In June 2025, British International School Belgrade students Alan Kaškenov and Prokhor Netelev took part in an educational programme at the Institute of Physics. The activities were conducted at the Laboratory for Non-Equilibrium Processes and Plasma Applications, under the mentorship of Dr Dragana Marić, their school physics teacher, and Dr Jelena Marjanović.
Although they have yet to make a decision on their future educational path and career, Kaškenov and Netelev concurred that physics was among the subjects they were most interested in. They also noted that the purpose of their visit to the Institute was to gain insight into what a researcher’s job entailed.
‘Some things I could imagine, but it is different when you see them for yourself,’ says Kaškenov, who is also interested in robotics. ‘This educational programme may have influenced my decision to pursue PhD studies,’ said this high-school student, acknowledging that science is a lot more complicated than what is taught in classes.
Prokhor Netelev also explained that he was not quite certain which branch of physics he was interested in, so he had come to experience first-hand what the laboratory work encompassed, as per his Professor Dr Dragana Marić’s recommendation. ‘I have observed experiments, their processes and research methodology. These are all practical matters; real life is different from textbooks,’ noted Netelev.
Our mentors were very kind and generous, and we are grateful for this opportunity. Besides, other people we have met here are very educated, and I have enjoyed the atmosphere,’ remarked Kaškenov, who concluded that he could imagine himself working at some research institute in the future.
