The only thing more beautiful than science is its application! The best compromise you can make between a love of science and its application is enrolling in Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Mathematics. A heartfelt recommendation!
My name is Jovana Tomić, I am employed at the National Bank of Serbia, and I gained my knowledge through undergraduate and master’s studies in the Applied Mathematics program. The timeline of the undergraduate program lasted four years. The starting point of that journey happened solely out of love for mathematics, but it wasn’t until the end of that path—when my peers and I began receiving job offers—that we realized the decision was excellent. The range of career opportunities is diverse, and the knowledge gained is highly sought after, especially considering the extensive expertise developed in programming mathematical models and solving optimization problems.
The master’s program was even more interesting for me, as I had the opportunity to tailor my learning to my own interests. From mathematical modeling of a skydiver’s jump from a plane, to predicting the presence of diabetes in patients using machine learning methods, to analyzing market competitiveness using heuristic methods—I gained deep knowledge in numerical optimization, machine learning, and mathematical modeling. The quality of the program is reflected in the fact that my master’s thesis, which I worked on thoroughly, received an award from the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts for the best master’s thesis in the field of mathematics and mechanics. I also presented the results of that work at the “Mathematics and Applications” Symposiums in 2021 and 2023.
Today, I apply the combination of knowledge in mathematical modeling, statistics, probability, numerical mathematics, optimization, programming, and machine learning—as well as all the benefits of logical thinking—in my work at the National Bank of Serbia. I am employed in the Payment Systems Department as an independent associate for analysis and statistics.