It is safe to say Bicom Systems has some impressive employees on our team. Employees who have been with us since the beginning and others who just joined our team upon their graduation. We have highlighted employee accomplishments in the past, like Faruk’s code getting picked up by Ubuntu or our Canadian office’s recent fundraiser.
Today’s employee spotlight goes to 16-year-old Nedim Fakić! Typically, our interns come from the University of Tuzla, but Nedim is still attending high school. Nedim recently participated in our 2019 Hackathon and is the youngest intern we have ever hired.
How do you feel about being the youngest intern at Bicom Systems ever?
“I feel awesome and humble about it. I am thankful for the chance that I have received. Because building ‘apps and stuff’ is not just my job, it is truly my passion! Having the chance to learn more about it from some of the best people in their respective fields means a lot to me.”
Unfortunately, in the late ’90s, Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a war. Since then, the air quality (with a mix of global warming) has been drastically affected. Nedim started to notice that at the beginning of winter, the air quality in his country was getting hazardous.
AQI stands for ‘Air Quality Index’ and it is used by government agencies to inform the public how polluted the air quality currently is in their region. High AQI levels are harmful and mean there is an increase in health risk for the public.
There is a color-coded chart that individuals can reference for the severity of the AQI.
On September 18th, 2019, Nedim had the idea to create an application that could show people how much of the air people were breathing in was polluted.
Nedim immediately started working on this idea. He decided what technology he would use, how the application would function, and even came up with a name: “Mask.” Even though he was working on this idea long before the 2019 Bicom Systems Hackathon, Nedim and his team presented this solution to an environmental problem. Although the app took 4 months from the idea to launch, the actual development of the project only lasted a few weeks of ‘real coding.’
On January 6th, 2020, ‘Mask: Free & Powerful AQI Monitor’ went live. To date, the application has over 500+ downloads! Most of the downloads have been from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the app is available on the Google Play Store in 149 countries. Users from: India, China, Indonesia, Great Britain, Germany, Croatia, Serbia, and Austria have downloaded the AQI application.
‘Mask’ is a free application (without ads) that allows users to monitor the AQI levels from all over the globe! The application was built with simplicity in mind and has a very user-friendly GUI.
The users of the application can compare cities side by side and analyze which city is more polluted. Mask is also informative and provides users education on:
- The health implications
- Recommended precautions
- What the particular meter means
- How it affects human health
- And more!
Even though a lot of time and effort went into developing this application, Nedim decided to release it for free. He plans on making the application open-source, to invite other mobile app developers to join in on upgrading and to improve ‘Mask.’ At the moment, Nedim is not working on any new applications. He is focusing his time on school, projects from his internship at Bicom Systems, and polishing ‘Mask.’
Right now ‘Mask’ is only available on the Google Play store, will it be available on iOS?
“It truly depends on various factors. Most of them being time and application popularity. I think that the app is in a good stage now and has quite the traction of a few hundred downloads. It really has a lot of places to add new features specifically for Android. Inviting other developers might bring some people who are willing to convert and maintain the app iOS version.”
Want to download Mask: Free & Powerful AQI Monitor? Do it here!
Keep reading to learn more about Nedim! Our youngest, tech-savvy, soon-to-be-an-environmental-activist, app-developing intern.
Wow! How do you feel about this amazing accomplishment?
“I’m feeling very humble and thankful for the chance that I have been given to make a little impact. But I’m definitely not stopping here, and only the future will show my true capacity and willingness to achieve greatness!”
Did you have any work experience before Bicom Systems?
“I have done a few freelance jobs in the summer of 2019. They helped me understand that I don’t enjoy working freelance as much as I do being independent and working on my projects.
I think about them as a way of making ‘quick’ money that is used for upgrading equipment for the things that I’m genuinely passionate about. Those kinds of jobs can have a toll on a person because you are communicating with people who, in most cases, don’t know what they want, and it’s not an enjoyable experience.”
What are your plans after high school?
“My plans after high school are to go to university abroad. I’m hoping Scandinavia or somewhere similar. I want to continue on the path of learning new things every day. I truly enjoy it.”
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
“There is only one location I would like to live in, and it is Sweden! I love everything about it. They have awesome nature and nice people, and they respect ecology.”
What do you want to be when you grow up?
“I’m hoping to forward my career even more. I want to be a known figure, nothing like a celebrity more like a guy who built something that is helping ordinary people’s lives be better every single day. To be honest, I think I’m on the right path, at least for now.”
So, what does a normal 16-year-old like to do for fun?
“I’m not sure what ‘normal’ 16-year-old is doing for fun haha. For me, it is mostly learning new things and getting better day after day at things that I like the most. For ‘fun fun,’ I like to chat with my friends, scroll on the internet and just have time for myself!”
What do you value most?
“I value honesty, dignity, and intellect. Honesty is the best quality to have. Being honest means that you are not hiding anything from anyone! Even if honesty sometimes can get you in trouble, it teaches us that we are humans and humans make mistakes, but also teaches us to own our mistakes and learn from them. Dignity is a way of showing that you would not cross someone over for any reason. Intellect, I’m not talking about being educated or having a high IQ. I’m saying that I value people who know what they are doing and are good at it.”
