Sarajevo – Mega Education Center

In preparations of Sarajevo Business Forum 2011 an initiative has been launched from that institution to position Sarajevo as a Regional Center for University-education. The initiative implies annual enrolling of 20,000 students to Sarajevo universities, which would bring to the City and the universities about 500 million Convertible Marks each year and even more that that.

Written by: Amer Bukvić
Sarajevo, a city with multi-century university tradition where each year more than 1500 new students enroll from abroad, with the support from local administration and small investment could become a regional education center where even up to 20,000 young people from other states could study every year.
Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF), a Project whose intention is to equally take into account the development of the economy and the advancement of education system and change of the image of B&H in international circles… proposes commencement from the academic year 2011/2012 of enrolling in Sarajevo universities of a large number of foreign students, which would contribute to the development of the City, B&H in its various segments and would advance not only its reputation but the reputation of the State on the whole.

Education in English language

Before the SBF decided to present this initiative, it reviewed carefully the situation in the universities of Sarajevo, their abilities and capacities, as well as the situation in the City itself, its infrastructure, security conditions and level of observance of national, religious and cultural differences, and concluded that Sarajevo has the necessary predispositions.
What is very important and alleviates the realization of this idea, is actually the fact that Sarajevo has five universities where courses are being held in English language and they are: American University in BiH, International Burch University, MIT Center University of Sarajevo, International University of Sarajevo and Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.
Each of those universities would according to this initiative be specialized for one study (Medicine, Electrical Engineering, Economy, International Relations, etc.), in accordance with the assessment of current quality respectively and the standards required by the European Union. In the first year of the realization of the Project enrolment of 5,000 foreign students would be started in all five studies and that number would increase gradually in the years that follow until reaching a number  of 20,000 enrolled students.

Larger revenues, lower administration obstacles

With the realization of the initiative, Sarajevo and B&H would acquire huge benefit. With the present capacities of the faculties and the City the generated income from teaching and accommodation of students is between 100,000 and 200,000 KM. If we succeed in bringing 20,000 foreign students in Sarajevo that would mean increasing of those revenues to approx. 500 million Marks! Every year we would have 20,000 foreign inhabitants more, which inevitably would contribute to increase of air flights, railway and other transportation, the consumption in restaurants and sale spots, increase the number of tourists, ….If we take that every student is visited by his/her patents at least once a year, we will get additional 40,000 tourists in the City. All that requires additional efforts for construction of new capacities, reconstruction of infrastructure, more engagement by the state and private entrepreneurship sectors, etc.  But, isn’t that an intention of every country who wishes to develop and advance?
What is maybe more important is that high education standards would be set that way, motivation for faster and easier validation of graduation diplomas would be initiated because many university professors from abroad would be engaged,  emigrated “brains” would return to the mainstream, Diaspora could send their children who do not longer speak our domicile languages to studies in Sarajevo, teaching quality would be increased so our students would so much not have to go abroad to acquire knowledge, scientific institutes would be established, new libraries and laboratories opened, economy would benefit from new researches, knowledge based on economy would be created,…. And all that would contribute to improvement of image of B&H and its Capital in international circles and easier investments attraction. Stories of B&H and Sarajevo as place of conflicts and riots would sink in oblivion and this would become desirable destination for acquiring knowledge, for tourism,….  

Knowledge is money, and reputation

Naturally, question why we believe that foreign students would come to Sarajevo to study and that this Project could become a reality is raised.
On that side are facts that speak that Sarajevo, a city with multi-century university tradition, city which had high-education institution 45 years after discovery of the America, that it is a European City with multicultural tradition; a city where there is no discrimination of students or anyone else because of his/her national, ideological or any other affiliation (in the classrooms in Sarajevo covered students sitting together with other and there are other who dress differently…); a city which has cultural events for different tastes and generations; a city that is only three hours driving from the sea, a city where professors live and teach and some of them are teaching in prominent world Universities… Besides that, throughout history, Sarajevo has been known for its University Center that had been attracting large number of students. B&H and the former Yugoslavia in time of Socialism were well-known as study destination of many foreign students, especially from “Nonaligned nations”. At one time Tito used to highlight Sarajevo as an example of a city,  which as multinational and multicultural center was receiving foreign students with its arms spread. Should we underline what would such approach of B&H in regard to foreign nationals, promotion and development of own system would mean at a time when it is getting closer to the European Union and is developing a democratic system? Naturally, one should keep in mind the fact that some countries have very limited capacities at faculties and Sarajevo could overtake one part of those students. That means that the end goal of our initiative of 20,000 students is only 1.5 percent of the number of students who cannot enroll in the Turkish faculties. Realization of this Project required support from local –cantonal authorities, in both the administrative and the financial terms. The first step would be that the universities who would in the beginning be included, which I have stated earlier, sign a Memorandum of Understanding, that would define the goals of the initiative, divide competencies according to study fields, as well as more precisely the realization methods.  That would be followed by engagement of institutions which should alleviate the issue of visas for foreign nationals, validation of diplomas of foreign lecturers/instructors, then preparation of infrastructure and other logistical requirements. B&H diplomacy would also have an important role: it would conduct promotion abroad by way of “road show’. Naturally, all that would be worthwhile and the Project would become a machine which not only would produce money but contribute to the stabilization of B&H and the region, and would generate a system in which knowledge, science, culture, cultural dialogue, tolerance,… would dominate.

Using such method the state would bypass various types taking loans and debts and acquire revenues from rehabilitation tourism, production of healthy and in general food, especially the food that presently the food that is deficient as present.
Encouraging is the fact that rectors of the stated universities in principle are in agreement with this idea.
(Note: the author of this is the CEO of Bosna Bank International, the Bank that is one of organizers of the Sarajevo Business Forum)