The First Day of the 17th BHAAAS Days: Knowledge, Innovation, and Professional Exchange at the Heart of the Program

The first day of the 17th BHAAAS Days in Sarajevo brought together numerous local and international experts, researchers, professors, physicians, and students through a diverse interdisciplinary program dedicated to contemporary achievements in medicine, technical sciences, information technologies, and artificial intelligence.

As part of the medical program, symposia were held in the fields of infectious diseases, mental health of children and adolescents, maxillofacial surgery, and intensive care medicine. The Third International Symposium on Infectious Diseases was led by Prof. Rusmir Baljić, MD, PhD, and Meliha Hadžović Čengić, MD, MSc, from the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo. Through lectures and discussions, participants addressed acute infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, emerging zoonoses, HIV, hepatitis, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention.

A one-day interdisciplinary symposium dedicated to the mental health of children and adolescents brought together experts who discussed the challenges of recognizing, assessing, and treating pain in children with cerebral palsy, with a special emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The lectures were led by Prof. Emira Švraka, Amer Smajkić, MD, and Sabina Kučukalić, MD, PhD.

The program also included the Second International Symposium on Maxillofacial Surgery, led by Ass. Prof. Dino Dizdarević, DDM, PhD, and Amer Kubat, DDM. The symposium focused on contemporary approaches, challenges, and innovations in maxillofacial surgery, highlighting the importance of strengthening professional cooperation and connecting experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the diaspora.

The International Symposium in Intensive Care Medicine was led by Adnan Begović, MD, from the University of California, San Diego, and Stoja Erić, MD, from the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo. Through expert lectures and discussions, participants explored current challenges, modern clinical practices, and the importance of international cooperation in advancing intensive care medicine.

A special part of the program was held at the ASA Institute, where the event “Molecular Testing in Oncology: Shaping Diagnosis, Treatment, and Patient Outcomes” focused on the increasingly important role of molecular diagnostics in modern oncology. The program was led by Ermina Iljazović, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Pathology in Tuzla and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tuzla, and Gordan Srkalović, MD, PhD, Medical Director of the UM Health-Sparrow Herbert-Herman Cancer Center and President of the Cancer Committee. The focus was on early disease detection, selection of targeted therapy, personalized treatment approaches, and improved patient outcomes.

The technical and natural sciences program on the first day covered topics in mechanical engineering, information and communication technologies, computer science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The Mechanical Engineering Symposium was led by Prof. Seid Korić, PhD, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Prof. Muris Torlak, PhD, from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo. The program emphasized the importance of advanced engineering technologies, modeling, simulations, digital twins, industrial innovations, and stronger links between academia and industry.

The Computer Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence Symposium was led by Prof. Almir Karabegović, PhD, from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo, and Dželila Mehanović from International Burch University. The symposium provided a platform for exchanging knowledge on AI systems, machine learning models, data processing, digital transformation, and the practical application of artificial intelligence in medicine, education, industry, social sciences, and other fields. Among the highlighted lectures were “Deep Operator Neural Networks – Towards Instant Modeling, Design, and Digital Twins”, delivered by Seid Korić, and “The Future of Information Technologies”, delivered by Namik Hrle.

An important segment of the program was the Computer Science and Information Technologies Student Symposium, which enabled final-year ICT students to present their papers, projects, and innovative solutions before an international academic and professional audience. In this way, the 17th BHAAAS Days once again confirmed the importance of supporting young researchers, academic development, and connecting new generations with experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina and around the world.

The first day of the conference demonstrated the breadth and significance of the BHAAAS platform as a space for knowledge transfer, strengthening professional networks, connecting local institutions with the diaspora, and opening topics that shape the future of science, medicine, technology, and social development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.