INTERVET Bosnia 2022

In the framework of the Intervet Western Balkans project, Institute for New Age Education (ZNI) hosted a group from Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2nd October to 31st October 2022. Sending organisation of the group was IUS International University of Sarajevo and the project was coordinated by our long term partner, Uniser Società Cooperativa Sociale Onlus from Forlì, Italy.

Students Elma H., Nermina, Hena, Elma D., Magdalena, Nejra and Merdija arrived to Maribor from Sarajevo on 2nd of October. They were accompanied by their tutor Murisa. The group had 2 days of preparation which included many activities: presentation of Mobility program and getting to know each other at the ZNI office, Safety at work course at IVD centre, Interview simulation and CV workshop, presentation of Slovenia and visiting National Liberation Museum with a Guided city tour: What can Maribor offer me?.

Our group's mentor, Lea Korošec, was guiding and mentoring the group through their mobility in Maribor. As part of mobility programme activities, the group went on a trip to Pohorje hill, must see hiking spot in Maribor, where they had an opportunity to get to know each other better and spend quality time in nature. 

Practical trainings for the students were organised by ZNI mobility coordinator Rebeka Čeh in different companies in Maribor. Students were placed in the following companies: Maribor's hospital UKC Maribor, marketing companies Verus d.o.o. and BOOST UP d.o.o., modern accounting company E-Računi d.o.o. and electronic components production company Smartronik d.o.o. In the companies the students had been given the opportunity to develop, both personally and professionally, and had improved their knowledge in different fields. 

The main goal of this mobility was to encourage students to learn, as well as socialise and meet new people. Students spent their free time going around Maribor, walking by the Drava river and going to the city park. They loved spending time outside and exploring the city as much as they could. Students expressed that living in Maribor was an interesting experience for them and they wished to stay here longer. All of the students improved their English and communication skills and also bonded as a group. While they were here in Maribor they also met a lot of new people who will remain their life-long friends.

Nermina, Elma, Hena  (UKC Maribor)

My name is Hena Đulić. I worked at UKC Maribor for one month at gastroenterology. It was truly an amazing experience. I really loved it. It was hard, because that was my first work experience but I learned a lot of things very quickly. My mentor and my colleagues were very helpful and they were there for me whenever I needed help. I did some things that I thought I will never be able to do and I'm very thankful for it. I really improved my communication skills and I'm very happy that I started to communicate and talk in Slovenian. Maribor is an amazing city and I truly fell in love with it. I hope that I will come back one day, maybe for university or for work. However, I know for sure that Maribor will always have a special place in my heart. I gained a lot of experience and I'm very happy that I participated in this project.

My name is Nermina. I had an amazing time in Maribor. I worked at UKC Maribor at traumatology, my work was hard but at the same time I learned a lot of things. My job was patient care before and after surgery, feeding patients, changing bed sheets, measuring vital functions, driving patients to CT and X-Ray. I also learned how to spend money and be independent. After just one month, I learned everything about my profession and for me this is a huge experience. At first I didn't like my job, but after that, all I wanted to do was return back to my workplace. 

My name is Elma. I worked at UKC Maribor at urology for a month. This was my first time working at a hospital. I tried my best to adopt with my language and skills. At first I was scared that I wouldn't be able to communicate with other people. But at the end it was the smallest problem. Working like a nurse was very hard but with time I got used to it. I loved and enjoyed it. My colleagues helped me all the time and they were very nice and polite, which I appreciated a lot. I can say that I was working very hard because I wanted to learn as much as possible. I gained a lot of experience, boosted my confidence and became more independent.

Magdalena (SMARTronik)

I worked in the company Smartronik, my working hours were from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I tested PCB boards, put components on boards, assembled devices and the like. I gained lots of new experiences and skills. My mentors Gregor and Marko were great.
​This mobility was very important for me because I learned a lot professionally but also met new people.«

Nejra (E-Računi)

My work placement was in the company E-racuni d.o.o. It is an online business program company. I learned that the key to digital marketing is research. I researched Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian websites. Edited the blog for eurofakturu.ba, and got to know many image-editing applications (GNU). I had the opportunity to write in LibreOffice and see how templates are edited. I met a lot of wonderful people. This was not only professional but also life school for me. Although there were misunderstandings and inconveniences at the beginning, this experience helped me to see myself in digital marketing and want to be a part of this project again.

Merdija  (Boost up)

My name is Merdija Hajdarević and I come from Bosnia Herzegovina - Sarajevo. I was here on mobility for one month in Slovenia (Maribor). I was working in Boost up company as a specialist for digital marketing. My mentor was Anja Cimerman and I'm so glad that I was able to meet and work with her. I can clearly say that I had the best one month in my life and that my dream came true, because I always wanted to do something like I did here. I loved Maribor as a city, it was a wonderful time here and I want to stay longer. I like people here, weather and the peace in the city. Now when the mobility is coming to the end, we are left with only beautiful memories from the whole month. I'm glad that I had an opportunity to be a part of this project and I can't wait for the next student's exchange.

Elma (VERUS d.o.o.)

First of all, I want to say that I am very satisfied with this practice and grateful for the opportunity that has been given to us. My expectations have been met. I definitely spent one of the most beautiful periods of my life right here in Maribor. I will definitely remember this and hope to repeat this experience. I hope I have met your expectations, as you have met mine. I am very satisfied with my workplace and I regret that I was not part of the Verus team from the beginning. I hope that the acquired knowledge will be useful in the future and that this is just another step towards my goals and a better future. I hope that the rest of the team is as satisfied as I am and that we return to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the wonderful experience and knowledge that we all gained here during the one-month internship.