May the 7th, 2022 - A Bulgarian delegation from Gabrovo University recently paid a visit to Zagreb University, more specifically to the Faculty of Metallurgy which is located in Sisak.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this past week, a delegation of the Technical University of Gabrovo, led by the Rector prof. dr. sc. Iliy Zhelezarov and vice-rector, doc. dr. sc. Plamen Tsankov, paid a visit to one of Zagreb University's faculties in Sisak.

The visit of the Bulgarian Technical University to the Faculty of Metallurgy in Sisak was part of a working visit by a delegation from the Bulgarian city of Gabrovo, led by Mayor Tanja Hristova.

“We presented our guests with the activities which are undertaken at the Faculty of Metallurgy, and we also talked about possible cooperation and joint future projects. As one of the leaders of the metallurgical industry in the Republic of Croatia, with experience and all awards and recognitions, the Faculty of Metallurgy can be a good example to our colleagues from Bulgaria. On the other hand, the Technical University of Gabrovo can continue to be a role model for us when it comes to everyday work and projects,'' said the dean of Zagreb University's Faculty of Metallurgy in Sisak, Zdenka Zovko Brodarac.

The hosts also introduced their Bulgarian guests to the curriculum and directions at the faculty, and they were especially interested in the fact that after graduating from the Faculty of Metallurgy, students find a job within three months and that a large number of them find a job while still studying, and that scholarships are provided for all students.

They were also pleasantly surprised by the fact that almost half of the students at the Faculty of Metallurgy in Sisak are women, which is a fantastic message to send out in an industry which has always been dominated by males.

The meeting, which took place in the City Hall of the Faculty of Metallurgy, was followed by a tour of the laboratory and the building of the faculty itself.

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ZAGREB, 24 March 2022 - Physical Planning and Construction Minister Ivan Paladina and the director of the Zagreb-based KBC - University Clinical Hospital, Ante Ćorušić, on Thursday signed an agreement on the €70 million "Stage III" reconstruction project of this hospital.

A new multi-purpose building will be constructed within the existing hospital compound and the funds earmarked for the construction and reconstruction has been secured with a loan from the World Bank. 

The new hospital will be over 27,800 square metres large, and will have eight floors with an open parking lot on five levels and an emergency heliport.

Paladina underscored that the project is an example of quality and concrete cooperation between the KBC hospital, the competent ministry and expertise.

"When we have a clear common objective and when everyone involved in the project gives a maximum contribution then things function. This is in fact a positive example of what we want to apply to all other post-quake reconstruction procedures with an even greater active participation of the state and profession, and citizens themselves," Paladina said.

Ćorušić underscored that Stage III is part of a strategic document for the KBC's development for a ten-year period and that in 2018 a feasibility study had already been conducted regarding the relocation of the Šalata Hospital to the Rebro KBC.

The project was delayed because of the earthquake but now we have obtained a World Bank loan of $81.8 million and an additional €25 million through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, said Ćorušić.

Politics: For more, check out our politics section.

 21 March 2022 - A Zagreb University research team has established a test that enables the measurement of the quantity of antibodies that can neutralise the SARS-CoV-2 virus, creating preconditions for the development, control and application of specific immunoglobulins in COVID-19 treatment in Croatia.

The research team of the Center for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Biotechnology, headed by Beata Halassy, has successfully established a wild-type SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation test, creating conditions for the development, control and application of specific immunoglobulins in the treatment of COVID-19 in Croatia, the University of Zagreb said in a press release.

"This is the most relevant test to assess virus immunity that enables the measurement of the quantity of antibodies capable of preventing the virus from entering our cells, that is, neutralising it," Zagreb University said.

A paper on the results of the research has been published in "Frontiers in Immunology", one of the leading immunology journals.

The paper, "Is Better Standardization of Therapeutic Antibody Quality in Emerging Diseases Epidemics Possible?", is available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.816159/full.

November 11, 2021 - At least two Zagreb faculties have decided to adopt tighter epidemiological measures, thus introducing the requirement for COVID certificates from their students. The Faculty of Philosophy is moving to online classes, while at the Veterinary School they will check the certificates before each lecture.

From Monday, COVID certificates became mandatory for employees in all state and public institutions, including educational institutions. While we are still waiting for details on their application for the school system, which, according to the announcement of minister Radovan Fuchs, should be known by tomorrow, it is known that school students will not have to get COVID certificates, reports Telegram.hr.

For faculty students, on the other hand, at least in two Zagreb faculties COVID certificates will become mandatory. The Faculties of Veterinary Medicine and Philosophy in Zagreb sent a letter to their students informing them that they would have to have COVID certificates to enter their faculties. One of these two Zagreb faculties is the Faculty of Philosophy, which has switched to online classes from November 15 to 26, and after that, entrance will be controlled to ensure each student presents both a COVID certificate and an Index. The faculty will reimburse its employees for the cost of testing done by November 28th.

Veterinary students will not be able to attend any form of classes, nor stay on the faculty premises without a COVID certificate, decided dean Nenad Turk. In a letter to the students, he states that the certificates will be checked before each lecture and that the absence from classes due to the lack of a certificate will be the same as the absence due to other reasons and will have to be justified by medical reference, writes srednja.hr.

Students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb, who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons, must submit proof of this to the office by tomorrow. They will be able to participate in classes with enhanced measures, according to the faculty. They emphasized that wearing masks is mandatory in all enclosed spaces of the faculty.

At the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, they conducted an anonymous survey among students and employees to see how many were vaccinated, and the reasons why they would or have been vaccinated, and the most common answer was: "to normalize life as much as possible." According to that survey, more than 90 percent of employees and about 70 percent of students were vaccinated or contracted COVID. "This ensures a favorable epidemiological situation at the Faculty," they said.

They also explained why they introduced mandatory certificates for students. “We also included students because we believe that students as adults and responsible persons must respect the same measures as all employees and guests of the Faculty, in order to avoid any discrimination and ensure consistency of prescribed measures, in order to protect all our employees and students and safe implementation of the teaching process”, said the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and are waiting for instructions from the Ministry to decide who will cover the costs of testing.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

June 24, 2021 - There is a selection of universities in Croatia which offer English-taught programmes, whether they be undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or postgraduate studies. Some are Croatian institutions, while others are campuses of international universities based in Croatia. Their fees and entry requirements vary, but all of them would allow you to study in Croatia without having to learn a whole new language first. A look at the top English-speaking university courses in Croatia. 

The number of English-speaking study programmes in Croatia has been on the rise in recent years as Croatian universities explore new ways to stand out from their European competition and attract bright minds into their midst. With a history of distinguished professionals now working in renowned international organizations, Croatia has long ago proved that it offers the same quality of education as its international counterparts at only a fraction of the cost. 

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2019. The oldest public university in the country, Zagreb Uni offers the largest number of English-taught courses, from undergraduate to doctoral degrees executed in coordination with the University of Padua and the University of Canterbury.

Zagreb is often referred to as a safe city tailored to the needs of its people, with its lush green parks, year-round festivals, exhibitions, and concerts, as well as rich student life and countless student discounts. Well connected to other European metropolises, Zagreb also presents a great base for affordable travel during the winter or summer break. To learn more about the process of enrolling into Zagreb Uni as an international student, start here. You can look through your potentials picks in the text below.

Undergraduate Study Programmes 

Bachelor Degree in Business - Faculty of Economics & Business

Undergraduate Degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Study Programmes

Veterinary Studies in English - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Medical Studies in English - Medical School

Dental Medicine - School of Dental Medicine

Graduate University Study Programmes

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - Electrical Power Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Information and Communication Technology - Robotics - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Computing - Data Science - Faculty of Engineering and Computing

Environment, Agriculture and Resource Management - Faculty of Agriculture

Marketing - Faculty of Economics & Busines

Management - Faculty of Economics & Business

Managerial Informatics - Faculty of Economics & Business

Trade - Faculty of Economics & Business

Doctoral Study Programmes

Biomedicine and Health Sciences – School of Medicine
Joint Doctoral Study Programme Human Rights, Society, and Multi-Level Governance – Faculty of Law (University of Zagreb), Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua), University of Canterbury, University of Western Sydney, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Electrical Engineering and Computing – Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aeronautical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Faculty of Metallurgy
Kinesiology – Faculty of Kinesiology

Postgraduate Specialist Study Programmes

University Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Specialist Study Programme in Diplomacy - University of Zagreb
Postgraduate Specialist Study Programme in MBA in Construction - University of Zagreb

Doctoral Study Programmes

Biomedicine and Health Sciences – School of Medicine
Joint Doctoral Study Programme Human Rights, Society, and Multi-Level Governance – Faculty of Law (University of Zagreb), Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua), University of Canterbury, University of Western Sydney, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Electrical Engineering and Computing – Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aeronautical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Faculty of Metallurgy
Kinesiology – Faculty of Kinesiology

University of Rijeka

Hailed as the EU’s “port of diversity” after its designation as European Capital of Culture in 2020, Rijeka is Croatian's third-largest city and thought to be #1 in terms of inclusion and tolerance.

The University of Rijeka introduced its English-language Biotechnology for the Life Sciences (Biotech4LS) Masters programme in 2020, with the capacity of 10 students, and received five times this many applicants from more than 10 countries in the first round of applications.

Specifically aimed at developing the skills students need to pursue a future career in research, whether at a University or in industry, Biotech4LS is one of only a handful of courses in the entire European Union to take this approach. As a result, this course will not only be training a new generation of dynamic young scientists but also highlighting Rijeka as an emerging centre for scientific research when (and if!) they decide to return to their home countries. Extensions

Private universities in Croatia

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

RIT is a private American university with campuses both in the country's capital city of Zagreb and the Pearl of the Adriatic, the famous Dubrovnik. This means that the general structure, courses offered, and teaching language is all that of an American university, but students get to benefit from living overseas (but possibly by the sea, if they so choose) while they study at a considerably lesser cost than in the U.S. The first university in the US to introduce the Information technology program in 1992, RIT offers three undergraduate programmes - Web and Mobile Computing, Business Administration and Hospitality and Tourism Management and two graduate programmes, Service Leadership and Innovation and Information Sciences and Technologies. 

Algebra

University College of Algebra has long established its position as an institution of higher learning aimed at building globally competitive careers in digital technologies. The largest Croatian private educational organization present in more than 20 cities across Croatia, you can find out more about Algebra's unique approach to recruiting new students at Croatia: Your Live and Learn Destination. Always following the latest trends, Algebra adopted the practice of organising annual winter and summer schools to give their potential students a taste of everything Algebra has to offer. In 2020, Algebra welcomed its first generation of graduate students who will attend lectures on digital marketing or software engineering in the English language.

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May 24, 2021 - Five faculties of the University of Zagreb have joined their forces to establish gaming-related courses available for final-year undergraduates. 

Studying game design and development will be made available at the university's drama school. At the same time, the other partners in this program are the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin, and the Faculty of Architecture.

The graduate study program will be part of the project Edu4Games and will offer four strands: Game Design, Game Art, Game Production, and Game Programming.

These future courses are envisioned so that the teaching and learning processes are focused on artistic and scientific practices and research, intensive practical work, and strong international cooperation with leading higher education institutions and professional organizations.

In the beginning, 20-30 students will enroll in this program.

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May 13, 2021 - With Croatian scientists' reputation on the rise on the world stage, dr. Vernessa Smolčić is now the Croatian European Research Council (ERC) Fund Receiver. 

Croatian scientists continue to impact the European science scene. As the Faculty of Science (PMF) at the University of Zagreb reports on its website, their scientist and professor, dr. Vernesa Smolčić is one of the 10,000 receivers of non-returnable funds by the European Research Council (ERC). As PMF states, the excellence of research work is the only criteria to get these funds.

„Scientists compete in a very strong international competition in which the European Commission from the total number of applications picks up only 8-15% of the best. Projects founded by the ERC are the best researches in all of Europe, and working on ERC projects increase international recognition of the research, and cooperation with the elite global universities“, says PMF.

An online ceremony saw representatives of ERC welcoming all 10,000 receivers with particularly pointing out the top 15 who contributed to the transformation of science and research.

One of them was, you guessed it, dr. Vernessa Smolčić.

„Vernesa Smolčić studied physics at the University of Zagreb, where she is now a full professor at the Department of Physics in the Faculty of Science. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2007 from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, followed by a postdoctoral position at Caltech in California, USA. In 2009, she obtained an independent ESO ALMA COFUND Fellowship from the European Southern Observatory. In 2013, she won one of the first ERC Starting Grants in Croatia“, says the ERC website.

screenshot / Astroučionica

The website also offers more details on how Smolčić (and other scientists, for that matter) made an incredible contribution in expanding human knowledge.

As Smolčić explained for the ERC website, there were more than a few unknowns in the astrophysics field due, primarily to instrumental limitations at the time. But, in 2014, „Smolčić’s team was one of the first to use new and upgraded radio telescopes in Chile, USA, Australia, and India. These telescopes offered a higher level of accuracy for tracing star formations and detecting galaxies, stretching back to when the universe was very young“, writes ERC.

„While the observation phase was very time consuming, Smolčić was immediately taken aback by the extent of the data. She was not only probing new areas of Space, but she was observing radio wavelengths that no other scientist had been able to see through a telescope lens in such detail, or for so many galaxies. Three years down the line, her team had over 850 hours of data. They analyzed and assembled datasets (radio sky mosaics, data collections) on various types of galaxies, their sources, and physical properties. These datasets were made publicly available to the broader astronomy community, to be used by other scientists to explore more of the universe’s unknowns“, concludes ERC.

„ERC funding really allowed me to conduct my research at the highest competitive levels“, said Smolčić. And you can learn more about her work in this interesting podcast.

European Research Council was established in 2007. As they say themselves, their mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, based on scientific excellence.

„The ERC complements other funding activities in Europe such as those of the national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of Horizon Europe, the European Union's Research Framework Programme for 2021 to 2027“, they said.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 11, 2021 -The oldest university in Croatia is the one in Zagreb, and the best faculty at Zagreb University is the Faculty of Agriculture, according to the NTU global ranking of 800 universities worldwide.

The quality of Zagreb University, according to the global NTU ranking conducted by the National Taiwan University, is in decline. On the list of 800 Universities worldwide, Zagreb University was ranked 478th best in the world, and in recent years it was levitating between 551st and 600th place. But, as Srednja.hr reports, the overall decline of quality has an exception on that list, and it's thanks to the Faculty of Agriculture.

The Faculty is ranked to be the best at Zagreb University, and the area of agriculture on the global list is ranked between 301st and 350th place. That is the ranking of the area, but also under the criteria of research interest, the ranking is even better, 87th place, thus making it the only thing at Zagreb University to be in the top 100 on the list.

„Even though it's the oldest human occupation, agriculture today is light years away from what our grandparents know. Agriculture is part of the STEM area (‘science, technology, engineering & mathematics), and it's actually highly technological. There are several reasons why this sector so is fastly modernized. For starters, the production of food and raw ingredients to produce food is the most important human activity that will always have demand. To keep up the step with the increasing number of population, less and less arable surfaced and the increasing living standards, agriculture had to modernize significantly, and introduce newest technologies“, writes Srednja.hr.

© Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet

The Agriculture Faculty in Zagreb was founded in 1919. As the Faculty's official website reports, they have over 450 employees today who are highly motivated to pass their knowledge to around 2,500 students, which they consider their greatest value that they add to society.

„By connecting with foreign universities, both from Europe and worldwide, we have international cooperation in both teaching and scientific research area, and student mobility. Successful participation in bilateral and multilateral research programs, exchanges of students, young scientists, and university lecturers, as well as securing scholarships contribute to the visibility and recognition of the Faculty on all levels“, says the Agriculture Faculty.

The Faculty's personnel annually publishes 280 scientific papers, and in the last decade, 160 active research projects are ongoing with 75% of investments coming from domestic sources and the rest from international ones. Scholarships supports, and rewards for the best students are secured through the trust fund the Faculty has.

„It's less known that the Agriculture Faculty is declared a Scientific Centre of Excellence CroP-BioDiv (for biodiversity and molecular plant breeding). It is one of the 10 scientific centers in the STEM area declared in the Republic of Croatia. CroP-BioDiv is a research network of top scientists from all over Croatia directed to the transmission of highly sophisticated knowledge and technologies“, writes Faculty's website concluding their institution is directed towards future with sustainability, quality, research encouragement, scientific excellence, and cooperation with the Croatian economy, as key strategic goals.

As Zagreb is a popular ERASMUS destination among European students because of cheap drinks, rich and vibrant party scene, The Agriculture Faculty shows that apart from partying, the Croatian capital is a place to get some actual learning done. And on a pretty high standard no less, at least when it comes to agriculture which serves as a role model to the rest of the poorly ranked University.

Agriculture is about food, and you can learn more about Croatian food (specifically, vegan and vegetarian options) on our TC page. 

For more about education in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February the 25th, 2021 - The Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering is known for its innovation and the type of successful students it ''breeds'' within its walls, and recognition from the United States is the latest accolade this Croatian institution has received.

As Novac writes, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) is the world's leading organisation in the field of design and construction of concrete structures, which deals with the development and preparation of proper standards, technical recommendations and reports, as well as the organisation of various educational programmes. It is an impressive organisation which can boast of over 30,000 members in over 120 countries. ACI publishes the "ACI Concrete SmartBrief" e-news on a monthly basis, with highlights for its members in the field of innovation.

It was precisely that monthly publication in which ACI recommended the work of researchers from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb earlier this month. The article is called Non-Destructive Corrosion Inspection of Reinforced Concrete Using Ground-Penetrating Radar: A Review and was published in Materials magazine, published by MDPI (ISSN 1996-1944) by Ksenija Tesic, Ana Baricevic and Marijana Serdar, employees of the Department of Materials at the Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering. The American review analysed the advantages and challenges of using radars to determine the corrosion of reinforcement in concrete in real time.

The article was created as part of the doctoral research of Ksenija Tesic, a doctoral student employed on a project entitled "An autonomous system for reviewing and predicting the integrity of transport infrastructure - ASAP", which is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund.

The Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering (GF) of the University of Zagreb is otherwise the main beneficiary and coordinator of the ASAP project, which is implemented in cooperation with its partners, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FSB) and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) of the University of Zagreb.

By connecting the fields of construction, robotics and computing through the ASAP project, an interdisciplinary core has been created that offers an innovative solution for maintenance, monitoring and management of buildings, and is a future strong strategic partner to the public and private sector in the field of construction modernisation, and the Americans think so too.

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ZAGREB, 13 February, 2021 - The chairman of the University of Zagreb University Council, Luka Burilović, said on Friday the Council requested and rector Damir Boras accepted to convene a Senate session on the state of affairs at the university in a month's time.

Speaking to the press, Burilović said Boras attended the session as a guest.

Asked if the University Council discussed the rector's responsibility for the situation at the university, he said the rector answered to the Senate and that only the Senate could discuss the rector's responsibility and make a decision. The University Council, he added, is an advisory and oversight body.

Constituent units should deal with sexual harassment

The Council also discussed the reports of sexual harassment at the university, concluding that the university must be a place of zero tolerance to any abuse and made it clear that sexual harassment and abuse is humanly, ethically and morally unacceptable.

The Council also expressed regret and strong support to all victims, referring them to take institutional action in line with the university's Code of Ethics.

Speaking of the Code, Burilović said it was from 2007 and that the Council recommended that the governing structures establish a permanent expert body that would oversee and help the university's constituent units deal with sexual harassment reports.

The Council also recommended organising comprehensive education for employees and students to prevent sexual harassment and abuse as much as possible.