Joint programmes in Croatia: First Experiences of the University of Zagreb

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Joint programmes in Croatia First Experiences of
the University of Zagreb

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

2
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

3
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

4
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

5
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 ...)

6

• 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

7

• 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

8

• 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

9

• 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

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• 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

11

• Physics
• Strengthening and developing PhD programmes
  at Central European universities by joining their
  programmes
• Activities
• Joint schools (one to two weeks),
• mobility of students,
• co-supervision in the research leading to PhD
  these
• Involved
• - 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

12
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

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• 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

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