Brilliant young people are growing up in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) despite all the socio-political crises that spare no generation. Many of them leave their country, first for academic advancement, and then stay because their excellence is recognized and valued. Fikret Basic is a Kladusa native from Tuzla, a doctor of science living in Austria, employed at the Technical University in Graz. Recently, the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, awarded him the highest academic recognition, Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae, reserved for those who achieve excellence at every level of education.
Through thorns to the stars
Basic spoke about the path to this award, which, he emphasizes, was not easy but long and arduous. But it paid off.
“To stand shoulder to shoulder with many other brilliant colleagues and see that something I really stood for, and in the end managed to achieve, paid off. The whole process was relatively long. I waited about a year and a half just for the promotion itself. Usually, it takes a couple of years for the candidates to accumulate. Accordingly, the promotion was in two phases. First here in Graz, where I was among some of the candidates, and then of course the honorary promotion at the Council in the Palace with the President of Austria, where we received numerous awards and what is, of course, the most attractive, that is the ring, which is a kind of crown on all those achievements,” said Basic.
He mentioned that the ring is a tradition that dates back to the old Austrian monarchy, more precisely the 17th century. To qualify for this recognition, one must complete all high school grades with excellent success, graduate, and complete bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies with the highest grades within the expected educational period. Out of the annual two and a half thousand doctoral promotions in Austria, fewer than 20 are actually candidates for this special honor.
A step further
To the question of how much sacrifice is needed to be among the best, not in one’s city, not in one’s country, but in a place where the competition is undoubtedly much stronger, Basic replied:
“It’s not just about achieving what has already been achieved, but I had to take that extra step and ultimately overcome all those challenges I had. However, the interesting thing is that, even while I was in BiH, I was reaching some level of success. My focus was always that I wanted to finish my studies, I wanted to somehow complete my exams, my degree, to have my own professional path, but alongside that, I also strove to get the best grades,” he said.
Support from loved ones
The doctorate and everything else followed, and then the award.
“I stepped on the gas even more and wanted to try. I didn’t know of any foreigners who had received such an honor. In Austria, there’s a saying, ‘when you do something, do it with quality.’ There were a lot of sacrifices, but I had the support of people. The greatest thanks go first of all to my parents, then to my friends, neighbors, professors, and mentors who were with me all these years and pushed me in the worst moments to get up and move on,” said Basic.
The turning point for leaving BiH was to gain additional knowledge that he could not acquire there but with the aim of helping his people and country.
“I realized that if I want to achieve something more, I simply have to acquire knowledge from outside. I need to see how a different world functions and how I might be able to have a better experience to make better and higher-quality decisions someday in the future. And then I decided on a master’s program in Graz, where I eventually went and spent time. That was a kind of direction – I’m going there, I’ll study, but one thing that is characteristic in Austria and generally in Western countries is that there are a large number of associations. And we see an example through the association Circle of Excellence, which was intended for high-potential candidates in terms of preparing them to be leaders, to perform special functions. I came there on the recommendation of Austrians – in general, it was a rather closed circle where Austrians were present – but a good colleague, who today has his own company and is quite successful, insisted at the time that I also join. I came and completed that program, today I am an alumnus, so I still have that networking and connection, and I’m a mentor to many new participants. And that sparked a desire in me to be a bit more active in society itself. Recently, we founded the Association of Bosnian-Jewish Students in Graz, where I was one of the first members and founders, and today I am still there as an expert advisor in that association. And I hope it will last so that we can better help our students who go there to study and also better establish networking with students and youth currently in BiH,” said Basic.
Numerous awards
However, this is not Basic’s first award; there were many others during his studies.
“During my master’s I received the Best of South East scholarship, which was intended for the five best master’s students in computer science from Southeast Europe. That meant a lot to me at the time. After my doctorate, I also had two excellent awards, one for the best dissertation, which is awarded every year in terms of helping humanity, primarily for the use of renewable energy. In October of last year, I received the Scientist of the Year award from the Bosnian Academic Society here in Austria, which I am also extremely proud of. Those are our people living in Austria and with whom we must network more,” he said, N1 writes.
