International University of Sarajevo (IUS) has been a partner of the Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF) this year again. As one of the largest global investment conferences in Sarajevo, the SBF has gathered an increasing number of statesmen from the Western Balkans, the Gulf states, and business people worldwide. 900 participants attended this year‟s SBF, and more than 300 of them were domestic and foreign journalists. The motto of the this year‟s forum was "one region, one economy", during which the vision of the region as a European educational center as well as information technology and tourist center was promoted.
On Thursday, May 14, 2015, during the second day of the Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF), a panel session was held entitled "The education sector in the region". This forum brought together professors, experts in fields and rectors of different educational institutions. They all stressed that education is key to progress of any state including Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this regards reform of this sector has been highlighted.
In the above mentioned panel IUS Rector, Prof. Dr. Yücel Oğurlu participated as well. During the panel session, Rector Oğurlu stressed that this region has made great progress in the field of education, but that there are still some challenges we face. As Rector Oğurlu stated: “Presence of the IUS is of great significance for Turkish investors. It creates a pool of young English, Bosnian and Turkish speaking graduates in a variety of fields, which serves as a key element of attraction for potential Turkish investors to the Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of the region. I would like to remind that the role of education and training is paramount to increasing competitiveness and, therefore, crucial for the continuation of sustainable development of the Balkan countries. I would like to share few recommendations with all of you at the very end. Recruiting international students is supportive to economic development of any country.
There are good initiatives to increase foreign student population in B&H. In this regard, it is essential to get adequate legislation and capable institutions to facilitate the improvement of the process of getting visa and residence permits of foreign students, including working permits for foreign professors. In addition, it is also important to make quality improvements on diploma equivalency procedures, thus making our universities more attractive to foreign students. I finally hope that the accreditation process of particular study programs based on Law in B&H will proceed without longer delay. This is important for all those educational institutions who are interested to distinguish quality education in B&H and attract more foreign students.” He also stated that systemized and good organization is the key of any success.
