The 'Dental clinic' specialist centre opened

The ‘Dental Clinic’ specialist centre was opened on the campus of the University of Banja Luka on 14 June 2018 by Mr Milorad Dodik, President of the Republic of Srpska, Ms Zeljka Cvijanovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, and Prof. Ranko Skrbic, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Mr Dodik commended the enterprise, pointing out that it was the focal point of the overall activities in the area concerning the entire society of the Republic of Srpska.

‘There is more to be done in the process of modernization of this institution, this is just one of the stages on its path to becoming a referent centre’, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.

He also reminded the present of the fact that a series of projects was being realized every day in the country, that the whole of the Republic of Srpska was one great construction site, and that the area of science was not going to be neglected.

Ms Cvijanovic emphasized the multi-functionality of the facility, serving the purposes of gaining practical knowledge and education of residents and medical students.

‘Another important aspect of this enterprise is providing dental services to general population’, added Ms Cvijanovic, urging for the design of the oral health advancement strategy and programme for children and young adults at the level of the Republic of Srpska.

‘That is going to help us change some unfavourable practices concerning this field of medical protection, and I support the efforts of the Faculty of Medicine in this direction’, said Ms Cvijanovic.

Elaborating on this point, she also said that no contemporary university was imaginable without organizing practical training, as was the case with numerous secondary schools.

‘We are forced to change our attitude towards education, to abandon certain deeply rooted routines. We must make this area open to new initiatives and approaches, since contemporary universities demand the following three components – modernization, commercialization, and internationalization’, concluded Ms Cvijanovic

Prof. Skrbic also addressed the present, saying that the ‘Dental Clinic’ was a new organizational unit within the scope of the University, thus making it possible for the University as a legal person to provide commercial services from different fields to the civil society, like other institutions of that kind worldwide.

‘In this particular case, it is the field of dental medicine, and I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Srpska, without whose help this project would be unimaginable. What is more, we are allowed to provide these services utilizing the facilities of the Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Srpska’, said the Dean, adding that the residents in the field now had a home institution to serve their needs, not having to think any more about similar institutions abroad regarding this stage of their education.

‘Thanks to donors, there are 11 new dental chairs at the clinic, along with some sophisticated dental equipment. Our goal is to increase this number by acquiring 7 new chairs by the end of this academic year, thus making the total of 23 to 25 chairs needed for undergraduate and specialist studies’, concluded Prof. Skrbic.

In the end, Prof. Gajanin, Rector of the University, expressed his gratitude, on behalf of his associates, to the donors and all those who contributed to the realization of this project, significant in terms of not only the University of Banja Luka, but also the City of Banja Luka and the whole of the Republic of Srpska.

‘This is the model to be copied by other member units of the University’, concluded the Rector.

The ceremony was also attended by numerous dignitaries and officials of the Republic of Srpska, as well as prominent figures from various academic and public spheres of Banja Luka and the whole country.

The facility is situated on the premises of the Study programme of Stomatology, Faculty of Medicine, on the campus of the University of Banja Luka.