There are more and more female engineers who, with their knowledge, work and perseverance, overcome the framework of social patterns conditioned by history and culture, for whom we must create a stimulating business environment and provide them with full support, said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, at the opening of the Chevening project conference “Empowering women in engineering” held in the Science and Technology Park in Niš.

The Commissioner recalled the answer of Dr. Lidija Tomić, engineer of the year 2024, who, when asked if her path to choosing a profession was complicated, answered that it was rather creative and methodical, which suits her character, and that she believes that engineers are in fact the creators of the future of a society. I would only add that we must create the future together, both women and men, because those two perspectives and mixed teams give the best results, Janković said.

Today, in Niš, we have the opportunity to hear some of those good “engineering stories” in the times we live in, the Commissioner stated and recalled the career of a famous Serbian woman in the field of engineering, a woman from Niš and the first woman with an engineering degree, Jovanka Bončić, who graduated in 1913. in Darmstadt, Germany at the Technical College and designed the buildings of many important institutions in Serbia.

The conference was opened by Sanja Milošević, project manager for “Empowering women in engineering”, and in the introductory part, the UK Ambassador to Serbia, Edward Ferguson, and Katarina Mitrovski, the local ombudswoman of the City of Niš, also spoke. Among the participants were representatives of the academic and business community.