University of Sarajevo
Regional Academy
Established November 2002

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Sarajevo University brought the Cisco Networking Program to its Informatics Department in November 2002. The Faculty, which represents the focal point for studies in computer science and telecommunications in Bosnia and Herzegovina, coordinated the establishment of the Cisco Academy through a sponsorship with UNDP Bosnia/Herzegovina, the ITU, and Cisco Systems. Within the first year of its existence, the Regional Academy helped found 4 Local Academies in Sarajevo, and now has plans to start another 4 Academies outside of Sarajevo by the end of 2003.

In its first year, the Academy in Sarajevo made a great effort to overcome its lack of financial resources and networking infrastructure. Dr. Novica Nosovic, professor and Academy Program Manager, explains, “This was the first time that our state-owned University had decided to incorporate a commercial educational program into the faculty department, so we really had to focus our attention at the start of the program launch. We had the basic setup, and we just needed the equipment and instructor training from Cisco and the ITU.”

The Academy currently has one class of 13 students, with two servers and 20 workstations. The Academy’s computer lab is always available to students after-hours. In the next five years, the Academy plans to include additional sponsored curriculum and to eventually become an authorized certification center. The Academy also hopes to involve government agencies in the sponsorship of the program in the near future, including long-term collaboration with the national telecom operator BH Telecom.

Students at the Academy are very keen on the concept of self-paced, self-organized study. Most of the students manage the Cisco courses in addition to their regular university studies. Dr. Nosovic emphasizes, “The e-learning way is a new thing for us in Bosnia; the Cisco Academy gives great value to the institution and to our country.”

For more information about the University of Sarajevo Academy, please visit: www.etf.unsa.ba/netacad/ (site under construction)