History

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, East Sarajevo, is an integrated part of the University of East Sarajevo.

Historical overview:

The development of higher education has always been linked to economic, socio-economic and political developments. With the development of industry and other activities in the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the end of World War II, the need arose to establish the University of Sarajevo. The University was founded back in 1949 when the Faculty of Technology began operating with two departments: Civil Engineering and Architecture. However, the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Technical Faculty in Sarajevo began operating in 1958. Classes were attended by students of the “general type of mechanical engineering” over eight semesters, while the ninth semester was intended for the preparation of a diploma thesis. In the first two years of study, in addition to professors from the University of Sarajevo, classes were also conducted by professors from the Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Belgrade, as well as from other faculties in the region.

In the following years, industrial development expanded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to increased interest in mechanical engineering studies. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo was established by separating the Mechanical Engineering Department from the Faculty of Technology and merging the Wood Industry Department of the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo in 1961. Professor Dragoslav Mirković was elected as the first dean.

After the outbreak of armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted a Decision on the separation of higher education institutions from the University of Sarajevo. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Srpska Sarajevo continued its work in Vogošća under the name: University of Sarajevo of the Republika Srpska, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Srpsko Sarajevo – Vogošća, on the basis of which it was entered in the court register of the Basic Court in Srpsko Sarajevo No. I-368/94 of 8 June 1994. This date is considered the day of the official start of work of this higher education institution in the territory of today’s Republika Srpska and is therefore marked as Faculty Day. The organization of work and management of the Faculty were regulated by the Law on the University and the Statute of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Professor Momir Šarenac was appointed as the first dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Srpsko Sarajevo, who left a great mark on its development during his many years of work. He had the extremely difficult task of providing the necessary material and personnel resources for teaching and the work of administrative services in a short period of time in the midst of war. With all the aggravating circumstances that arise as a result of war conflicts, the professor’s perseverance in solving problems, consistency in achieving goals, and ability for good organization became even more evident. He built good cooperation with the representatives of the Municipality with the help of younger colleagues, so that the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was given a sufficient number of classrooms and an amphitheater with 160 seats, while practical classes were conducted at the Aeronautical Institute “Orao” from Rajlovac and the production facilities and laboratories of the company “Pretis”. The highly developed industry and the existence of large plants in the territory of Vogošća was one of the main reasons for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering to be located in the municipality of Vogošća. The next step was the engagement of professors and assistants who worked at the University of Sarajevo until 1992, but after the outbreak of the war were forced to change their place of residence and move to the territory of the Srpska Republika and the Republic of Serbia. At the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo, classes, which were conducted according to the curriculum and program of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo, continued to be attended by 118 students who were forced to abandon their studies due to war. The first class in the subject Mathematics I was held by Professor Milan Janjić. Although the curriculum and program that was initiated included the following areas: production engineering, engines and motor vehicles, energy and mechanical wood processing, due to the overall combination of circumstances and the lack of adequate personnel, classes for the first generation were conducted only in the field of Production Engineering.

In November 1995, the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed, by which the municipality of Vogošća was assigned to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, on 23.05.1996, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republika Srpska issued Decision No. U-858/96 to move the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from Vogošća to Pale. The Faculty moved to the facilities of the company “FAMOS Koran”. Since these facilities did not have the spatial capacity that the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering needed for the smooth conduct of teaching and scientific research, the headquarters of the Faculty was moved to the municipality of Istočno Novo Sarajevo in 1998. After 1996, a major problem was the insufficient number of teachers at the Faculty. However, as a respected professor, Momir Šarenac, over the course of his many years of work, has built good cooperation with a large number of colleagues in the field of mechanical engineering in the region and beyond, and has managed to overcome this problem. Professors from faculties in Serbia as well as from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Banja Luka gladly accepted his invitation to work as teachers at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Srpsko Sarajevo. They have made a significant contribution to the survival and development of the Faculty during the post-war period, which was extremely difficult.

After that, it was necessary to improve the then very modest technical and technological resources. In the following period, the Faculty invested significant financial resources, and a great contribution to its development was made by the relevant ministry. The support of business entities was also significant. In 2010, the Laboratory for Applied Mechanics and Machine Constructions and the Center for Energy and Process Engineering were established. The Government of the Republika Srpska, through capital financial investments in 2012, improved the educational and scientific research capacities of the University of East Sarajevo. At the beginning of 2013, the Laboratory for CNC Machine Tools and CIM Systems was established, which installed modern industrial machine tools. In the second phase of the University’s modernization, at the beginning of 2016, the Laboratory for Welding and Materials Testing was established, which was equipped through the implementation of international and national projects. This was followed by the establishment of the Center for Accredited Laboratories, which received a certificate from the competent authority in 2021. The Laboratory for Measurement and Quality Control was also established in the same year.

Along with the development of technical and technological resources, the process of improving teaching also took place. Major changes were brought by the Law on Higher Education of the Republika Srpska from 2006. With its implementation, faculties ceased to be legal entities and continued their existence, organization and work as organizational units of the University of East Sarajevo. The first curriculum was applied until the 2004/05 academic year, when modernization was carried out and the experimental application of the principles of the Bologna Declaration began. Teaching in the academic year 2008/09. was organized according to the innovative study program Mechanical Engineering, lasted eight semesters, and the study program was valued at 240 ECTS points. Since 2009/10, master’s studies have been organized, lasting four semesters. Since the academic year 2011/12, a one-year study program Master of Mechanical Engineering has been implemented, which was fully adapted to the guidelines of the Bologna Declaration. At the beginning of the 2013/14 academic year, teaching in the first cycle of studies has been carried out according to the licensed study program Mechanical Engineering with specializations. Within the first two years of studies, general subjects are studied, and in the third and fourth years, students choose one of three specializations: Production Engineering, Industrial Product Design and Thermal Power Engineering and Process Engineering. In the period from 2014/15 to 2015/16 academic year, classes were held in the study program Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection in the second cycle of studies. The study program in the first cycle of studies Mechanical Engineering with three majors was modernized in the academic year 2017/18. At the beginning of 2019, the study program was accredited in both study cycles. Since the adoption of the Law on Higher Education in 2020, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in East Sarajevo has been operating as a member of the University of East Sarajevo.

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in East Sarajevo pays special attention to scientific research and international cooperation through the implementation of numerous projects and the mobility of teachers and associates. Good communication has been established with colleagues from abroad, so that the scientific research work of teachers and associates of the Faculty has been recognized in a much broader academic framework, and a certain number of them have been appointed as members of editorial and review teams of international journals, as well as program and scientific committees of conferences.

Since 2012, the Faculty has been organizing the International Scientific Conference “Applied Technologies in Mechanical Engineering – COMETa” every other year. In 2017, it organized the event “Quality Festival – QFEST”. Within the framework of the Yugoslav Society for Machine Elements and Structures, in 2002 it hosted the Fourth Scientific Conference with International Participation “IRMES – Research and Development of Machine Elements and Systems”, and in 2017 it was its co-organizer.

Numerous activities of the previous management and teaching staff, aimed at creating better conditions for scientific and research work, teaching and achieving international cooperation, have contributed to the development of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering into a respectable institution that, within the framework of higher education, carries out educational, teaching, scientific and research, expert consulting and publishing activities, and can also perform other tasks that commercialize the results of scientific and research work.