University of Zagreb

Aleksa Bjeliš

Vice-rector for science and development

29 October 2004

Strengths:

● comprehensiveness and magnitude,

● long academic heritage,

● intellectual potential of professors and students, worldwide achievements of its numerous members and groups,

● firmness in preservation of university integrity and dignity in various historical stages

Weaknesses:

● lack of coherent university strategy and governance,

● the fragmented University organization,

● lack of quality assurance,

● inadequate enrolment policy,

● lack of human resources and research policy at the University level

Opportunities:

● recognition of university’s leading role in the national development, particularly in research and education,

● the new legislation encouraging new European trends in higher education,

● beginning of the process of Croatian accession to EU

● the competitiveness at the international level,

● increase of mobility of staff and students

Threats:

• the lack of national strategy in research and higher education,

• poor state of national economy,

• low level of links with the University environment, particularly with industry

• alarming brain drain,

• present lack of university autonomy

• certain lack of interest for changes in the academic community

Study programs at the university level:four new postgraduate study programs were initiated

exclusively at the University level with the participation of several faculties, and mostly in collaboration with domestic partners (institutes, ministries, companies) and universities from abroad

(to be compared with about 20 programs proposed by particular faculties with a secondary involvement of other (intra- or inter-university) subjects)

Actually, initial steps towards the realization of about five new university programs

Expectation:implementation of Bologna scheme will aid the

appearance of university programs, not only at doctoral and specialization levels, but also within undergraduate (bachelor) and graduate (master) cycles.

Parallelisms in study programs:

• most of existing study programs have been developed within particular → parallelisms,

• development of a coherent system of study programs was not possible

Instead:

● the sole connection between same or equivalent parts of studies belonging to different faculties → through engagements of teachers from one faculty as visiting teachers at the other faculty

Lack of student mobility: • very low level of student mobility inside the University • possibility to study parts of study programs, different from the

enrolled one, in general not regulated• in practice minimized due to organizational and technical

reasons (UZ is a geographically dispersed city University)

• mobility at the international scale also rather modest (although the interest to participate in such study visits is large)

• Croatian HE and their students are still not eligible in large European networks for student mobility

Number of foreign students at our University is also modest, mostly due to two reasons:

• the studies are almost fully performed in Croatian language, • financial and other means necessary for the reception of

visiting students are modest.

ECTS at UoZ:

• In October 1999: decision about the compulsory application of the ECTS at the University.

• Faculty committees for ECTS founded • now working on introducing the ECTS in order • to facilitate the transfers of students from one institution of

higher education to another during the course of study• To enable recognition of all academic work done at one

institution at home or abroad during the study period• Implementation of the credit system into undergraduate

and postgraduate study programmes at the University of Zagreb is under way

• Faculties published lists of courses available for students from other faculties. The diploma supplement is also being worked on.

Still, the credit accumulation is still not fully functioning

End of 2003 - concrete actions towards wide implementation of the Bologna scheme in accordance with the Law on scientific activity and higher education.

December 2003 - University Senate started the process of transformation of university study programmes

The first step: to determine the study scheme by collecting the study programmes questionnaires from faculties and academies. In order to facilitate this process, the Committee for Transformation and Development of Study Programmes has issued general guidelines for study programmes transformation

Now the Committee is preparing special guidelines for specific scientific and artistic areas

Present activity:

task force groups for particular families of studies (natural sciences, medicine, technics, biotechnics, social sciences, humanistics, arts, studeis for teachers and lecturers, …)

Aim: to coordinate particular proposals from faculties, and enable formulations of curricula at the university level, i.e.

to initiate functional integration through horizontal and vertical linking of similar programmes, as well as through introduction of new interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programmes

This phase – planned to be finished by the end of 2004

Completition of study programmes – until April 2005

Evaluation and accreditation of the programmes – until June 2005

Further activities & future needs

Promotion of the wider framework of Bologna process (societal aspects, labour market, employability, student mobiltiy, national qualification framework, European dimension, quality assessment)

Active cooperation with employers (including state authorities)

Engagement of students (in particular: study programmes, study regimes, enrollment policy, coverage of study expenses, mobility, participation of students in European events, …)

Benchmarking & tuning (during establishing future study programmes)

Joint programmes and degrees (international cooperation)