You spent only 6 months in Offenburg before leaving for your internship in your second semester. Do you miss our city?

It may sound strange but Offenburg feels like home somehow. Warm welcome we had after our arrival in the first semester and all the activities the university organized, especially for us international students, are for sure one of the reasons for that. This is the city where I made first friends in Germany, where I met amazing new colleagues and where I got a chance to experience a totally different life. I am finishing my internship in the moment and I can tell you that I am very much looking forward to coming home.

You were recently awarded with a scholarship, tell us more about it.

Yes. It is Thomas Gessmann Stiftung scholarship for students of technical sciences in Baden-Württemberg. I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical when applying, thinking that as an international students I don´t have big chances of actually getting it. Few weeks ago I got a letter that proved me wrong. I was among students who were granted a financial support. Guess this is a lesson never to give up.

I am very happy about this news. Of course the money will help me in a great deal but it is also the recognition of my work that counts. It is nice to have this feeling that your work is appreciated.

We hear you will be publishing an article soon. What is it about?

With a professor from my previous university in Bosnia and Herzegovina I was working on a small research for some time now. We were using artificial neural networks to forecast photovoltaic systems power output and this spring I wrote an article about it. The article will be published now in September at an international conference ISAP (Intelligent Systems Applications to Power Systems) in Portugal.

I am very excited. This is my first time to actually publish a paper. Knowing that this is one of the biggest conferences in the world when it comes to intelligent systems in power engineering, and that I will be presenting my work there, makes me a little bit nervous, I have to admit. J

You are finishing your internship soon. What are your impressions?

This is my first working experience in a company actually, so there are a lot of impressions. I am working in Nordex, all the way up in the north of Germany, in Rostock. This is a wind company and my job is in the prototype department. I couldn´t be more satisfied with my internship. I am working on a new pilot project for the company so I actually get to do real engineering job every day which is very important to collect the so much needed experience. I also couldn´t be more lucky when it comes to the people I am working with. With my working days coming to the end soon we made this big board in the office where we are counting and writing down the days until I leave, so we can appreciate more the days we have left together. Or maybe they just made it to count down days to the cake I promised to bring at the end. J

 What do you like about ECM?

I think that the structure and the idea of the program are very well made. It gives us the theoretical background but also the opportunity to gain practical experience through internships. I like the fact that it is not purely about engineering, but it rather gives us the insight into economical side of the story as well.

But I have to say that the thing I like the most is the international character of the program. I find myself often sitting in the classroom and thinking how amazing it is that I am here in this room with people from all around the world, from Indonesia to Peru. Being surrounded every day with so many different cultures, different points of view, and I can say different sets of values, is truly a unique and amazing experience.

This summer I had the opportunity to take some of my colleagues to my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am sure that they would probably never visit this small country if we didn´t meet through ECM. And this is the real importance of this program. ECM doesn´t just give us knowledge, it makes us a part of this amazing network of engineers from all around the world.