For the second consecutive year, Đuro Đaković, in collaboration with Kongsberg Protech Systems from Norway, has awarded scholarships for the winter semester at the prestigious Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.
Unlike the first year when two scholarships were awarded, this year three scholarship recipients were selected from the applicants. The plan was to award two scholarships again this year, but since the three candidates were outstanding, it was decided that none should be disadvantaged by the selection.
In a demanding selection process, Marko Knežević from Slavonski Brod and Dino Bučević-Keran from Vinkovci, both students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Slavonski Brod, and Filip Lukač from Orehovica, a student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb, were chosen.
mn: Secured Future
Receiving a generous scholarship of 60,000 Norwegian kroner and 19,000 kuna, along with the opportunity to attend the winter semester at the university in Trondheim, is already a significant gain for any young person. But that’s not all. After obtaining their degree, they receive a unique opportunity to undertake a six-month internship at one of Norway’s largest corporations, Kongsberg, followed by a job at the Đuro Đaković group, where they will immediately have the chance to apply the academic knowledge and professional experience gained in Norway.
Such a scholarship was not easy to obtain; one really had to be excellent.
– There were several rounds, and we knew from the beginning that it would be difficult to be among the best, but we did not give up. When we received the notification that the three of us had passed, we were surprised and thought it was a mistake. But when they told us it was not a mistake and that all three of us were going, I couldn’t believe it all day. That scholarship seems to have been tailored to our wishes – all expenses are covered, the internship is conducted in a top global company, and what is extremely important – a job awaits us at Đuro Đaković. Thus, we have secured a peaceful study without stress and know where we will go after university – said Dino Bučević-Keran during the formal awarding of the scholarships.
Preserving the Best The second generation of scholarship recipients, the three most successful candidates who stood out this year with excellent academic achievements and openness to new challenges, were ceremoniously awarded scholarships by Henrik Ofstad, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Croatia, and Tomislav Mazal, a member of the Management Board of Đuro Đaković.
– Thanks to the success that this project achieved last year, I am extremely proud that we continued and expanded the initiative this year in collaboration with our partners, and we hope that by enhancing our cooperation over the years, it will reach even more excellent students. Krunoslav and Bruno last year, Marko, Dino, and Filip this year, are a picture of the future of Croatia that we can have. With Croatia’s accession to the European Union, many of our highly qualified professionals will have excellent job opportunities beyond our borders, but we do not want to allow our best professionals to go abroad in search of a better future – stated Tomislav Mazal, a member of the Management Board of Đuro Đaković.
Although they will only go to Norway in August, the boys must complete a significant part of their preparations well before departure. They gathered impressions from last year’s scholarship recipients who completed the first part.
– Our professors have been as accommodating as they could, but it was extremely difficult for us to choose subjects that we would attend in Norway, ensuring that similar ones exist in Croatia. It was exceptionally challenging to coordinate, but we succeeded. They warned us that it would be difficult after returning to Croatia because we would have to take exams quickly to meet all deadlines and be able to return to the internship – added Filip Lukač.
