News
Full Prof. Stjepan Lakušić, PhD re-elected as Rector of the University of Zagreb
The current Rector of the University of Zagreb, Full Prof. Stjepan Lakušić, PhD, was re-elected as Rector at the Senate election session held on Tuesday, 10 March 2026. He will serve a new term covering the period from the academic year 2026/2027 to the academic year 2029/2030.
FOI hosted scientist Prof. Hanlie Smuts from the University of Pretoria
As part of the Erasmus mobility programme, the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) hosted Full Prof. Hanlie Smuts, PhD, from the University of Pretoria (South Africa) in March 2026. Prof. Smuts is a distinguished scholar in the fields of knowledge management, digital innovation, and sustainable digital transformation. Her visit to FOI was the result of previous collaboration with Full Prof. Blaženka Divjak, PhD, and Full Prof. Violeta Vidaček-Hainš, PhD, as well as joint activities aimed at strengthening international cooperation and knowledge exchange between the two institutions.
11.03.2026, 10:28
Assoc. Prof. Ivana Đunđek receives the HrAM Annual award for mentorship
Assoc. Prof. Ivana Đunđek, PhD, from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, has received the Annual award for mentorship from the Croatian Academy of Management (HrAM) for 2025. The decision to grant the award was unanimously adopted by the Presidency of the Croatian Academy of Management at its session held on 5 February 2026. In the explanation of the decision, it was highlighted that through her mentorship work with students, Assoc. Prof. Đunđek achieved outstanding results at both national and international competitions, as well as in student projects that received international, national, and university awards.
11.03.2026, 09:34
Nikolina Dreven Wins Award at the EDAMBA Doctoral Thesis 2025 Competition
Senior Assistant at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, Nikolina Dreven, PhD won 3rd place at the EDAMBA Doctoral Thesis 2025 competition for her doctoral dissertation titled “Stewardship Climate in the Function of Increasing Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Small Croatian Companies.” The dissertation was completed under the supervision of Prof. Najla Podrug, PhD (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb) and Assoc. Prof. Ivan Malbašić, PhD (Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb).
09.03.2026, 12:54
HRZZ research project “Purpose-Driven Business: Harmonizing Personal and Organizational Purpose towards a New Management Theory” (SPOJ) launched
On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, a kick-off meeting of the research project “Purpose-Driven Business: Harmonizing Personal and Organizational Purpose towards a New Management Theory” (SPOJ) was held at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics. The project is funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) under the project UIP-2025-02-5231. The project is led by Associate Professor Ivan Malbašić, PhD.
05.03.2026, 13:15
FOI and the University of Łódź connected students through international virtual collaboration on the WAD project
Students of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics successfully completed an international virtual exchange within the Web Application Development (WAD) project, carried out in collaboration with the University of Łódź (Poland). The project was funded by the University of Zagreb through the UNIC VIP Fund, providing students with valuable international experience without the need for physical mobility.
05.03.2026, 11:28
AIVA – the first pedagogically grounded AI advisor for students integrated into Moodle, developed at FOI
The research and development team of the Laboratory for Advanced Educational Technologies at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI), a constituent of the University of Zagreb, in collaboration with the Austrian company GTN Solutions, has developed AIVA (AI Virtual Advisor) – the first AI advisor with pedagogically grounded functionalities that can be used within Moodle at almost all universities in Croatia and beyond.
04.03.2026, 08:59
FOI welcomes 30 international students from four countries
At the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, the Welcome Week – an orientation week for new incoming students – was held from 24 to 26 February 2026, officially marking the beginning of their academic stay in Varaždin. In the summer semester of the 2025/2026 academic year, 30 international students arrived at FOI, representing a record number of incoming exchange students. The students come from France (ESIEA and Epitech), Slovakia (University of Žilina), Germany (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), and the Republic of South Africa (University of Pretoria).
02.03.2026, 14:58
A course that enables FOI students to virtually travel across Asia, Africa, America, and Europe during the semester
During the winter semester 2025/26, students of Economics of Entrepreneurship study program virtually “traveled” and “visited” universities in Asia, America, and Europe, learning about different cultures and various approaches to human resource management in different cultures. The course Strategy of the human resource management is leaded by Full Prof. Marina Klačmer Čalopa, Ph.D., Full Prof. Violeta Vidaček Hainš, Ph.D. and assistant Karolina Kokot, Ph.D.
02.03.2026, 09:15
FOI staff education and empowerment cycle ahead of the new semester completed
The Faculty of Organization and Informatics has successfully completed another cycle of training sessions and workshops for its staff, held during February 2026. The program covered a wide range of topics – from security policy and project management to the application of artificial intelligence, pedagogical approaches and mental health, as well as ethics in science and entrepreneurship-related themes.
25.02.2026, 13:15
