ZAGREB, September 3, 2020 - The Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) on Wednesday published recommendations for classes at associate degree colleges, noting that holding physical classes while complying with the epidemiological measures in force is the optimal type of classes for those institutions.

Noting that its recommendations were adopted in line with positions of the National Council for Science, Higher Education and Technological Development, the HZJZ said that classes would be held live, with the presence of both professors and students, and take the form of distance learning in exceptional situations, when the study programme or epidemiological measures require it.

Students are encouraged to show solidarity with and help their colleagues who are unable to attend classes due to the epidemiologial situation while professors are encouraged to regularly hold face-to-face consultations while complying with epidemiological measures in order to maintain the quality of classes.

Exams will be held online in exceptional situations, when written examinations will be avoided and preference will be given to oral exams.

In order to reduce the number of weekly arrivals of students at college, it is recommended that classes be adapted in such a way to enable students to attend more than one class in a row, while respecting epidemiological measures.

If the epidemiological situation deteriorates or there are no physical conditions to hold classes in more spacious rooms, the college may decide to shorten classes.

Students, professors and other employees must not enter the college building if they have elevated body temperature or respiratory symptoms or if they are self-isolating or have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Rules of physical distancing and personal hygiene will be have to be complied with and the wearing of face masks will be obligatory, except in cases when it hampers the teaching process.

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ZAGREB, September 3, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours there have been 369 new cases of the coronavirus infection and three deaths in Croatia, and the number of active cases today is 2,634, the national COVID-19 response team said on Thursday.

Until now, the record daily high was 358 coronavirus cases, recorded on August 26.

Currently, 269 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 15 persons on ventilators.

Since February 25, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, a total of 11,094 people have contracted the disease, 194 of whom have died, while 8,266 have recovered.

At the moment, 8,901 people are self-isolating.

To date, 179,838 persons have been tested for the virus, including 4,492 in the last 24 hours.

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September 3, 2020 – A Zagreb Children's Hospital is preparing to welcome its first canine member of staff – Jupi, a border collie

They are often said to be the most intelligent of all dogs. Used traditionally for herding livestock, border collies can learn a very large number of signals and commands. They are eminently trainable. Now, that intelligence is to be applied to the area of therapy, as one Zagreb children's hospital prepares to welcome its first border collie as a member of the team.

Still only a puppy, Jupi is being prepared for the role by her owner, Iva Zečević, a clinical psychologist at the Psychiatric Hospital for Children and Adolescents. At the moment, Jupi still needs to get her jabs, go for training and pass a therapy dog exam, Iva revealed to Jutarnji List journalist Lada Novak Starčević in a recent interview.


Border collies are very intelligent and eminently trainable. They take their name from the sheep farming lands which are situated on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border © Yuppy Ermeton

Iva is undertaking the training herself with help from puppy coach Ana Odak and The Croatian Association for the Training of Guide Dogs and Mobility. Iva decided to dedicate herself personally to the task because she knows the Zagreb Children's Hospital where she works would struggle to pay for a fully trained therapy dog. Despite the time and costs involved in the necessary process, Iva has previously seen the positive effects dogs can have on her patients and knows it's a worthwhile undertaking. She is an experienced dog owner and has kept and trained several, although this is the first she has trained as a therapy dog.

Border collies are so clever that they thrive best in households that can give them lots of play and exercise. It is a British breed of dog, taking its name from the sheep farming lands which are situated on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border. The word collie comes from the old Celtic word for useful.

All of today's purebred border collies can trace an ancestral line back to one dog. Old Hemp lived in Northumberland between 1893 and 1901 and was so skilled in his work with sheep, as well as having exactly the right temperament, that many shepherds used him as a stud for their future working dogs. Old Hemp is believed to have sired as many as 200 puppies to be reared as sheepdogs.

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September 3, 2020 – A bold and open gesture from the winemaking industry on the Pelješac peninsula to appreciated neighbours – cost-free accommodation will allow free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes in September and October 2020

Of all the incentives to assist Croatian tourism in the troublesome year of 2020, this one may be the boldest. In order to show appreciation for visitors from two of Croatia's nearest neighbours, winemakers from the Pelješac peninsula are arranging to offer free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes in September and October 2020.

In an interview published in Slobodna Dalmacija just yesterday, famous Pelješac winemaker Mato Violić Matuško revealed the plan. Matuško is also president of the Pelješac Wine Routes, a forward-thinking initiative in and of itself. It has massively increased wine tourism on Pelješac with its joined-up approach and has managed to bring together many individuals operating with the winemaking and tourism sectors of the region. Who better to organise free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes at harvest time?


Just one of the breathtaking views available on Pelješac. The peninsula is most famous for its incredible wines © Romulić & Stojčić

Winemakers who are members of the Pelješac Wine Routes Association are those who will be involved in offering the free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes. The plan is to offer free accommodation to Austrian and Slovene tourists in order to thank them in particular for their returning custom. Visitors from these nations are among the most frequent to come. The incentive also aims to bolster tourism numbers well past the point of late summer.

Although some revenue in accommodation rentals may be lost due to the offer, the idea is startlingly inventive. It is hoped money put into the local economy by visitors taking advantage of the free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes will benefit the wider population in what has been a difficult season for many. Austrians and Slovenes taking advantage of the incentive will also surely be offered some excellent Pelješac wine on their visit.

You can read here a TCN interview from August 2020 which also shows how the wines of Dubrovnik Neretva County have assisted in keeping visitor routes open during a difficult year for tourism in south Croatia  - Croatia Wine: ”Every Visit Is A Voyage Of Discovery”

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September 3, 2020 - Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues in the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo were bathed in light from sunset until after dark

Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues used by the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo, also in Pula were bathed in light from sunset until after dark.

Though the change in appearance was enjoyable and visually impressive, the action was undertaken to send a strong message. It was part of a worldwide campaign to highlight the effects of Coronavirus on the events industry and those who work within it.

Some of the most famous historical buildings, concert venues and event halls in the world joined the Red Alert campaign and were similarly lit on the same night.

Large public events have been put on hold over most of the world under epidemiological guidelines. Seating arrangements in theatres, conference halls, sports and music halls are simply not compatible with social distancing regulations – many such venues could not make a profit by holding events at 50% capacity.

This has affected millions around the world who work in the events industry, from musicians and performers to technicians, bookers, agents, the media, PR representatives, venue management and general staff. Freelancers operating within the events industry are some of the hardest hit and have had all of their income sources removed completely. Many who operate in the events industry are highly trained and skilled, so diversifying into other industries can be problematic.

Pula amphitheatre (also known as Pula Arena) is a massively popular open-air venue in warmer months. It holds spectacular opera, ballet and classical music events as well as hosting a film festival. Like Zagreb Arena, it attracts some of the biggest names in pop and rock music. Fort Punta Christo has become famous all over Europe and further over the last decade, thanks to the internationally renowned Outlook and Dimensions festivals. Those events were supposed to take place in Tisno, at The Garden festival site. But, along with seven further festivals due to be held there this year, they chose to cancel in order to safeguard the health of their attendees and locals.


Fort Punta Christo in Pula is widely known as a host site for international music festivals

The Croatian events industry alone is comprised of 2000 business entities, has more than 12,000 employees, and annually generates HRK 4.5 billion. Autumn/winter 2021 is the soonest estimated point at which large scale events could return to normal. The Red Alert campaign has been undertaken to highlight the plight of the events industry as many sections within it face total collapse if deprived of work until then. 



All photos © Red Alert

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September 3, 2020 - The EPIC Webinars continue, with CISCO's Ivan Duggan next up, talking about innovations in the Patient Experience. 

Patient Experience is a term that has been running through the healthcare industry for some time. When you ask people what exactly this means, you will get all sorts of answers that will mostly move in the direction of helping and making it easier for the client/patient.

By its definition it means this - As an integral component of health care quality, patient experience includes several aspects of health care delivery that patients value highly when they seek and receive care, such as getting timely appointments, easy access to information, and good communication with health care providers.

When we add innovation to this term, we get one mixed ball of progress. In healthcare, it may be a novel idea, product, service or care pathway that has clear benefits when compared to what is currently done. Successful innovations often possess two key qualities: they are both usable and desirable.

Since we are in the 21^st century from which innovations are simply pouring out, the question arises as to what are these new innovations that we can design and implement. Bagatin Clinic and Cleveland Clinic are both facing forward and for that reason they are pushing EPIC in this direction of innovation.

When we say Innovations in the patient experience, what comes to your mind first?

EPIC invited Mr. Ivan Duggan from CISCO to tell us how did intelligent secure infrastructure inspired innovations in healthcare by reimagining healthcare delivery, expanding access to care, delivering data-driven care, ensuring security and compliance, transforming facilities, and supporting business resiliency.

Getting the best possible outcomes for patients efficiently, effectively, with care and safety is your number one priority. With the current pandemic situation achieving this while ensuring staff and patient safety is more critical than ever.

Cisco is at the beating heart of this transformation. In this session you will hear how Cisco solutions are delivering this today across telehealth, security & compliance, connected medical device, mobile experiences and the smart hospital.

Ivan Duggan has overall responsibility for ‘go to market’ of Cisco’s Software Defined routing, switching and wireless portfolio’s in EMEAR, a portfolio that represents around 50% of Cisco’s product revenues in the region. With a key focus on enhancing customer’s digitisation evolution, productivity, profitability and lower costs through better use of Intelligent & Intuitive Networks. With more than 30 years’ experience in the data communications industry, Ivan joined Cisco in 1999, has a diverse background of both domestic and international sales experience, holding various leadership positions in Cisco Ireland and EMEAR. In these roles Ivan was responsible for building strategic sales strategies and also served as a key spokesperson to influence the media and government on the importance of technology to drive innovation and economic growth. He also led the Architecture and Solutions team in EMEAR, where he was responsible for delivering Customer & Partner success through Architectural & solutions IT relevancy.

Join us on September 10th at 6.00 pm CEST & sign up via the link.

For more on the Croatian medical tourism industry, follow the dedicated TCN link. 

September 3, 2020 - The world of AI is transforming the way we do things. Meet the new concept of National AI Capital.

In my Human Resources career, I was working on different Human Capital related topics, from different angles. Since it is obvious that we are globally becoming an economy that is much more dependent on human capital, then on any other form of capital, I spent some time researching it a bit deeper. Some of my thoughts will be published soon. But as a part of the Human Capital story, I also researched and wrote about different aspects of Artificial Intelligence and how it would impact individuals, organizations, societies and nations / countries.

Based on that, I coined a new concept – National AI Capital, or NAIC in short. It is related in some ways with Human Capital, and in a complex relationship that needs to be explored further.

The working definition would be:

NAIC – the country’s capacity to apply and develop, and cope with the challenges of various artificial intelligence systems, in order to increase the country’s social and economic well-being and competitiveness.

We already know that countries are differentiating based on their Human Capital Index Map – measured by the World Economic Forum and that it will make even bigger differences if some countries start lagging back even more.

It is not hard to predict that development in different AI practices and the implementation of those projects could give an exponential advantage to some countries or companies. A short overview is available in my article, Use of Artificial Intelligence: Comparison between countries. Because of that, it would be reasonable to address this issue globally, and as soon as possible, while the differences are not dramatic.

Strategies to address that problem, will give some answers to many questions. Who is now, and who will be responsible for the creation of AI capital of a country? Today, when we have 9 corporations doing an enormous job in the AI field, we need to predict or empower other stakeholders to do their part. To differentiate the AI power. Is it going to be Academia and different Universities, AI start-ups funded by more and more venture capital, Government institutions and large scale projects or all of them in some amount, will be answered differently in every country or continent.

And of course, there are different fields of AI that some country could put their focus on. Depending on their specific needs and resources, they could focus on – Healthcare, Marketing, Business Intelligence, Security, Finance, Military, Customer Experience or Education segment, which I mentioned in one of my previous articles: AI Education System: What Can We Expect and Hope for in Croatia? What Can We Expect and Hope for in Croatia?)

As for the initial measurement of NAIC, the methodology will be finished and polished in the next months, since I am working with many organizations and individuals from a few countries to finalize some details and gather data from the initial survey that you can check here!

Assumptions were that those factors could be taken into consideration for equation or profile of a single country:

1. number of engineers/developers working in the field (in the country)
2. number of engineers/developers dealing with related fields (in the country)
3. number of AI start-ups (of that country)
4. number of national AI development projects
5. level of investment in AI projects (in the country)
6. number of AI system implementations at the state level
7. the amount of data collected and structured that can be used to develop AI
8. connection of AI scene with world projects and knowledge exchange
9. percentage (%) of jobs substituted by AI and automatization
10. amount of scientific/research papers
11. national long term AI vision and strategy
12. something else ____

The final goal is to have NAIC definition similar to the OECD definition of Human capital - "knowledge, skills, competencies and characteristics of individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being. But also the practical methodology that can measure NAIC and compare countries, and give them as feedback useful information to develop and align their national AI and HC strategies.

Take part in the initial National AI Capital survey here.

Aco Momcilovic

08/2020

FutureHR

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September 3, 2020 - What can Americans and Croatians learn from each other in business? A dual citizen of both countries offers her thoughts.  

There’s no doubt America is a dominant player on the global business stage, but there are norms in Croatia that I believe outshine American practices when it comes to work. Both countries could learn from each other. Here’s my view how.

1. Outlook and perspective. Americans have this nailed and I think speaks to much of why US companies tend to be so overwhelmingly successful on a global scale. Fake it till you make it, nothing is impossible, the squeaky wheel gets the oil are all apt representations of American business people’s attitudes. We all know the US has its issues but the attitude that change can happen always prevails. It’s also not expected to happen overnight and the belief that even one person can effect change keeps Americans fighting the good fight.

2. Credentials, or in my American mind, schmedentials. In my business career in the US, the best and most talented people I worked with did not have PhDs or Ivy League college degrees (or if they did, they got them much later in their already successful careers). An American will hire you if you are hard-working, motivated and smart. Look outside the check box for talent and you will reap new perspectives, skills and ideas. This is more important than ever before with up-skilling and life-long learning being the new norm.

3. Swagger. Ever meet an unconfident American? And are they always qualified to be so confident? I’ll be nice and answer that for you – absolutely NOT. Scratch the surface a bit and that American is no smarter than the next gal or guy, but it doesn’t matter because this belief in themselves means they’re likely to achieve more. Why Croats aren’t more braggadocious is beyond me given their massive successes in innovation, technology medicine, sports, arts, the list goes on. 

Now on the other side of the ring, the fearless Croats and what they can teach us* Americans – bring it, Croats!

1. Ingenuity and resourcefulness. I grew up with a Croatian father in the US nicknamed “Croatian MacGyver” (dating myself, but for anyone under 40 MacGyver could prevent nuclear war with a banana and some strong glue). Croatians haven’t had a lot for a long time and have had to rely on creativity and innovation to thrive. What? Want to build an electric hypercar in Croatia, but parts are too expensive? Oh, we’ll just make it! There are many examples like this and because of this reality, Croats don’t take things for granted either.

2. There are no Starbucks. Before you go thinking how horrifying and completely anti-productive that is, let me tell you about coffee culture here. First know that cafes outnumber banks and grocery stores combined + maybe some other public services. And what happens at these numerous cafes sans any type of device (except a smartphone to show off pics of your dog or kids) is networking – pure and genuine relationship building that opens doors to new business, new ideas and connections. All for the price of Starbucks’ cheapest menu item.

3. Balance. This is a tough one as I do admit it’s hard to implement in the US even if you want to, but let me start with something that could be a first step. In Croatia, when you meet people it is extremely rare to ask them what they do for work, because work doesn’t define them. It’s work. Why is this good? Mental well-being, people. You are not your job and this leads to not feeling guilty or bad about yourself if you’re not always giving 100%. Freedom.

So yes, we can learn a lot from each other when it comes to business and life helping us be more balanced, healthier and more successful – and we’ll get the chance soon I hope given the new Croatian digital nomad visa. I’ll close with some advice to my American self: “ Take it easy sometimes!” and to my Croat-self: “You are far more qualified than you know!”

*Full Disclosure Everybody: Author is a dual citizen of the USA and Croatia.

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