by Yuan Liang
SARAJEVO, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- She was born in Brcko,a district in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Jelena Vujicic has a Chinese name as well -- Wu Yali.
She acquired the name when she started learning Chinese in 2012, following an agreement between the University of East Sarajevo (UES) and China's Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) in the previous year to set up a Department of Sinology at UES, the first such department in a Bosnia and Herzegovina university.
One of the first postgraduate students from the department, Vujicic is now a teacher. In April 2017, she was appointed as a Chinese language teacher in her own department for her excellent performance.
Talking of the high unemployment rate in her own country, she said, "It's very hard for young people to find a job here. I am glad that through Chinese language learning, I found a decent job."
Now her brother is following in her footsteps.
Because of the high unemployment rate, young people should plan their future better, Vujicic added, giving his example.
"My younger brother was confused when he had to choose his major in university. I advised him to choose Chinese because by learning Chinese, he would understand a country that has a rich history and culture, He would also find a good job," she said.
Her brother accepted her advice and took admission in her department.
"I am one of his teachers," Vujicic said.
In September 2017, he went to Xi'an International Studies University in northwestern China, where she too had studied for a year.
"(He) just came back and told me he would go to China again for his postgraduate study," she said.
Bojana Pavlovic, director of the Department of Sinology, told Xinhua there is another case of two siblings learning Chinese together at the university. The older of the pair, Jovanka Elek, is currently studying in China, while her younger sister is a junior student at the department.
Keeping the high unemployment rate in mind, Pavlovic said as the director, she must consider the future of her graduates.
"So far, graduates from the department can generally find a job," Pavlovic said. "Some work in the Chinese embassy, some work with Chinese enterprises, and others like Vujicic work as Chinese language teachers."
With the Belt and Road Initiative progressing and cooperation between her country and China advancing fast in various areas, her department is ready to cultivate more talents to further the cooperation.
Cui Xiuzhong, a Chinese language teacher from China in the department, told Xinhua that under the framework of the initiative, Chinese language learning is flourishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Department of Sinology is one of the departments with the most students at the UES.
Besides the Department of Sinology, there are also two Confucius Institutes in the country. While the first one in the University of Sarajevo was inaugurated in 2015, which was also the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the second one at the University of Banja Luka opened on Jan. 21 this year.
