Meet Nedim Sladić | Master of Science in Applied Meteorology and Climate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nedim Sladić and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nedim, what do you attribute your success to?
I would say being enthusiastic about what you work and dedicated to your field. My focus bases on meteorology and climatology – fields whose rationale is related to the abstract terms many people struggle to comprehend. Even when the outcome is not expected or you struggle to understand the concept, if you are willing to pull above 100 % of your efforts, there will be notable progress. This is the factor of resilience. Curiosity is next, as it incorporates posing many questions and crossing out or modifying the hypotheses to reach the final answer to the question that leads you towards the output – the result you are willing to share, discuss and critique. This is the path I have followed over the last 10 years, which put me in the meteorological top tier in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career path was relatively hard and literally could be described as growing up from a toddler to an adult as it took almost 20 years to go from a childhood dream to realisation. As a six-year-old, I strongly decided I wanted to become a meteorologist as I was always passionate about the weather and nature. But, that had a price tag – in primary school I was bullied, just because I wanted to know more and I could not wait for the day I would go to university. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a Department of Meteorology and Climatology, I was forced to do my first major life diversion by enrolling in my Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, specifically putting my focus on Data Science and Statistics in which I graduated from the International University of Sarajevo in 2019, where I was awarded the special Rector 2019 Award for intra-curricular and extracurricular activities and overall contribution. In my third year of my Bachelor’s, I started working as a weather presenter at the private FACE TV in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I received positive critiques and was considered a person who started lifting and popularising meteorology. In essence, my main mission was indeed to popularise frequently underestimated meteorology among the population, considered by many people as a quasi-science, rather than a very complex and abstract one. Hence, this task comprised many involvements, as I was learning by myself and was prone to many mistakes. During the coronavirus pandemic, I transferred to the national television, Nova BH, where I continued to perform my mission in the best possible light, where the results said everything – every 5th person was watching our forecast and that was considered a huge achievement. However, as I gained my national status, my responsibilities increased in parallel and hence that meant I did not want to let people down. Eventually, I started posing many hypotheses which were either rejected or accepted, reading many scientific papers that at first I could not have understood completely and discussing many questions with other meteorologists. The non-stop pondering led me to apply for the Master’s degree at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, where I will be admitted in the academic year 2022/2023 and enrolled in Applied Meteorology and Climate but for that step towards the dream realisation, I needed the final one – a scholarship. So, in late 2021, I applied for the Chevening Award, the prestigious and very competitive scheme of the UK Government, where among 58000 applicants I was among the 1500 awardees from more than 140 countries. Certainly, it felt like a dream – I always wanted to go to the UK and the opportunity to study there was like a cherry on top of a perfect cake. But, in 2022, I lost my grandmother. And before I left, I made her a promise on her grave by kissing it that I would do my very own best to be the best there. Eventually, I started asking many, many questions to my professors and validated many hypotheses I posed before my studies. The Master’s degree dissertation on “The four strongest heatwaves in the UK – contrasting 1976, 2003, 2018 and 2022” was awarded this week with the special University George Dugdale Award for the highest performance among the Department, which I am very pleased. That intensive one year proved that if you want something, the only thing you need is the strength, determination to face the obstacles, some support from loved ones and a bit of luck.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The week-long trip across my homeland would start from the national capital where I would show my mate the different cultures, architectures, museums and rich history Sarajevo possesses. It is certainly one of the most diverse cities in Europe and worth visiting, especially if you love history. The gastronomy is a must – a beautiful variety of dishes and, especially, our famous “pita” (a puff pastry dough filled either with cheese, potatoes, minced beef or spinach baked in the oven” or “ćevapi” (a finger-size minced meat grilled and served with red onion and a special, very thin bread called somun). The route would go over the surrounding mountains where the 14th Winter Olympic Games took place in 1984 and show the devastated bobsled and remarkable nature of our Bjelašnica towards Lukomir, the so-called “last Bosnian inhabited village”. The tour would not go directly to Herzegovina, but to the north, towards Tuzla, Srebrenik and Gradačac, to witness the history in person and many fortresses and castles dating from the medieval Bosnian Kingdom and later towards beautiful Krajina in the northwest to experience the beauty of Una river. Arching to the south to make a circle, Herzegovina is next, where the traditional lamb on the spit would be a must on the way through vineyards to sunny, hot Mostar to see the Old Bridge, the national pride and the fact it was destroyed during the Bosnian war in November 1993, all the way to Trebinje, the most southern point of the country to the surrounding Adriatic Sea in Croatia.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents for their unceasing support and the University of Reading and all the exceptional staff from where I have just obtained my Master’s degree in Applied Meteorology and Climate, and especially to my professors, the MSc supervisor Richard Allan, Dr Hannah Cloke OBE and Helen Dacre, who had an immense influence on me to appreciate the science even further and penetrate deeper in the abstract concepts without feeling fear of not being able to solve the scientific problems. Their continuous support helped me to overcome my low self-confidence.

I am grateful for a year in the United Kingdom, thanks to the Chevening Scholarship funded by the UK Government, without which I would still be an amateur meteorologist without a formal degree, experience and invaluable connections. I also express my gratitude to our Bosnian diplomat, Mrs Samra Koricic who was always there for me whenever needed.

Moreover, I am immensely thankful for the remarkable and eternal, true friendship I made in the UK, especially to my dear Welsh friend, Colin Markham, who made my stay in the UK less stressful and continuously supported me with exceptional advice. You are the shiniest planetary star, Col!

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsladic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sladic.n