We all tried hard and we sacrificed some of our other obligations so that the idea about a greater promotion of Tesla’s work could be realized.  Naturally, all this could not happen without the aid from many Serbian and foreign firms who understood our idea and supported us.  The American Embassy indebted us particularly because it is supplying the award, which is, I will repeat it, rather large when student competitions are concerned.

Irena Janković, secretary of the IEEE student branch in Belgrade

On the occasion of 150 years from the birth of Nikola Tesla, a conference will be organized at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, tell me a little more about that?

The conference is named “Tesla Neverending Story,” and it is organized by the branch of the IEEE organization, the local EESTEC committee and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade.  It is an international student competition, taking place in Serbia from 8-16 of July.  Students who applied for participation had to send a work from any field of electrical engineering and, what we introduced as a novelty for similar competitions in the world, an essay.

To explain a little, IEEC and EESTEC are?

IEEE is an international association of electrical and electronics engineers with the purpose of developing technology.  Members of this association, which has more than 350,000 members, are mostly engineers, although members can be students as well.  As far are as EESTEC is concerned, that is more of a student and European organization connecting students of electrical engineering and related fields through various exchanges, workshops.

To return to the conference, you mentioned the essay participants had to submit with the work?

Yes, that essay had to be entitled the same as the title of the conference, “Tesla Neverending Story.”  Our goal was for the competitors to familiarize themselves better with the life and work of Nikola Tesla.  This is not usual in this kind of competition under the auspices of IEEE and EESTEC organizations, but this is not an ordinary conference, and we thought that the work of Nikola Tesla deserved something more.

Why Neverending Story?

Our opinion is, and this is true, that Tesla represents an untold story, an endless story.  On the basis of his inventions, many branches of electrical engineering appeared, he practically founded them, some have literally changed the direction of their development.  On the basis of Tesla’s research, even to this date new advances in science and technology are being made.  It is fascinating that he conducted his experiments more than a hundred years ago.

What will you offer to your guests during these nine days?

The program is really rich.  In the first two days of their stay in Serbia, it is planned first of all, to acquaint them with our capital, the nightlife, to go to almost all the cultural events organized in the city connected to Tesla.  Our program, that is, the conference itself, is included in the official celebration of the 150th anniversary of Nikola Tesla’s birth.  The two introductory days, July 9th and 10th will be followed by two days when our Faculty will be in the center of attention. 

Those two days, the 11th and 12th of July are reserved for public presentations of the competitors’ works.  Then there will be various public and very interesting lectures about the life and work of Nikola Tesla, demonstration of how some of his inventions work, as well as showings of the films about Tesla.  I have to stress that all the interested people are welcome to participate in our program.

We will take the guests to the electric plant in Obrenovac, as well as to the Museum of Nikola Tesla, and at the end they will spend two days at Kopaonik.  On the way there, we will visit hydroelectric plan on the Cetina near Uzice, the first hydroelectric plant built in Serbia.

An awesome program.  Do you already know the potential candidates for winning the first place?

The jury comprised of professors from our faculty, members of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and members of the IEEE foundation have already picked seven out of 40 works that will be presented.  There is a competitor from Romania, from Great Britain, India, Germany, Jordan and two competitors from Serbia. 

The works were pretty good, and the professors are satisfied with the quality of the competition.  The quality of the essay also influences the result, and this was deliberated by a special jury.  The president of the jury, a member of the Academy, professor Aleksandar Marincic and members Dubravka Smiljanic, secretary of the museum and Ana Jankovic, student and dean’s assistant had a pretty hard task because students were informed well about Tesla, and they wrote long essays.  The best essay will be awarded separately.

All together, a nice idea you had, to mark the birthday of Nikola Tesla, was realized, and it started being carried out?

We all tried hard and we sacrificed some of our other obligations so that the idea about a greater promotion of Tesla’s work could be realized.  Naturally, all this could not happen without the aid from many Serbian and foreign firms who understood our idea and supported us.  The American Embassy indebted us particularly because it provided the award, which is, I will repeat, rather large when student competitions are concerned. 

All this with the purpose of familiarizing the public with something that is not only the merit of one or our greatest compatriots without whose inventions who knows where the human kind would now be.  It is certain there wouldn’t be a lot of things we use today and take for granted if it weren’t for him.

Irena Janković is a curricular assistant at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade in the department of telecommunications and the secretary of the IEEE student branch in Belgrade.