The conference organized by the University of Mostar (SUM) and the Center for Information Technologies SUMIT once again confirmed this year that Mostar can be a place where discussions shaping the digital future of the region take place.
Education seeks answers to AI challenges
The event opened with welcoming addresses by the Rector of the University of Mostar, Prof. Dr. Ivo Čolak, the Vice-Rector for Digitalization and Technology Transfer of SUM, Prof. Dr. Tomislav Volarić, and the Director of the Croatian Academic Research Network CARNET, Hrvoje Puljiz, while the conference was officially opened by Darijana Filipović, a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Rector Prof. Dr. Čolak highlighted the conference's distinctive identity.
"Every beginning of the MoStart conference carries a special energy that sets it apart from other similar events. This year, that energy is even stronger – the conference is truly dynamic, vibrant, and full of content," said the Rector.
The first day's program brought together teachers, school principals, and education policymakers to discuss topics that are directly transforming the educational landscape today – from the application of artificial intelligence in teaching to the digital safety of children and youth. A particularly well-attended strategic panel brought together education ministers from several BiH cantons alongside institutional partners from Croatia.
The panel "IT in Service of Higher Education" gathered representatives from higher education institutions in BiH and Croatia to discuss experiences with digitalization in higher education. Participants included the Director of the University Tele-Informatics Center (UTIC), Prof. Dr. Zenan Šabanac, the Head of the University Computing Center in Banja Luka, Aleksandar Gaćina, and the Head of CERT at the University of Mostar, Vedran Mihalj, with CARNET Deputy Director Ivan Šabić serving as moderator.
From Photomath to financial literacy
The central figure of IT Day was Damir Sabol, Director of Software Engineering at Google and founder of Photomath, who revealed to the audience how the app originated from an everyday parental problem.
"I started with the idea that this project would solve a problem for many people, especially parents, and I was quite confident about that. I didn't expect the product to become so big. I knew it would be interesting, but not that almost everyone would need it," Sabol emphasized.
The panel "Civilization 2.0 – AI as the Tailor of a New Era for Humanity" opened a discussion on the profound changes artificial intelligence is bringing to the labor market and business models, featuring leaders from leading regional tech companies. In a conversation about the future of digital finance, Hrvoje Ćosić, CEO of Aircash, stressed that digital finance is changing not only payment methods but also the long-term habits of new generations of users.
The final panel on digital and financial literacy, which included Toni Milun among its participants, warned of the growing danger of AI-generated fake content.
"Today, AI tools enable the creation of highly convincing fake videos, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from manipulation," Milun pointed out, emphasizing that the ability to think critically has become a key competency for modern individuals.
Over 230 authors from around the world
The Scientific Day concluded the conference with a record number of registered authors – over 230 from various parts of the world. Some of the papers will be published in collaboration with the prestigious publisher Springer, further confirming MoStart's growing international academic relevance.
Keynote lectures were delivered by Prof. Dr. Krešimir Ćosić from the University of Zagreb, who addressed the connection between mental health, stress resilience, and artificial intelligence, and Prof. Dr. Ing. Rainer Herpers, a professor at universities in Germany and Canada, who emphasized that AI systems in computer vision still depend on one crucial factor: quality training data.
The Coordinator of the Scientific Day, Prof. Dr. Daniel Vasić, stated that "technology should be viewed as a tool in the service of humanity that requires responsible guidance," while a panel on research trends, featuring rectors and professors from several regional universities, opened a discussion on the most important directions of science in the era of green and digital transition.
The President of the MoStart Organizing Committee and Vice-Rector of SUM, Prof. Dr. Tomislav Volarić, expressed satisfaction with the results of this year's fourth edition of the conference.
"MoStart is not built overnight – behind a conference like this stands a large number of people, from the organizational team to volunteers. We are especially pleased that speakers are happy to return, which confirms the quality of the content, as well as the value of networking and knowledge exchange that the conference provides," concluded Prof. Dr. Volarić.