Opportunities for continuing and enhancing cooperation, with particular emphasis on academic exchange and the mobility of students and university staff, were the topics discussed at a meeting between the management of the University of Banja Luka and representatives of the Embassy of the United States of America in Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on 24 September 2026 at the University Rectorate.

Representing the University of Banja Luka, the meeting was attended by Acting Rector Prof. Ranko Škrbić, PhD, Acting Vice-Rector for International and Inter-University Cooperation Prof. Kristina Pantelić Babić, PhD, and Acting Vice-Rector for Human and Material Resources Prof. Dalibor Kesić, PhD.

Representing the U.S. Embassy, the meeting was attended by Assistant Cultural Attaché William Holton, Embassy Officer in Sarajevo Elizabeta Delić, Staff and Student Exchange Coordinator Jasenka Oruč, and Public Affairs Assistant Dragan Kesić.

Fulbright scholars Priscila Villalobos Ixotoyac and Matthew Aaron Schroeder, who will be staying at the University of Banja Luka in the coming period, also attended the meeting.

The meeting addressed the cooperation between the University and the U.S. Embassy to date, as well as opportunities for its further development, particularly in the areas of academic and cultural ties, and exchange and mobility programmes.

Rector Škrbić thanked the Embassy representatives for their visit and for the cooperation to date, highlighting the importance of the support provided by the Embassy to the academic community and students of the University of Banja Luka.

He expressed the University's commitment to continuing and further enhancing cooperation, particularly in areas of mutual interest.

Acting Vice-Rector for International and Inter-University Cooperation Prof. Kristina Pantelić Babić, PhD, noted that the University continuously informs students and staff about academic mobility opportunities, including scholarship programmes implemented with the support and in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy.

“The particular importance of these programmes lies in gaining international academic experience, as well as establishing new academic and professional connections,” Pantelić Babić said.

Holton thanked the University management for their reception and support to date, particularly in implementing academic exchange programmes and hosting American students and professors at the University of Banja Luka.

The meeting concluded that there is scope for continued cooperation and the implementation of new activities aimed at strengthening academic exchange and fostering connections between university communities.