This year’s 13. Industrial Forum will begin by a keynote address of dr. Nataša Kovačević, woman engineer of the year

21 Jan 2022

Dr. Nataša Kovačević, project manager at the R&D department in Kolektor Group, was named the 2021 Woman Engineer of the Year at the ceremony award that took place on 11 January in the Presidential Palace. The winner of this flattering title will also have the honour to open this year’s 13. Industrial Forum IRT.

We hope that we are finally able to meet you face-to-face beginning of June in Portorož, where we are expecting to have two interesting days full of professional topics and networking. This is exactly what we sorely miss after a two-year pause in live events. As the event organisers are already eagerly drafting the programme and planning many new and interesting topics, we are sticking with the tradition of letting the current Woman Engineer of the Year open the Industrial Forum. 

This time, this is going to be dr. Nataša Kovačević, project manager in the R&D department at Kolektor Group. In addition to her research and engineering achievements, she is also known for her active role in the society and commitment to inspiring new generations of engineers with her professional passion and clear-cut goals. Dr. Kovačević talks about her profession with a certain ardour, amazes with her calm, determined self-confidence, and pursues her professional goals with devotion and hard work.

When presented with the statue, dr. Kovačević said: “The role of women in engineering is steadily increasing, but the share of women is still too low. This is why we should guide young girls to take this career path so that they can fulfil their potential. I will continue to encourage the young for engineering and natural sciences.”

President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, honorary patron of the We are going to be engineers! project, which includes the Woman Engineer of the Year award, said at the ceremony: “Engineers are the bridge between goals and achieving goals. I am not the one to ask if they are women or men. I know that the whole world needs these talents and knowledge.”

The Industrial Forum is also a space where we build bridges between goals and achieving goals, as evident from the Taras award and the whole happening at the forum. The organisation team wishes you a lot of achieved goals until we meet in Portorož.