Sarajevo Hosts Conference on the Future of Automotive Industry

The Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation and the International Burch University gathered over 150 engineering students, as well as experts and automotive enthusiasts, at the Futures Automotive Conference held last month in Sarajevo. Some of the topics of the conference included careers in automotive industry as well as the challenges faced by the entire world and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The speakers were international and local experts with many years of experience in the industry. Sabahudin Husić from Autonomous Driving KPIT spoke about the impact of self-driving cars and the challenges that engineers face. Miroslav Macan, Chief Powertrain & Power Electronics engineer at the Rimac Group, talked about the best performing electric cars, and Selma Kunosić, a quality engineer from Audi, talked about the use of IT in electric vehicles.

The topic of green energy and environment was another point of discussion. The latest technologies of battery recycling and their impact on the environment were also a part of the panel discussion, as well as the challenges that Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing. Mehrija Hasičić, senior assistant at Burch University, led the discussion, and the panelists were Jasmin Lučkin, an engineer from Porsche BH, and two engineers from the Norhtvolt company, Selma Zilić and Irma Hodžić.

Bosnia & Herzegovina currently owns about 170 chargers for electric vehicles, which is still not enough. The industry is facing problems with bureaucratic regulation for vehicles that have zero pollution. Speakers pointed out that we still have a long way to go to catch up with the world's developed countries and keep up with the future.

Besides the lectures, participants also had the opportunity to enjoy an exhibition of their latest electric car models from Porsche BH. The students from Arger Race presented their racing formula cars.

Azra Velić and Ivana Jeftović, conference organizers and scholarship holders of the BH Futures Foundation added that the world is currently actively working to improve technology for electric vehicles that will help us fight climate change and make traffic safer and that there are many Bosnians and Herzegovinians around the world who are working on projects that will shape our future. They also pointed out that they are pleased that with this conference and the opportunity to bring them together with students and other automotive enthusiasts. They also offered thanks to the team of volunteers behind the conference, and the companies and speakers for taking their time.