Meet Emilija Gjorgjevska: Successful Researcher from Tetovo
Learning, learning and learning again. I know it’s boring.
It is already the end of the school year, so for the topic “Learning Can Be Fun”, I decided to conduct an interesting interview with the researcher Emilija Gjorgjevska, with origin from our city of Tetovo. From this article, you as readers, will learn some new interesting things that are not related to school.
If you are ready for it, I invite you to read the whole article in which I will share the information I received from Emilija on this topic.
I found out about Emilija Gjorgjevska through a conversation with our teacher Pero about the artificial intelligence and the computer world. As we all know, this topic is trending this time, so I decided to interview Emilija and find out more about her, her profession and experiences.
Emilija comes from a humble, modest family: the child of a textile engineer and a social worker. She grew up and was educated (primary and secondary education) in Tetovo. She spent most of her life in our city as: an excellent student, a chorister in the local choirs Menada and Lale, a basketball player in local competitions. Here she met her long-time friends, colleagues, first loves and first disappointments… She completed her secondary education at the local “Kiril Pejčinović” high school, although she was offered to study at the “Yahja Kemal” private school due to her solid participation in mathematics competitions, but she could not finance the rest of the 100% scholarship that was offered to her.
“I think that the challenges of living in a place like this prepared and strengthened me for the things that followed in my life after the age of 27 – I’m referring to my move to Cologne and then to Munich, Germany, where I currently live and work. Tetovo was never and is not an easy environment to live in, especially in terms of digital technologies and culture. This is where Pegasus makes the change and I am proud that there are such people who sincerely love the city and the city’s children, so they invest in a model that lies at the intersection of business and social good. Congratulations to you – said Emilija herself.
After high school, she enrolled at the Faculty of Information Sciences and Computer Engineering (FINKI) – Skopje, where she graduated as an engineer in information sciences, while simultaneously working as a freelancer in technical marketing, a private tutor in programming and a member of a music band, in order to provide the studies. At the same time, she is a master’s student at FINKI, in Intelligent Systems, where she continues his professional development, in order to offer greater value to the labor market, according to world standards.
“In my free time, I devote a lot of effort to upgrade myself in the field of computer science, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and product development. Over the past 7 years I have acquired 70+ certifications in these areas which have greatly helped me in my career, critical thinking and problem solving.” – she stated.
To the question: Can you tell me more about your scientific career? What do you do? What is your scientific focus? – she answered me:
“I’m not a scientist, or at least I don’t see myself as one, although I really invest in continuous, versatile education, digital skills and I also write papers in the areas of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence. I chose to work with companies and people who are business-oriented, but have a scientific way of thinking and are proactively interested in science, because this kind of symbiosis is the most fruitful for innovation and creating business value for the user.” – Emilija said.
“My experience clearly shows that although at one time I was one of the few women who studied technical sciences, especially in a direction that is really oriented towards mathematics and programming, with the help of exceptional male professors, students and friends I managed to deepen my expertise and skills. Today people often turn to me for advice and I serve as an example that when the two worlds work together (masculine and feminine) then the results can be extraordinary.”
Then I asked her what she dreamt to become as a child. She told me that since she was little, she dreamed of being a PhD in the field of technology. Today, as we understood from the previous answers, she is not a PhD but she also thinks that she does not need this title, because such studies require giving up professional engagements which is important in such volatile conditions and in dynamic industries like these.
I also asked her one interesting question: How did you move from the love of music to the field of science and why? What has changed for you?
“Music has been a part of me and my development since I was a child: I attended a primary music school, I was a member of 3,4 choirs (school and city) and I also had my colleagues with whom we played music. However, music for me was a hobby and I never imagined myself as a professional musician, because I always knew that I could create and offer more value in the world of digital skills and technology than in music. I simply did not have that passion for music, although I am proud that I managed to leave a small mark there as a participant in the popular music show “Macedonian Idol”, as a local performer and chorister.
As a last question: What would you say to the young readers of this magazine, to motivate them to study science?
“I want to tell all young people, especially motivated young people who are from underprivileged families and are still in Macedonia and Tetovo, to use their defiance in this stormy time and do the best they can. Training, NGOs, networking – many of these things do not always require money, but rather creativity, proactivity and interest. If the conditions allow, choose to work for visionaries, people with a sense of where things will go in the next 10 years. Change environments and companies to expose yourself to different communication styles, conflict situations and industries – this is the only way to build resilience and build yourself creatively, technically and spiritually. And then give back to society in some creative way.”
Many thanks to Emma for her time and wonderful comprehensive answers and for agreeing to collaborate with our Pegasus Student Voice magazine. It was an honor to interview her.
“Thank you for the opportunity to share my story on the Pegasus Student Voice platform, it was a great honor. – Emilja Gjordjevska.
