Alma Orucevic-Alagic, lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH)

Alma Orucevic-Alagic from Bosnia-Herzegovina was teaching regular students at LTH when one day her boss asked her if she would consider being the principal coordinator for a programming course for academics with an engineering background who were new arrivals in Sweden. She immediately saw it as an opportunity to give something back.

“Many people have helped me on the way through life so that I could be where I am today. Therefore, I was very pleased when I was asked.”

It felt close to her heart when she realised that the education project, MatchIT, was a collaboration between ESF, Region Skåne, the Swedish Public Employment Service, Ideon Science Park, Lund University and the Blekinge Institute of Technology.

“It was truly wonderful that so many organisations wanted to help to get newly arrived academics into jobs, in a labour market where there is a huge need for programmers. This was something I wanted to be involved in!”

Over a two-year period, she taught around 50 participants, who after the course are matched with relevant placements.

“I established very good relations with them all and many of them have got in touch and dropped in to my office, or sent an email to say where they are now.”

Alma Orucevic-Alagic would be very keen about the prospect of more teaching in commissioned education. She says that the cooperation with LUCE enabled everything to work very smoothly.  

“Without LUCE it would have been impossible to conduct such a course. They were a key component in the entire process and have coordinated and organised everything so that I could focus on teaching. I will miss them!”