POTREBIĆ: AWARD IS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FURTHER SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 30 /SRNA/ - Jovan Potrebić from Istočno Sarajevo, recipient of the Valedictorian Award of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Belgrade, told SRNA that this recognition is a powerful encouragement for further academic and scientific advancement, but also an obligation to continue with academic work and contributions to the scientific community.

Potrebić said he wants to inspire young people to choose an academic path in the natural sciences.

"I would like to encourage all those who are interested in natural sciences to choose them when deciding on their studies, regardless of the arguments against it, which are mostly economic in nature and increasingly prove to be unfounded. Scientific research carries many advantages and beauties," Potrebić emphasized.

He stressed that science is not just a profession but a calling, requiring great dedication, constant thought, questioning, and the pursuit of answers to many mysteries of nature.

Potrebić said that this award rounds off his academic work and that it would not have been possible without the support, understanding, and guidance of family, friends, colleagues, and professors.

"In addition to gratitude to all who contributed to this success, I am happy that I made them, as well as the wider community, proud," Potrebić noted.

He explained that as a high school student, he had very ambitious, but in hindsight somewhat immature, expectations for himself at university, and that those experiences helped him direct his academic motivation toward acquiring essential knowledge.

"With my first grade of nine in the record book, I gave up any pursuit of marks. Free from that need, grades were never an end in themselves but reflected the knowledge I gained in each subject. It turned out that this first nine was also my last, and without striving for it, I became valedictorian," said Potrebić.

Speaking about his decision to study physics, Potrebić said that from the beginning he was interested in solving fundamental research questions, which made the Faculty of Physics at the University of Belgrade the logical choice.

"The Faculty of Physics in Belgrade, through the Department of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, primarily educates future researchers and scientists. That fact was decisive for my choice to study at the University of Belgrade," Potrebić explained.

Potrebić was appointed teaching assistant at the Chair of Quantum and Mathematical Physics at the Faculty of Physics in Belgrade upon completing his undergraduate studies.

He was also valedictorian of the Istočna Ilidža Secondary School Center for 2019/2020, and in 2020 represented BiH at the European Physics Olympics.