Prof. Nataša Nater Drvenkar, PhD is employed at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, where she teaches the course Croatian and European Economy, as well as courses related to regional economics, industrial policy, and the international environment. She served as an advisor to Minister Mr. Šime Erlić on regional development issues in the Republic of Croatia at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, based on her professional expertise. For two academic years, she held the position of Vice Dean for Cooperation with the Environment, International Cooperation, and Projects. She was a member of the Working Group of the President of the Republic of Croatia for drafting guidelines for further fiscal decentralization and regional development, the Working Group for Competitiveness and Industrial Development, as well as for Entrepreneurship and Crafts Development, and the Sub-working Group for Assisted and Hilly-Mountainous Areas for the development of the National Development Strategy until 2030. She is the head of the University Graduate Study Programme “Applied Economics” at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Osijek. She has received numerous recognitions for excellence during her undergraduate studies: she was among the top 5% of students of her generation at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek, was awarded the Rector’s Award for the academic year 2004/2005, and received a commendation from the Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports for outstanding students in 2004. She won 1st place for the best thesis at the International Economic Meeting “Italy and Croatia: Investing in Slavonia” in 2007 and received an award from the Public Institution Kopački Rit for exceptionally successful cooperation in 2006. In the academic year 2013/2014, she initiated and launched a project of voluntary student internships across the five Slavonian counties in cooperation with the Regional Office of the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) in Osijek. For this initiative, the Faculty of Economics in Osijek received recognition (2014–2020) and served as an inspiration for the project Private Sector Youth Initiative (EBRD and HUP). The project was later extended to other university constituents. She expanded this initiative by establishing cooperation with the five Slavonian regional coordinators to enable student internships in the field of regional development and EU funds. From 2014 to 2022, she developed the project of voluntary student internships and led the faculty teams in this area.
She maintains successful cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Economy, providing expert support for publications such as Counties – Development Diversity and Economic Potential (since 2018), among others. She has organized and launched several science-popular conferences (Scientific Forum, Meeting of Science and the Economy) and participated as a panelist/moderator at conferences organized by other institutions. In 2019, she received the Croatian Woman of Influence Award from the Croatian Women’s Network, based on a nomination. She is one of the founders and the first president of the Rotary Club Virovitica. Within Rotary District 1913, she has held several positions (Assistant District Governor for 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, and member of the RI Empowering Girls Ambassador initiative). She is a member of the Croatian Economic Association, XEnergy Network for the Promotion of Women in the Energy Transition, the Croatian Society for Corporate Governance and Management (CCGM), and the Regional Studies Association.
