Joint programmes in Croatia: First Experiences of the

University of Zagreb

Aleksa Bjeliš

Second Meeting of UNICA Bologna Lab Coordinators - University of Vienna(10 December 2004 )

Croatian Higher Education – actual facts

• HE System:

- 6 universities, 5 polytechnics, high schools

~130.000 students, about 12% of population (from 25 to 65) with higher education

• Bologna study scheme obligatory by the academic year 2005/2006;

University of Zagreb(in 2002/2003)

Within the present (“Central European”) system:

Undergraduate cycle [first four (or more) years of study]:● 51.700 (43.500 full time) students● 7.644 awarded degree

Postgraduate cycle (two or three years):● 5.100 students in 132 study programmes ● 705 masters (“magistar” – scientific or professional)● 254 doctors of science

International cooperation

• Considerable participation of foreign lecturers and students (particularly through TEMPUS and similar programmes);

• Usually master programmes;

• Examples in 2002 – 2004:- Environmental Management - Management in Civil Engineering- Sustainable Energy Engineering- European Studies - Cognitive Neuroscience

Main motivations for joint studies:

1. Fields and disciplines linked to European integrations, with relatively large needs regarding number of students (Public administration, Urban studies, Journalism, European studies)

2. New and/or young (usually developing interdisciplinary) programmes (Neurocognitive Science, Medical Neuroscience, Crisis Management, ...)

3. (Relatively) strongly developed disciplines, endangered by small numbers of students at the master and higher levels [fundamental disciplines in natural sciences (e. g. Physics, Mathematics, etc); Arts (e. g. Musics, etc), ... ]

4. “Small endangered” disciplines (like everywhere ...)

Public administration

Specialization one year programme;- Employees in national, regional, etc, institutions- 5 basic, 8 optional courses- Two courses – lecturer from Sorbonne 2

Plans:

- To extend to two years master programme (and to add a higher (doctoral) programme later

- Looking for interested partners (towards a joint programme) …

Financing:

~ 2/3 : contract with Government (covering tuition fees for 25 students per year in next three years)

~ 1/3 from other sources

Urban studies

Two years programme:- All profiles connected with urban planning, administration,

environmental protection, traffic, socio-psychological aspects, etc- Three modules, 6 basic courses, 15 optional courses

Plans:- Applied for participation in UNICA-COBRAW group

Financing:- Initial preparatory work subsidized by the City of Zagreb;- Realization of the programme: negotiations towards contracted

extension of the support in 2005

Journalism

- Master study programme;- Obvious need for an improvement of quality of studies and an

increase of educational level in the whole SEE area:- Demands for freedom of media- 40% of journalists in Croatia without completed higher education

Financing and plans:

- TEMPUS grant to University of Zagreb (Faculty of Political Sciences)

for 2004 – 2006 approved; contractor – University of Vienna

- Steps towards extending the network of universities and other partners under way

Neurocognitive science

- Initiative inside UNICA already established (Budapest, Vienna, Zagreb)

- University of Zagreb: interdisciplinary programme Language Communication and Cognitive Neuroscience started in 2003 as a TEMPUS project

- Fall 2004: grant from Croatian Foundation for Science and Higher Education approved

Neurosciences

- Interdisciplinary doctoral programme launched by School of Medicine

University of Zagreb in 2004, with participation of few other faculties.

Participation from abroad:- Universities of Budapest (Semmelweis, Eötvös Loránd)- University of Vienna - University of Amsterdam

Physics Strengthening and developing PhD programmes at Central European

universities by joining their programmesActivities: - Joint schools (one to two weeks), - mobility of students, - co-supervision in the research leading to PhD theseInvolved:- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste - University of Trieste - University of Padova - University of Vienna- Comenius University of Bratislava - University of Zagreb - University of Ljubljana- Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest - Charles University of Prague

Support for joint programmes

TEMPUS projects: • few joint programmes per year from 2001,• three years projects, • 200.000 – 300.000 Euros per project

Croatian Foundation for Science and HE started in 2004:☺ support of initiatives and initial realization of joint programmes; ♥ 300.000 Euros in 2005, covering up to 10 proposals

But – still uncertain:

- Financing of higher cycles (particularly master programmes) by the state;

- Tuition fees – crucial reforms urgently needed;

- Position and organization of “post-master” (doctoral and other) study programmes