Klika supports students in their career journey

Final-year students of the University of Sarajevo and the University of Banja Luka, 38 of them to be exact, received each a scholarship awarded by Klika, one of the strongest IT companies in the country. To put it in the words of CEO Edin Deljkić, the scholarships represent the core concept of the Klika Foundation.

The concept, he elaborated, was established last year, and there are several different social responsibility-related and useful projects within the Foundation.

One of the projects is our employees donating a certain amount on a monthly basis to help with charity cases, like curing children and others. Another project within the Foundation is developing free applications for the community, and the third is scholarships for final-year students attending the universities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka. We noticed that most socially responsible companies are solely focused on projects related to their sector, and we consider, that, as a company, we need to act outside the IT sector, and that's why we decided to award scholarships to students from all faculties, not only IT students

Deljkić said.

Out of over 300 applicants, 38 students from 23 faculties in Sarajevo and 15 in Banja Luka were selected for a scholarship in the amount of BAM 1,000.

Those are students who successfully qualified. We did not only consider the GPA, but we were also looking for students who were go-getters and who were working, volunteering, or who took part in different projects during their studies, i.e., students who already started to build their careers during their studies. The one-time BAM 1,000 scholarships are our support they can use to prepare for the job market after they graduate.

Klika's plan is to award such scholarships every year and to follow up on the careers of scholarship recipients, as well as to form a Klika scholarship recipients community. Deljkić said that part of the program is also to offer a sort of mentorship to the scholarship recipients in terms of advising and providing support in preparation for their first jobs.

There is no better investment than investing in education. Formal education is very important because it adds value as individuals reciprocate by giving back to the economy and development. As an IT company that develops software for renowned companies worldwide, we want to support the future leaders of our country through the Klika Foundation scholarship program

Deljkić said.

Rajko Kecman, a final-year student at the Faulty of Forestry of the University of Banja Luka and one of the scholarship recipients said that he would try to use this scholarship in the best way possible.

Given that I am close to finishing my studies, it means a lot to me, and I will try to use the scholarship funds primarily for research purposes. I have won awards in the past for certain business plans, so this will come in handy for further development in that area

Kecman said.

Law school student and scholarship recipient, Selma Škripić, also agrees that this gesture is worthy of praise, whereby she emphasizes that the scholarship means a lot more than purely financial support and plays a more significant role; as she puts it: “the feeling that your hard work is recognized somewhere and the hope that quality will be respected and recognized through business opportunities in the future.

By awarding this year's scholarships, Klika supported quality, knowledge and education and offered a springboard to students to be even more successful, but also more aware of the responsibility they have as educated members of the community. Only with citizens’ awareness, educated people whose degrees are backed by knowledge, not just the title, and the support of such foundations and companies can our country truly prosper and offer a safe and bright future to the youth

Škripić said.

The Klika Foundation scholarship program is an expression of faith in creating a society of knowledge and prosperity, but also a belief that the scholarship recipients are the driving force and factor of change that builds a better reality and ensures a better future for BiH.

Original article is available here.