Bujar Mehmeti will never forget the first Thursday of February last year. Then only 20 years old, he received an offer to start his doctoral studies in medical physics in the USA.
Although he himself had applied to two American universities, he expected the process until the final selection to last at least until mid-April.
“It was an almost two-hour interview and we talked about different topics. At the end of the interview, the professor decided to offer me the position of assistant and told me that he wants me to be a part of his laboratory”, says Bujari, from the village of Babush i Muhaxherevi in Lipjan, to Radio Evropa e Lire.
The offer was unexpected, but Mehmet didn’t need much time to decide. He said “yes” that day to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, notified the other American university that he was withdrawing from the race, and a few months later left for the USA.
This university, especially for scientific research in this field, is perfect. The department’s budget is nearly $1.8 billion. Moreover, the doctorate is a long journey and it is important that you like what you are going to research”, adds the 22-year-old.
Bujar has been told that he is the youngest person ever to be accepted into doctoral studies in this department. According to Academia Insider, the average age of PhD students in the US is 31.5 years old.
But even though he was only 20 when he got the offer, he had enough experience to convince his professor. And, in the USA, students are allowed to go from the bachelor’s level directly to the doctoral level. Universities award master’s degrees to these students on their way to a doctoral degree.
During his bachelor’s studies in Hungary, he was a distinguished student, also involved in the student representation of the university. Through international scientific competitions in the USA, Great Britain and other countries, he represented Kosovo and returned with medals.
During his studies in Hungary, he had experimented with magnetic metal particles and equations on how these particles could be used to treat cancer.
In him, Bujari says that his professor saw someone who has knowledge of physics and a passion to apply that knowledge in the service of society.
“He has seen my goal and in a way he is part of that dream of mine and my journey”, says Bujari.
So, after graduating in Hungary, at the end of August of that year, Bujar left for Madison in the USA. He remembers the unusual heat in his first days, the meetings with his new colleagues and his professor, but it is another meeting that sticks in his mind the most.
“When I walked into the department and saw the equipment… it was kind of a shock. They are the most advanced medical physics science equipment. They are million-dollar devices that you can work with, you have them in your hands,” he says.
Currently, Bujari is engaged in a project that aims to bring a new method of medical photography.
More than the goal of making radiologists’ work easier, he is motivated by the goal of making patients’ lives easier by exposing them to a lower level of radiation.
The desire to bring change for the better had prompted Bujar to be interested in the sciences of medicine and physics from an early age.
“I just know that wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, the goal is to work for the good of society. I hope that my achievements will affect the improvement of the lives of those suffering from cancer or other diseases, through the devices that we functionalize or invent”, says Bujari.
He says that he has the same dream of the Nobel Prize as any other young person who enters this field, but his dreams often bring him back to Kosovo as well.
“I hope that I will be able to contribute in Kosovo as well – either by starting cooperation with American companies that can donate their equipment to public hospitals in Kosovo, or through the connection of cooperation between the University of Pristina and the universities here”, says Bujari.
In the first two decades of his life, Bujari has listed a number of achievements. He is also part of the leadership of the Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo club, which a month ago opened the first National Observatory and Planetarium in Kosovo.
But, among the achievements and goals, one thing makes him happier.
“I have made my parents proud and happy. It’s not the intention for them to come out and say Bujar has achieved something, but I just know I’m on the right path and I know I’m doing something good when I know they’re happy with the journey I’ve chosen.” , he concludes. /REL/
