THE DIRECTOR OF THE USAID MISSION IN BIH VISITING THE UNIVERSITY IN ZENICA

Director of the USAID Mission in BiH Nancy Eslick, Ian Reese, Director of USAID OTI for BiH and Ema Kulenović, Project Advisor International Organization for Migration, on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. they visited the University of Zenica. The guests expressed special interest in the IdeaLab at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, where since the beginning of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, in cooperation with students and teachers of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Medicine, protective visors have been made on 3D printers. At the meeting held with the vice-rector for international cooperation and quality assurance, Prof. Ph.D. Malik Čabaravdić, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Ph.D. Fuad Hadžikadunić, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr.Sc. With Harun Hodžić, coordinator of the Office for International and Interuniversity Cooperation, Amra Muslić-Halilović, Prof., Mirza Oruč, MA and students, they discussed the previous projects, work and successes of the students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and IdeaLab, as well as the future cooperation between the USAID Mission and the University in Zenica. In the implementation of the project, and thanks to the support of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Resilience Initiative (BHRI) program implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), material for 3D printers used to make protective visors was previously donated .

On this occasion, Nancy Eslick pointed out that "it is a great pleasure to see that young people respond to something that is a common goal of all of us." We often hear in Bosnia and Herzegovina that there is a problem with young people, a high unemployment rate, lack of motivation and very radical rhetorical ideas. However, young people are not the problem, they are the solution to all problems, as these young people prove. Together with their peers, they spend time and invest energy helping people who are on the first line of defense of our healthcare system. In these difficult times, we must share messages of solidarity and hope!”

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, the US government has committed more than 900 million dollars to help fight the pandemic in more than 120 countries around the world, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, a group of students and employees of the University of Zenica, primarily the Faculty of Medicine and Mechanical Engineering, decided to somehow contribute to overcoming the situation, and it was decided to start manufacturing medical equipment. Since mid-March, 3D printers have been in operation day and night, producing protective visors that were donated to health centers throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. About 3000 visors have been made so far. The most significant donation in the form of equipment and materials was donated by USAID," said Prof. Ph.D. Malik Cabaravdic.

"Our team includes students, assistants and a professor of Mechanical Engineering and the faculty. About 50 visors are made daily on 3D printers that work 24 hours a day. The production of protective visors will not stop, but will continue as long as the pandemic lasts," said student Belmin Hinović.