Author: NanoPoli centar

STUDY, CREATE, CELEBRATE: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION

Arts are not only beauty and joy, but also a powerful tool. Many studies prove enhancements in learning abilities of children by integrating elements of art into the school programmes. We wish you today a Happy International Day of Education established by United Nations.

Be greeted by a powerful spectra of the artwork delivered at NanoPoli’s winter school of „Science Through Arts“.

Our splendid teacher, MA Tatjana RATKOVIĆ BOSNIĆ glows with pride for her talented young crew.

Stay tuned for the beginning of the spring season and the new announcements of this unique activity.

WINTER DEEPTECH AND OPEN SCIENCE SHARING OUR VISION IN BELGRADE

NanoPoli team is thankful to the colleagues from the Univerzitet Union Nikola Tesla who entrusted us with introducing their students and young staff on deeptech and open science. We were educators at the conference „Open Innovation and Community Engagement: Opportunities and Challenges”.

We shared the experience based on our founding base-the DeepGreenInno project. We emphasised how broader education of the young generation in DeepTech can expand their motivation to understand the full potential of Western Balkans material chain industries. Indeed, it is up to these young people to hold the future on their shoulders and believe in the importance of their role in creating it.

Acknowledgments to:

SuDe2Re-Sustainable Development through Responsible Research: Strengthening ORRI in SRB and B&H and REINFORCING Project.

 

 

COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP: “GRAMMAR IS NO STATICS”

We are pleased to invite you to join our latest educational program: “Grammar is no statics”. Our target group is elementary school students aged 8 to 10, an age that scientific research shows is critical, but also the best period for acquiring basic language skills and creating friendships through language.

 

Children’s view of language and its structure is different from that of adults. That is why we often hear from children unusual thinking about the meanings of words or strange language forms. NanoPoli Center has recognized the importance of language as a universal tool for expressing both their own feelings and thoughts and understanding other disciplines and cultures.

 

Regardless of what professional direction your child will have, he needs a correct understanding of the world of science and the skills of condensing thoughts and ideas into proper structures. But that’s not all! Only when they master basic language skills, children understand that language is not STATIC but changes along with the development of civilization, and we, with our specific talents, imagination, skills and gifts, can really influence that flow.

 

The work will take place in groups of up to 10 participants. The promotional price will be 70 KM per month (8 sessions per month). The venue is the multimedia hall of the Innovation Center Banja Luka (Mladena Stojanovića 4, 78 000 Banja Luka).

 

During 2025, the program will be expanded to other age groups, which we will regularly publish announcements on our social networks and the NanoPoly Center website. The program will run from 1. 2. 2025 to 30. 6. 2025, after which we will offer schools for further development of skills with appropriate competitions and awards, which will be held during the summer holidays.

 

Please send your applications to: info@npcentar.org

Application deadline: 20. 1. 2025.

Module content:

  • Linguistics for children
  • Establishing grammar rules
  • Tricks for better language acquisition
  • Board games for brainstorming
  • Tongue twisters and tongue twisters
  • Spelling experiments
  • Help with school assignments

 

The classroom was designed and will be led by our expert associate Dr. Aleksandra Savić, a professor of Serbian language known for the extremely popular program “Jezikolovac“. By choosing the lecturers, we have ensured the top quality of this unique program in the Republika Srpska. Most importantly, the program is designed in such a way that children will receive additional support and assistance in solving current school tasks in the Serbian language through each workshop.

WINTER ART CLASSROOM: WHERE SCIENCE MEETS CREATIVITY

In collaboration with the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Banja Luka, NanoPoly Center proudly presents a pilot art classroom – a place where imagination and science merge into a unique creation!


What awaits you? Through creative workshops with our talented colleague, Master of Arts in Graphic Design Tatjana Ratković Bosnić, participants will:
explore the magic of colors and shapes, learn unusual techniques and intertwine science with the cooperation of experts in physics and chemistry.

 

Thus, we will create works of art that bring imagination to life with science!
This is the perfect way for young people to fill the last days of winter break, entering the world of art, science and creative play.
When and where?
Dates: January 16, 17 and 18, 2025.
Time: from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Location: modern classroom of the Center for Materials Innovation, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Mladena Stojanovića 2 in Banja Luka.
Parking is provided for parents.


Who is the workshop for? Participants aged 6 to 18, divided into age groups. The number of places is limited.
How to apply? Send a short application to: info@npcentar.org
What’s next? After the pilot classroom, we are organizing permanent classes for all art lovers from February to July 2025.
Workshop price: 50 KM.
Join us and experience a unique adventure of merging art and science!

NANOPOLI VISIBLE AT HOME: INNOVATORS AND INVESTORS FAIR

NanoPoli Centre had an honor to present our vision at the City Development Agency-Cidea of Banja Luka’s event “Innovators and Investors Fair 2024”.

This event was attended by a number of policy makers and business supporting agencies from the region and was a high success in showcasing the innovations, most notably the one of young student Daniel Menićanin which won this year’s Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Butterfly award but also the Best Technological Innovation of Republika Srpska Award.

After first day in the Banja Luka Youth Centre, second day gave us opportunity to discuss on our experience in startup formation at the Privredna komora Republike Srpske (Chamber of Commerce). We emphasized importance of educational support enabled by the EIT HEI Initiative which lead to our establishment as a company.

Lots of incredible networking and valuable connections established and plans for our goals until the next Fair comes.

DEEP PLANETARY TECHNOLOGIES MEET DOMESTIC RESOURCES

You would never believe what is diversity of technologies that could be applied to the mineral resources in your neighbourhood, just behind the hill, river, or valley where you pass by.
 
Take a look at the inspirational video created by our partner Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, during the DeepGreeInno project which actually initiated creation of our NanoPoli Centre.  
 

ZAG WORKSHOP IN BANJA LUKA:LIVING KNOWLEDGE ON LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

With direct foreign investments of more than 👍 900 M EUR in first half of 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina is an important place to talk LCA. Colleagues from ZAG – Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije visited us and gave very important lectures at an excellent LCA workshop (held at Innovation Centre Banja Luka ) for students, postgraduates from University of Banja Luka, professionals from industry, NGO and consulting SMEs.
@nanopolicenter was honoured to organise this event and we are so pleased with the lively discussion in the concluding moments. Regardless of being small if Bosnia and Herzegovina keep up with the newest education trends and standards in material science and technologies these young people are going to add value to the already vibrant raw material industry 🏭 🏭.

INVITATION: LIFE CYCLE ASSESEMENT WORKSHOP

   

NanoPoli Centre is pleased to announce a fruitful collaboration with Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG). As the technical organizer, we cordially invite you to the workshop “Sustainability and environmental assessment – research, practice and education”, which will take place on 22nd of November 2024 at Inovacioni Centar Banja Luka in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska BiH.

Please register with your name and affiliation at: info@npcentar.org

About the educational content created by ZAG:

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely used method for the environmental assessment of products, processes and services. LCA reports can be of high complexity and the final readers often lack the necessary expertise to fully understand the results of an LCA study, which can lead to sub-optimal decision making or even erroneous conclusions. The workshop will provide an overview of common misconceptions and misunderstandings surrounding LCA, examine why LCA trainings are needed and explore how to improve the understanding of LCA results and reports. The workshop is organised within the EIT RawMaterials RIS HUB Adria, EPICENTRE and CO2TREAT projects.

The EIT RawMaterials Community is the world’s largest association in the raw materials sector, with a core mission to ensure a sustainable and stable supply of key raw materials to European industry, by supporting innovation along the entire value chain. EIT RawMaterials RIS HUB Adria is a regional centre covering Slovenia, Croatia and outreaching to the whole Western Balkans region.  Activities are focused on supporting innovation, education and networking of stakeholders in the raw materials sector, connecting all key links in the innovation ecosystem.

The EPICENTRE project aims to develop an innovative educational course in order to bridge the gap in comprehension and communication surrounding LCA and new business development. The EPICENTRE project implements the deployment of a comprehensive and dynamic educational platform that integrates e-learning, simulations and workshops, thus ensuring an innovative and engaging learning experience for participants from industry and academia.

The main aim of the CO2TREAT project is to design a new generation of resource-efficient products for civil engineering applications by substituting primary resources characterised with high embodied carbon with low-carbon alternatives made from CO2 treated secondary resources, such as steel slag and incineration ash. By forging new industrial symbiosis linkages between the steel, energy and cement industries, CO2TREAT project will enhance the circularity and the competitiveness of the energy intensive material production sectors.

The workshop welcomes architects, engineers, industrial experts, manufacturers, policy and decision makers, product designers, researchers, students and everybody else interested in sustainability, eco-design and environmental assessment.

Workshop programme

09:30 – 10:00Welcome coffee & registration
10:00 – 10:15Introduction by NanoPoli Centre
10:15 – 10:45EIT RawMaterials RIS HUB Adria: Speed up your sustainable innovation!
10:45 – 11:15Why we need LCA training and education
11:15 – 11:30Coffee break
11:30 – 12:00EPICENTRE – The educational platform for Life Cycle Assessment
12:00 – 12:30CO2TREAT – Mineral carbonation of coal ash – a CCU solution to bind CO2 and improve its environmental acceptability
12:30 – 13:00Discussion and conclusions
13:00 –  …Lunch on the location, informal meetings

Sometimes slower means faster

We live in times when science and technology are advancing at an incredible speed. Most research confirms that there have been more scientific discoveries in the last 100 years than in all of human history. However, often, although this progress should mean that it is easier for a person and that they would have more time for rest, family and creativity, unfortunately, this is mostly not the case. Advances in communication technologies have made us available 24/7 and most of us have a fear of “switching off”.

Science has now received a completely new task: psychologists remind us to stop at least a few times a day, look around us and notice the beauty of the simplicity of life and the colors around us. In this way, we will regain strength and freshness, and after a few “slow” moments, we will continue our creative work with better quality and perhaps faster.

“Balkathon 5.0” won

Winners of the Balkaton 5.0 a regional competition in innovative ideas that can be the basis for new business ventures, have just been announced.

A young associate of the NanoPoli Center, Marija Stojaković a chemist, mentored a team of high school students from Banja Luka in promoting the idea of valorizing local wool as an organic raw material for the production of cosmetic and galenic products. The experiment was carried out in 2023 at the University of Banja Luka, through the DeepGreenInno project from which we, as a company emerged. А team won a special award under the acronym InnoGirls. A sustainable chain of raw materials is needed for the production of keratin, an important polymer from wool. EU currently imports it in quantities of over 600,000 tons per year from Asia and Australia.

Under the mentorship, the students managed to develop an excellent business plan and propose to investors an investment in this technology. The next time one of them washes their hair with keratin shampoo, we ask them to contact our young winners and invest in this idea!