Faculty of Technology
The Faculty of Engineering in Banja Luka was established on 24 November 1962, when the People’s Committee of the Banja Luka District adopted a decision to establish the Faculty of Engineering with the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Chemical Processing of Wood. Unlike the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Chemical Processing of Wood started operating in 1963. With the expansion of industrial facilities for the production of cellulose, paper, viscose and cellulose derivatives, the need arose for qualified workers. Four-year studies at this faculty were launched in the academic year 1964/65. Thanks to high-quality academic staff coming from the University of Zagreb and the University of Sarajevo, that is when the Department of Technology of the Faculty of Engineering in Banja Luka started developing rapidly. Because of the onset of demand for professional staff in the food industry in the broader region of Banja Luka, in the academic year 1971/72, the Department of Technology of the Faculty of Engineering launched the Biotechnology and Food Technology course. The curricula for the Chemical Processing of Wood course and the new Biotechnology and Food Technology course were designed so that they shared course units in the first two years, covering fundamental sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry) and general course units, while the third and fourth year comprised course-specific course units, related to the chemical processing of wood, i.e. food technologies. Both study courses also included engineering course units (thermodynamics, technological operations, automation etc.), allowing for our graduate technology engineers to carry out brief internships and seamlessly enter the production process. In the existing industrial facilities, they assumed positions in management and development, thus contributing to the economic prosperity of this region.
At the establishment of the University of Banja Luka in 1975, the Faculty of Engineering was partitioned into two faculties – Electrical Engineering and Technology. In early 1977, the study courses of the Faculty of Technology grew into the departments of Chemical Technology and Food Biotechnology. At that time, the Department of Chemical Technology curriculum was significantly altered for the third and fourth year of study, where the narrowly profiled course units on the chemical processing of wood were replaced with new course units of a broader technological and engineering scope in organic and inorganic chemical technology. The rising demand for workers in the textile industry, in 1982 the Faculty of Technology drafted a feasibility study for a department of textile engineering. As early as the following year, in the academic year 1983/84, two new elective course units were introduced in the Department of Chemical Technology: Textile Raw Materials and Technology of Chemical Fibres, and in the academic year 1987/88, the Department of Textile Engineering was initiated. The curricula for this department was designed so that the first and second year of study had the same course units as the departments of chemical engineering and food technology.
In spite of all the hardships that came with the development and operation of this department, a core of experts was created, allowing for the local development of the field of fibres and textile, following achievements made in the world while conducting own research, which provided fertile ground for the development and successful operation of the regional textile industry.
The Faculty of Technology in Banja Luka has continuously worked on modernizing and improving the quality of the teaching process, which resulted in establishing the following courses: Chemical Technology and Environmental Engineering at the Department of Chemical Technology, Food Biotechnology and Control of Food Quality and Safety at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, and the General Direction Course and the Apparel Technology and Design course at the Department of Textile Engineering. In the academic year 2004/05, the teaching process was aligned with the principles of the Bologna declaration, and since then all departments have organized classes under the new curricula. The numerous activities in advancing the teaching process resulted in modern and rationalized study programmes, adapted to students and their professional orientation and the rules of study based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
Since 2008, the University of Banja Luka has functioned as an integrated university, with faculties as members. The Faculty of Technology has licensed first-and second- cycle study programmes. The Graphic Engineering study programme is the youngest first-cycle study programme at the Faculty of Technology, having been established in the academic year 2010/11. It resulted from the need for experts in the graphic industry, and this education profile is especially relevant to making packaging needed for all sorts of merchandise and products of various branches of industry. Since the academic year 2015/16, the Faculty of Technology joined forces with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, to organize the third-cycle study programme of Renewable Energy Sources and Environmental Engineering.
In order to be as efficient as possible in its activities of education and scientific research, the Faculty has defined its vision, goals and strategic commitments. All past and future activities are focused on the same goal – for the Faculty of Technology to maintain its position as one of the leading institutions in the fields of education, scientific research and service provision in the food, chemical, textile and graphic industries. The goal is to have a flexible faculty, which can handle the dynamic changes of modern-day society.
| Phone | +387 51 434 357 |
|---|---|
| Fax | +387 51 434 351 |
| Website | www.tf.unibl.org |
| info@tf.unibl.org | |
| Address | 73 Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića Blvd. Banja Luka, 78 000 |
| Dean | Dr. Borislav Malinović, Associate Professor |
| Vice-dean for Teaching | Dr. Mladen Stančić, Associate Professor |
| Vice-Dean for Science, Research and International Cooperation | Dr. Pero Sailović, Associate Professor |
