The cooperation between the Chemistry department of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, and the Banja Luka Grammar School has continued during the current academic year. The Chemistry Department enabled Grammar School pupils enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) to carry out the laboratory work required by this programme.

Guided by their research interests, pupils Tanja Knežević, Srna Mrkobrad, Katja Ljubojević, Lazar Arnaut, and Petar Čekić together with IB coordinator professor Katarina Dodik, selected chemistry-related topics they wished to investigate. Faculty members and associates from the Chemistry department: Prof. Dr. Biljana Davidović-Plavšić, Prof. Dr. Dragana Blagojević, and senior teaching assistants Dragana Gajić and Dejana Savić provided mentorship throughout the laboratory work and the execution of experiments. The selected topics, as well as the applied methods, were diverse. Using spectrophotometric methods, the pupils examined the presence of caffeine and tannins in black tea; they applied refractometry, polarimetry, and conductometry for quality control of commercial sugars; investigated the stability of chitosan in different pH environments; determined the buffer capacity of sodium caseinate at various temperatures; and employed potentiometric titration to determine the capacity of a sodium phosphate buffer.

This form of collaboration is of exceptional importance, as it contributes to the early development of pupils’ research competencies. At the same time, these activities strengthen the link between educational institutions and contribute to the improvement of educational quality through the exchange of knowledge and resources.