From 17 to 22 October 2025, the professors from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics — Assoc. Prof. Robert Kudelić, PhD, and Assist. Prof. Tamara Šmaguc, PhD — visited Nord University in Bodø, Norway. Their stay at the Nord University Business School was carried out within the framework of the Erasmus+ staff mobility for training, hosted by Prof. Bjørn Willy Åmo, PhD.
During their stay at the Nord University Business School, numerous meetings were held with professors from various departments and members of research groups engaged in the fields of entrepreneurship, small business, as well as technology and innovation. As part of the scientific and project activities, knowledge and experiences were exchanged with members of MONITORA 2024, a research group that, through a “social audit” approach, conducts systematic evaluation and monitoring of the Bodø2024 ECoC (European Capital of Culture) project. Valuable insights were also gained through familiarization with the Arctic Business Index — an international project focused on raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges of sustainable economic development across 22 regions in 8 Arctic countries.
As part of the training in the area of student engagement, the professors visited Engage (Centre for Engaged Education through Entrepreneurship), a center for excellence in education. Discussions were held on methods for developing entrepreneurial skills among students from various study profiles, providing support in teamwork, idea development, and implementation of entrepreneurial activities, as well as approaches to fostering cooperation between students and the business sector. The most engaging topics included the challenges of developing entrepreneurial skills among non-business students, the roles and responsibilities of professors acting as mentors in student-led entrepreneurial ventures, and connecting students from different universities and faculties to create synergies from complementary knowledge in the realization of entrepreneurial ideas.
An interesting experience at Nord University also included attending a doctoral workshop, where FOI professors, together with other faculty members and students, had the opportunity to discuss doctoral research proposals and provide guidance to students regarding research questions, theoretical frameworks, and doctoral research methods.
