotions in Lightning Talks Powered by BH Youth - 6 Rules to Live By. Amazing things brought to you by Mirza Celigija, Zorana Staka, Jasmina Kadic, Evel Ribo, Enisa Lisnjic and Azra Velic.
Futures Leaders Summit’s official program concluded with yet another inspirational story. Our friend, Miralem Salihovic, traveled thousands of kilometers to teach us how to embrace our career journey by leveraging failure and becoming excellent through his personal journey.
Day III: Miralem Salihovic keynote session | Photo credit: Ismar Ajkunic
The day concluded with a talk from our Executive Director, Majda Mujanovic-Babovic and a small gala night for our friends and partners. During the night we also gave an emotional goodbye to our Board Members Tatjana Vucic, Vernisa Rejhan-Icindic, Haris Selmanovic, Damir Mitric, and Executive Director, Vedrana Biberovic.
Every student deserves a chance to attend world-class events, to hear the stories of people that not long ago were as old as they are now, and to hear first-hand that everything is possible. We recognize the challenge of students to participate in top-class events because only by seeing how their future can be bright, students truly recognize their potential, and limitations fade on the path towards excellence.
With this said, we are immensely proud of our amazing volunteering teams who single-handedly delivered an event of such magnitude. From youth to youth is the motto, and we couldn't be more thankful.
Lastly, we would like to thank all speakers, workshop facilitators, sponsors, and partners for making all of this possible. Special shoutout to our sponsors: HTEC Group, Telemach BH, DKR - German Center for Robotics, Porsche BH, JP Elektroprivreda BiH, Mistral, Č.J. Bihać, Bema BA, TEHNOGRAD-company, and Bingo.
For more information visit the website of Futures Leaders Summit, and see you next year!