MEET THE "YOUNG PROGRAMMER" FROM KNEŽEVO

Kneževo is not only known for its numerous talented young athletes but also for David Čukelj, who has found his path through elementary education and programming competitions.

PHOTO: Kneževo na dlanu

This fifteen-year-old from Kneževo achieved the best result in the last 15 years for OŠ "Dositej Obradović" Kneževo in the Basics of Informatics subject, specifically in C++ programming. He secured the 20th place at the national competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, held at the International Burch University in Sarajevo.

To reach this result, David had to go through a series of competitions, starting with the municipal level where he won first place, then the regional level where he secured fifth place, qualifying for the republic-level competition, and finally placing tenth at the republic level to advance to the national competition.

David’s passion for programming, resourcefulness, hard work, and self-preparation were his guiding stars.

"My love for programming started in school when we first learned programming in the 8th grade. That was also my first competition, but I only participated at the municipal level. This year, I watched various free programming courses that helped me a lot, and I worked on tasks from previous competitions. I managed on my own, and my perseverance and hard work brought me to the national competition where 30 elementary school students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina participated," explained David.

At the national competition, he received four tasks and had three hours to complete them.

"Among the 30 of us, I placed 20th. These tasks were much harder than those at previous national competitions. It was interesting to participate and certainly a good experience, a good motivation to enroll in an electrical engineering school with a focus on programming," says David.

Besides watching programming shows and researching various online programming courses, this young man enjoys training in nature and is also into cycling. David believes that through his high school education, he will gain additional experience and improve his programming skills because it is what he loves and wants to do.