Bautista Kraševec completes his Junior Fellowship with Elaphe Propulsion Technologies

Congratulations are due for another ASEF Junior Fellow generation 2024 – we are proud to announce that Bautista Kraševec has recently completed his placement with Elaphe Propulsion Technologies!

Bautista is a student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Buenos Aires with a special interest in the mechanical components of race cars. His mentorship with Elaphe allowed him to explore his academic and practical interests in electric vehicle innovation.

Elaphe Propulsion Technologies is a Slovenian company focused on the development of custom in-wheel motors and proprietary control hardware and software. Their mission is to create the technology for “the ultimate mobility experience for a sustainable future” (source). In almost twenty years since their conception, the company has won an array of national and international awards for innovation, design, entrepreneurship and their commitment to sustainability.

Bautista was mentored by Elaphe CEO Gorazd Lampič and took on a role in the mechanical design team. He worked on an electric mobility project aimed towards a more sustainable way of transportation. Within this project, he was able to hone his technical skills by taking on various tasks of producing drawings and 3D models for different parts of the project.

Bautista expressed immense pride in his team and their joint work:

“I managed to meet a great group of people in the company, and I believe I learned a lot and it will be useful for my professional career. This has been the project I am most proud of being a part of. As the project is still ongoing, I can’t wait to see the result and will be supporting my former team from home.“

Besides expanding his knowledge in a high-tech company, Bautista also took the time to connect with his Slovenian roots. After four years of taking Slovenian language and culture courses and obtaining his Slovenian citizenship, Bautista was finally able to visit his Slovenian family. He further explored Slovenian culture through various activities such as the ASEF Weekend Getaway and through trips with other Junior Fellows.

“The past 10 weeks feel like a dream come true, I had the opportunity to meet wonderful people, spend time with family, go around Slovenia, work in a high-tech company and I even got to share some time with some of my sports idols, among many other things. Probably what I am most proud of is the strong bonds we created with the other fellows visiting Slovenia and our weekend trips all over the country. It is very nice to know that I now have some Slovenians friends all over the world and also in Slovenia itself.”

We’re delighted to learn that Bautista’s research visit allowed him to grow professionally as well as personally. His newfound connections and familiarity with what he calls his “second nation” have culminated in a conviction that he will one day return to Slovenia.

We sincerely congratulate Bautista on his success and we hope to see him soon! We would also like to thank his mentor Gorazd Lampič and everyone at Elaphe Propulsion Technologies who contributed to making this Junior Fellowship an educational and memorable experience.

We also thank the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad and all ASEF donors for supporting the work of ASEF and our Junior Fellows.