Mak Ostrogonac passed the test for a Microsoft Technology Associate when he was 12 and told N1 on Friday he expects to meet the requirements for becoming an IT expert within a year.

It took 16 minutes for Ostrogonac to pass the test for the MTA certificate. Three more tests now stand between him and the IT expert qualification.

“If I continue at the same pace, I expect that it will take me a year of practice for the three remaining tests,” he said.

“I was interested in technology since I was born and I became interested in programming when I was ten years old and for the first time found out about computers. I knew then that I will most likely be doing this, that it will be my hobby and that I will like it,” he told N1.

The young computer prodigy put together his personal computer by himself.

“Since my interest in computers began I knew that they are put together from several components and that those components can be bought individually and put together. I also know that it is cheaper and more fun for me than buying a complete computer,” he said.

Mak’s mother, Elma Ostrogonac, said she tries to control how much time her son is spending in front of the computer, but like with most children, it’s “impossible.”

“What we can do is use that time for them to learn something useful,” she said. “They will spend time on the computer anyway. If we give them a chance and we steer them towards something they can use in the future, that is a great combination.”

When asked whether he plans to stay in Bosnia in the future, Mak said he will live and work wherever he is most happy.

“If that is Bosnia, then I will stay in Bosnia, if not, then I will go to a country which makes me happy, where there is work,” he said.