Boris Jokić: Croatia Neglects Key Resources of the 21st Century – Education, Training, and Science

In Croatia, key resources of the 21st century – education, training, and science – have been neglected for 28 years. We are not aware that these are important resources, and the main reason for this is that the government structures in these sectors do not see anything attractive – stated Boris Jokić yesterday in Rijeka at the first Conference of Members of the International Scientific Council, reports Novi list.

At the conference “Science first – Znanost, a ne predrasude,” members of the Council, Croatian scientists working at universities around the world, gathered, during which Boris Popović noted that Croatian universities have only one percent of foreign students, and Jokić named the universities themselves as the main culprit for this situation.

– The very small number of foreign students is due to the inertia of the Croatian academic community, which is clientelist, with the University of Zagreb leading the way. Croatian universities, except for examples like the University of Rijeka, have no reason to increase the number of foreign students until the demographic situation hits them like a boomerang – emphasized Jokić.

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In a discussion about the future of science and education via Skype from San Francisco, Prof. Dr. Ivan Đikić joined in, expressing the opinion that Croatia has a pool of talent and a disorganized society stemming from poor education.

– The image of society is the image of education. Young people love their country, but they leave not because they cannot achieve their goals, but because the long-term perspective is weak. The future of Croatia is such that young people have no security – emphasized Prof. Dr. Đikić.

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Prof. Dr. Dražen Prelec from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology emphasized that “we have a paradoxical situation in which no society will give up the fruits of science, regardless of the social order and political power. Every society de facto respects science, although some societies think they can enjoy the fruits of science without investing in science and without investing in scientists and want to reduce the influence of science in society. The question is not whether science is respected, but what the status of scientists is. Scientists are perceived as experts, and expertise is under attack today.”

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There is always room for improvement, and in Croatia, that space is larger than elsewhere; however, the University of Rijeka is making good moves, opening up, and trying to encourage new trends – concluded Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela from the University of Ljubljana.