Ceremonial Promotion of the Doctors of Science

The ceremonial promotion of 13 doctors of science who successfully defended their dissertations at the University of Banja Luka in the past year was held on 11 November 2024 at the Rectorate.

"The total number of doctoral dissertations defended at the University of Banja Luka in the past 49 years, i.e. since its establishment, is 909. This year, we have 13 candidates that were promoted and they are from the Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Philology, Faculty of Economics, and Faculty of
Medicine," Rector of the University Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, said and stated that classes are conducted in 14 study programmes of the third cycle of studies.

He clarified that all candidates enrolling in doctoral studies at the University are required to publish part of their research in international journals before defending their doctoral dissertation, and stated that this is one of the criteria that ensures the quality of the doctoral dissertation and its originality.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Ranko Škrbić said that almost every year the largest number of doctoral dissertations comes from the Faculty of Medicine, emphasizing that this is not a coincidence and that for more than eight years this faculty has been continuously conducting the third cycle of studies - doctoral studies very seriously.

"The result of those doctoral studies and a multidisciplinary approach to doctoral studies resulted in great interest, above all, from young researchers coming from different fields of medicine," Škrbić said.

Doctor of Medical Sciences Dejan Đokanović told the journalists that the path of research for the doctoral dissertation was not easy at all, that it required serious motivation and work to turn it into a paper.

"As a clinician, I had to have a certain type of synergy between clinical work and scientific research, and all of this resulted in serious scientific papers that were published in recognized scientific journals," Đokanović, PhD, said.

The ceremonial promotion was also attended by the vice-rectors of the University, Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD, Prof. Aleksandar Ostojić, PhD, Prof. Kristina Pantelić Babić, PhD, as well as the deans of the faculties and the Academy of Arts, and the director of the Institute of Genetic Resources, Asst. Prof. Marina Antić, PhD.

Photo: D. Desnica