On Saturday, September 12, 2026, the IUS TURBOS Rocketry Team achieved a historic result by winning first place at the 2026 TEKNOFEST Rocket Competition with “Inat,” the first Bosnian rocket developed at university level.
The competition, one of the largest and most demanding events for young engineers working in rocket and space technologies, attracted 2,139 applications, with only 73 teams – approximately 3.4% of all applicants – advancing to the finals.
The TEKNOFEST Rocket Competition is organized by ROKETSAN, one of Türkiye’s leading defense and aerospace companies, specializing in the design, development and production of rockets, missiles, propulsion systems and related defense technologies, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Türkiye and the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation).
Competing in the global category, IUS TURBOS faced international teams from Indonesia, Azerbaijan, India and Malaysia, ultimately securing first place and bringing a remarkable success home to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The team brought together Bosnian and Turkish IUS engineering students: Mehmet Tarık Sıradağ, team captain; Vedad Beganović, Nedim Kavazović, Elif Sena Akdoğan, Anıl Zebek, Tahir Kerem Güldibi, Musab Ahmet Erdoğan, Darja Halilović, Amina Ćidić, Emina Buljubašić and Merdijja Zarean. They were accompanied and mentored by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tarik Namas from the IUS Electrical and Electronics Engineering study program.
Months of work went into preparing “Inat” for the competition. The rocket was manufactured at the IUS Research and Development Center (RDC), from its body and fins to the internal disks and nose cone, using the Center’s 3D printers and milling machines.
Behind the final result were countless hours of design, testing, problem-solving and teamwork. There were sleepless nights, technical challenges and moments when persistence mattered as much as engineering knowledge. The name “Inat” came to symbolize exactly that spirit: determination to continue despite difficulties.
The rocket successfully passed the required tests, completed its final launch and was successfully recovered, marking the culmination of months of dedication by the students and their mentor.
The team received strong support from the International University of Sarajevo, its management and academic staff, as well as from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and Minister Adnan Delić, BH Telecom and Aisin Otomotiv, whose financial support helped make the project possible.
Beyond the trophy, the experience represents an important milestone for engineering education at IUS. It demonstrates what students can achieve when academic knowledge is combined with hands-on research, institutional support, teamwork and the courage to attempt something ambitious.
With its major strides in technology and significant partnerships with the T3 Foundation and BTM (Knowledge Commercialization Center), one of the world's leading startup incubation centers, the International University of Sarajevo (IUS) aims to offer all its students serious opportunities in technology and other fields, and in doing so, to train the best engineers of the future.
