Luka Mirnić’s journey of growth through Erasmus+

While Vanesa’s Erasmus+ journey was marked by discovery and connection to forgotten roots in a quiet Italian village, Luka Mirnić’s experience took him back to familiar ground—yet with completely new eyes. His story unfolds not in the silence of tradition, but in the energy of Bologna, where academic ambition and personal growth collide in one of Europe’s oldest university cities.

Luka Mirnic standing in front of the Faculty in Bologna, where he is currently on an Erasmus exchange program.

For Luka Mirnić, a second-year political science student at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Banja Luka, Erasmus+ was more than an exchange—it was a return to a country he once called home, now seen through the lens of an academic and a young adult ready to grow.

Already familiar with Italy from his high school years—when he studied construction and played professional basketball—Luka decided to return to experience it from a new perspective. “I’ve spent almost half my life in Italy,” he says, “but Erasmus was my first official international academic experience. It gave me the chance to see everything differently—as a student, a thinker, someone ready to grow.”

That decision led him to Bologna, one of Europe’s most vibrant university cities, where he is currently attending lectures in public administration, international security, history of political doctrines, and cultural anthropology. “Erasmus is not just a trip to another country—it’s a journey towards oneself,” Luka reflects.

A Complicated Start

Luka’s Erasmus journey began like many others—with paperwork. He first applied to Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, but the courses didn’t align with his program in Banja Luka. A second round of applications offered him a spot in Bologna, and this time the academic match worked. Still, the process was far from simple.

“The application was detailed and demanding,” he recalls. “Finding courses that fit, gathering documents, and meeting deadlines took serious effort.” Fortunately, support from faculty coordinators helped him navigate the process, and soon, he was preparing for the next chapter—visa, housing, finances, and mentally adjusting to life abroad.

“Even though I speak Italian, I knew things would be different. I expected challenges, but I was also excited. I knew Erasmus would push me out of my comfort zone.”

Among the most difficult parts of Luka’s transition was finding housing. Like many Erasmus students, he found himself facing high rents and the risk of scams. “I actually got scammed once,” he admits. “It made me really anxious about finding a safe place to live.”

But a stroke of luck changed everything—a student from Serbia reached out, offering a room in a quiet neighborhood near the city center. “It was ideal. Affordable, peaceful, and well-located. It helped me focus on studying and enjoying the experience instead of stressing over logistics.”

Financially, the Erasmus+ scholarship covered part of the costs, but not all. “You have to plan well,” he says. “The first few weeks are expensive—visa, insurance, initial expenses—so I also used some personal savings. Budgeting and patience are key, especially because the scholarship payments can sometimes be delayed.”

Bologna: a city of ideas, coffee, and connection

Once settled, Luka quickly immersed himself in Bologna’s student energy. “It’s one of the biggest student cities in Italy. Everywhere you go, people are open, curious, ready to talk.”

Daily life took on a new rhythm—morning coffee at the bar, evening walks through historic streets, spontaneous chats with students from across the globe. “I met people from Brazil, Lebanon, France, Switzerland—even a few from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It made me feel at home, even so far from it.”

Academically, Luka found the Italian system to be both challenging and rewarding. “There’s more independence, more responsibility. The professors expect you to think critically, to engage in discussion, and the exams are often essays or research projects instead of traditional tests.” At first, it was unfamiliar, but he adapted—and thrived.

Though his focus remained on academics, Luka made the most of his time outside the classroom. “I traveled to Venice, Florence, Rimini, San Marino… Every city had a different vibe. Venice with its canals, Florence like an open-air museum, Rimini with endless beaches—it’s amazing how much diversity you can find in one country.”

Even familiar things felt new again. “I knew Italian, but I started hearing all these dialects and regional variations. It’s amazing how language reflects culture. I was learning in and outside of class, every single day.”

Looking forward for bigger dreams

As Luka’s exchange nears its end, he already sees its long-term impact. “It’s changed the way I think about my future. I want to apply for more international programs, maybe even pursue a master’s degree abroad. I’ve gained so much confidence in my ability to adapt and thrive in a different environment.”

His biggest lesson? The importance of stepping outside your comfort zone.

“This program isn’t just about academic knowledge. It’s about independence, resilience, and building bridges between cultures. It’s an experience that transforms you.”

To anyone unsure about applying, Luka offers this advice: “Be brave. Plan well, but don’t be afraid of uncertainty. The growth you’ll experience is worth every challenge.”

He adds, smiling, “The best part? One day, you’ll realize how far you’ve come—not just in your studies, but in who you are.”

Timeline of Erasmus+ in BIH

Erasmus+ from a professor's point of view

While Vanesa and Luka were just beginning their academic journeys in Italy through Erasmus+, Bardhok Bashota was going there with a different purpose — not as a student, but as a professor to stand at the front of the classroom and give lectures. Yes, Erasmus doesn’t stop at student mobility—it extends its reach to the very people shaping those students’ futures.

From giving lectures in Italy, Austria, Romania and Germany to writing articles for top world journals, Professor Bashota’s Erasmus+ journey has been a passport not just across borders, but across ideas. For the political science professor and the Vice Dean at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Pristina, each visit was a chance to measure Kosovo’s place in the global academic landscape.

Professor Bardhok Bashota lecturing during an Erasmus+ program.

His first encounter with Erasmus+ dates back to 2016, when he visited Çukurova University in Adana, Turkey. At the time, Bashota was part of the academic staff at Iliria College, a private university in Kosovo. “It was an agribase program, and I was there to talk about agricultural politics,” he says.

Unlike student exchanges, which often stretch over months, teaching mobilities for professors are usually short and intensive — typically lasting about a week — and are mainly professional, rather than cultural.

Bashota in front of international students.

Each visit, Bashota says, brought unique experiences, making it difficult for him to choose a favorite. Although he found all of them enriching, he notes that the experiences often varied depending on the university’s ranking and the academic level of the students.

“It depends on the institution, its reputation, and location. Of course, lecturing at the University of Liège in Belgium is different—the political science students there are at a different level compared to Çankiri University in Turkey, which focused on technical fields, while social sciences were more symbolic,” he says.

These exchanges have been incredibly rewarding for him, in terms of making connections and in expanding his knowledge. He mentions that after every visit, he returns with something new—whether it’s a piece of literature he hadn’t encountered before or teaching methods he picked up from other professors.

“Without a doubt, I felt more fulfilled and informed (after the visits). I discussed with other colleagues about a teaching methodology, I was informed about the existence of a literature, we exchanged ideas, I received more detailed information about the country I went to, about the culture, about their foreign affairs, and about whatever characterizes that country.”

For Professor Bashota, another crucial aspect of these visits is the opportunity to reflect and make comparisons — to observe how well-informed students are on a particular topic and to evaluate where he, as a professor, stands in relation to them.

For a country like Kosovo, where international academic exposure remains limited, Bashota sees Erasmus+ as one of the rare and essential paths for professional growth. “Symbolically speaking, it’s the only way to ‘touch’ international developments with your own hands.”

His engagement with Erasmus+ wasn’t limited to teaching. He also participated as a researcher in the Linking to Europe at the Periphery (LEAP) project — a three-year initiative exploring how EU integration taught, learned, experienced and contested at ‘the periphery’?’ with the focus on the cases of Turkey, Romania, Kosovo, Georgia and Ukraine.

“It was one of the best experiences,” he says proudly. “For three years, we published in top journals, held conferences, sent students on visits, and organized sessions where political science students competed at Çankiri University. We also invited students from other Prishtina universities and held the Faculty of Philosophy’s largest-ever conference. The project truly connected us with the world,” Bashota says.

For Kosovar students, who often have limited opportunities to travel across European countries, the Erasmus program offers a unique chance to immerse themselves in new cultures. For professors, however, this cultural exposure is less pronounced. Some of the countries Bashota visited through Erasmus were ones he had already traveled to, so he notes that he didn’t experience the typical cultural shocks.

Yet, he reflects thoughtfully on how his perceptions evolved before and after his visits. Coming from a small country like Kosovo, which emerged from a war 26 years ago, he confesses that he once idealized European universities.

However, after experiencing them firsthand, he realized that the University of Prishtina is not as far behind as he had once thought, particularly in the field of social sciences. This shift in perspective has made him feel more confident and reassured.

“Before my first visit in 2016, I idealized universities outside Albanian-speaking areas, especially due to the post-war glorification of foreign staff. But after visiting universities in Austria, Italy, and Belgium, I saw there was no major difference. Science is universal, and students are similar—ours were sometimes even better. So I realized we’re not that far behind, especially in social sciences, I’m not talking about Kosovo being comparable about natural and exact sciences”, he adds.

How Erasmus+ works for staff

For staff working in education, Erasmus+ offers two different opportunities: teaching mobility and training mobility. While teaching requires professors to deliver lectures at an education institution abroad, training periods abroad can consist of job shadowing, observation periods, professional development courses or specific competence-building events.

Bashota explains that the selection process for Erasmus trips is carried out in various ways and at the University of Prishtina this has evolved depending on the Mobility Regulation. As he describes, the most common methods include direct cooperation with the relevant institutions or through announcements made by the university.

“Usually the announcements go by profile, for example, UP has agreements with many universities and one of them, I assume, publishes a call for the political science program because we cannot apply if it is the nursing or medicine program”, says professor Bashota.

These opportunities are particularly appealing to the younger generation of professors, as Bashota notes, because they tend to have more free time, fewer obligations, and a greater sense of curiosity. In the field of political science, he mentions that there are usually only one or two announcements per year, so given the large number of faculty members, opportunities to travel are limited. In terms of teaching mobility, professors are required to deliver 8 hours of lectures, with the topics largely reflecting their areas of specialization.

When we apply, we fill out a form specifying the topics and dates in coordination with the coordinator of the hosting institution, and the topics are then assigned. For instance, a professor at the university you’re visiting might inform you that they have a session on the EU’s perspective on enlargement towards the Western Balkans planned for the week of your visit, so you would prepare and deliver a lecture on that topic.

Lobbying through Erasmus

Another significant impact of Erasmus+, especially for small countries like Kosovo, is its role in putting the country on the map through these visits. From his experience, Bashota notes that students generally had little knowledge about Kosovo. As a result, in addition to learning about the countries he visited, he took these opportunities to educate and inform others about his own country, much like an ambassador.

“In general, they had very little knowledge about Kosovo. Even though they study international relations, they portrayed Kosovo as a small country, a still contested country, a post-conflict society, but they did not have a clear image. Often they did not even know which countries border Kosovo.”

This story was collaboratively written by Magdalena Gligić from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ardit Ramadani from North Macedonia, and Vlera Shabani from Kosovo. As a cross-border project, it represents our shared effort to bring together perspectives from different parts of the Western Balkans, highlighting the importance of collaboration and mutual understanding beyond borders.