Global and Intercultural Dimensions in Curriculum Development
The strategic framework for the development of the internationalisation of education includes strategic documents of the European Union (EU), the Bologna Process and measures from the Strategy of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia.
The objectives defined in the Strategy are defined in accordance with the objectives of the European Strategy and the initiatives arising from it. With the aim of fitting the Croatian higher education system into European development trends.
The Strategy defines Objective 7: Internationalise higher education and integrate it more strongly into the European and world higher education area:
- increase the international mobility of students and teachers
- encourage the introduction of teaching in foreign languages
- encourage the formation of joint studies with eminent European and world higher education institutions
- increase the number of foreign academic staff at higher education institutions
- increase the number of foreign academic staff at higher education institutions
In order to lay the foundations for faster development towards a society of knowledge, tolerance and equal opportunities by strengthening higher education, the Bologna process of higher education reform has been implemented as a basis for further development of European higher education institutions. European development trends in which the Croatian higher education system must necessarily fit are a reflection of the awareness that only the synergy of higher education, science, innovation and technology can achieve Europe's competitiveness in a global context.
Other aspects of the internationalisation of higher education include the development of the Croatian Qualifications Framework and its connection with the European Qualifications Framework and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA) and the internationalisation of the quality assurance system.
The European Social Fund finances 30 projects within which higher education institutions develop studies in foreign languages, courses and modules in foreign languages, as well as international short programmes (summer and winter schools).
The European Universities initiative is one of the flagship initiatives that reflects the EU's efforts to create a European education area. It is the result of the collaborative work of higher education institutions, student organisations, the Member States and the European Commission. European universities are transnational alliances that promote European values and identity and contribute to the quality and competitiveness of European higher education.
They cover different types of higher education institutions from all Member States and beyond. Each union comprises an average of seven higher education institutions. Some alliances are general and encompass all disciplines, while others focus, for example, on sustainable development, health and well-being, digitisation and artificial intelligence, the arts, engineering, or space.
European Universities, more precisely transnational associations of higher education institutions from all over the EU, come together for the benefit of students, professors and society. With financial support from Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020, it will contribute to the quality, inclusion, digitisation and attractiveness of European higher education. So far, the universities in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Zadar have already become part of the union of European universities.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Science and Education and the Agency for Mobility and European Union Programmes coordinate the national promotion of higher education institutions from the Republic of Croatia abroad under the slogan "Study in Croatia". Information and promotional activities include joint participation of higher education institutions from the Republic of Croatia under the slogan "Study in Croatia" at higher education fairs abroad, updating of the portal and national brochure.
Partnerships and Networks
The European Union has developed a European Qualifications Framework to facilitate the understanding and comparison of national qualifications. It supports cross-border mobility and promotes lifelong learning and professional development throughout Europe. The European Qualifications Framework is an eight-level framework based on learning outcomes for all types of qualifications and allows for the understanding and comparison of different national qualifications frameworks. The European framework helps to improve the transparency, comparability and transferability of qualifications and allows for the comparison of qualifications from different countries and institutions.
Based on the European Qualifications Framework, the member states of the European Union are implementing national qualifications for better mobility and cross-border cooperation.
Croatia has also adopted its own instrument for regulating the qualifications system - the Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF). It ensures clarity, access to acquisition, reliable acquisition, passability and quality of qualifications as well as linking qualification levels in the Republic of Croatia with the qualification levels of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA) and, indirectly, with qualification of qualifications frameworks in other countries.
The Agency for Science and Higher Education actively participates in the work of European and world networks for the promotion of mobility and recognition of foreign higher education qualifications (ENIC and NARIC network) and is a member of INQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) and INQAAHE ( International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education), CEENQA (Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe), the Forum for Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) and included in EQAR (European Register of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education). The Agency is also a member of the European Consortium for Accreditation (ECA), a project-oriented association of European agencies for quality assurance in higher education, and is a member with observer status of the Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific (Asia) -Pacific Quality Network - APQN).
Croatia is also a member of the international association GUIDE Association - Global Universities in Distance Education, in which it is represented by the Agency for Science and Higher Education since 2018. The International Association aims to develop international cooperation and distance learning.
The Agency for Science and Higher Education also represents Croatia in the association CHEA International Quality Group, IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, and since 2016 in the network EUPRIO (European Association of Communication Professionals in Higher Education). The Agency for Science and Higher Education is a member of the network of application offices from around the world (International Association of Admissions Organisations - IAAO) as well as the network of institutions signing the Groningen Declaration Network (GDN) and EMREX network which aims to encourage student mobility.
CEEPUS (Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies) is a regional mobility programme in higher education for students and teaching staff. The aim of CEEPUS is to improve cooperation in the field of higher education and related scientific activities, with an emphasis on inter-university cooperation and mobility. In addition to Croatia, 15 Central and Eastern European countries are participating in the programme. The backbone of the programme is the CEEPUS network, a partnership of higher education institutions through which the majority of all mobility takes place.
EURAXESS is a European Commission programme designed to increase and facilitate the mobility of researchers and scientists. The EURAXESS network consists of more than 1,100 employees in more than 570 EURAXESS service centres in 40 European countries. The main task of this programme is to help foreign researchers and scientists when coming to Croatia to work on scientific projects.