Dean’s Note

Faculty of Economics in Osijek is one of the oldest faculties and higher education institutions in Osijek and Slavonia and Baranja, and was also the cornerstone of the establishment of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. It was founded in 1961, as continuation of activities of the Centre for Economic Studies of the University of Zagreb, with great support of the economy of the time, chamber of economy, and institutions of local and regional authorities. From the very first days of its existence, the Faculty strives to position itself as an autonomous, modern, comparatively competitive institution, close to European and world quality standards of teaching and scientific research.

The Faculty of Economics in Osijek played a significant role in educating scientists and experts in this part of Croatia. Our students are our greatest achievement, people who have completed studies at our Faculty and who today hold the most responsible functions in the economy, state administration and local and regional self-government, not only in the region, but also throughout Croatia. Until 2017, 9,566 students have completed undergraduate studies, 2,465 students have completed graduate studies, 691 students have earned master’s degrees, while 258 candidates have earned doctorate degrees at the Faculty.

The strength of the Faculty rests, above all, on highly educated and highly motivated teachers and scientists who are carriers of all the Faculty’s key activities. 49 teachers in scientific-teaching titles (full and associate professors, assistant professors) and 15 associates (assistants and postdoctoral researchers) are currently employed at the Faculty. The quality of the teaching process is greatly enhanced by the involvement of a large number of external associates who are acknowledged experts from economic life. The enthusiasm and new views of a large number of young teachers, together with the wealth of experience of mature generations, are precious as a starting point for future development of the Faculty.

The Faculty has at its disposal 5050 m2 of space consisting of lecture halls, teachers’ offices and communication facilities. These premises are equipped with the latest equipment for teaching and 400 computer stations, which creates conditions for high quality of the teaching process and scientific research. The library with the collection of books and journals and the reading room with a virtual department for Internet access to all the relevant global databases, allow teachers and students to provide a high quality response to the demands of the profession and use the most recent methods to confirm theories in reality.

In 2011, Faculty has gone through a successful process of international accreditation and was awarded the IQA (CEEMAN International Quality Accreditation) certificate confirming high quality of the programme and its implementation, personnel potential and quality of equipment, as well as the final results. Name of the Faculty of Economics in Osijek can also be found in the international academic database of world’s best business schools. Such recognisability at international level has brought additional recognition, UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, which is awarded to institutions and individuals for outstanding achievements in a field. Certificate of Compliance with ISO 9001:2008 standard, which the Faculty received in 2013, serves as a confirmation of the Faculty’s commitment to provide high quality educational services and scientific-research work, and implementation of a successful organisation management system.

In its, more than 50 years long, history, as the external circumstances changed, the so did the Faculty. The changes were primarily related to the adaptation of the Faculty’s study programmes to the needs of the labour market. Thus, since 2005, Faculty offers study programmes adapted to the Bologna system. The entire educational vertical of university studies, from undergraduate to doctoral studies, is being conducted at the Faculty today. The Faculty’s resources and a large number of highly educated teachers enable development of quality study programmes, which are being developed both in depth and in breadth. The Faculty presently offers studying at six study programmes in business economics and one programme in economics. In addition, a large number of elective courses allows students to customize the study programme to their own preferences and wishes.

The added value of the Faculty are the numerous possibilities that it offers to students: a large number of study programmes at all levels of education, numerous extracurricular activities where students develop their knowledge and skills and increase their employability, cooperation at the national and international level with higher education institutions and economic entities on various scientific and professional projects, as well as mobility projects through the Erasmus+ programme. Some of the European universities with which the Faculty of Economics in Osijek has signed agreements on bilateral cooperation are: University of Vienna, University of Business in Prague, Universitat Augsburg, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Pforzheim University, University of Malaga, Murcia University, Kaposvar University, University of Pecs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.

For many years, through its vision and mission, the Faculty of Economics in Osijek is demonstrating its commitment to the promotion and achievement of excellence in its scientific-research and teaching activities, as an important prerequisite for achieving progress and competitiveness of the society in which it lives and operates. All of the above certainly indicates that rich tradition and present intellectual capacity of the Faculty in the future can be strong support to the development of the economy of the region and the Republic of Croatia as a whole.

DEAN

Boris Crnković, Ph.D.