The Memorandum establishes a framework for academic and research cooperation between the three faculties, with a particular focus on:
- the development of joint research projects and academic programs;
- the exchange of students, researchers, and teaching staff;
- joint conferences, seminars, workshops, and other academic activities;
- joint publications of scientific results;
- the exchange of educational materials, scientific, and technological information;
- the organization of the annual Organizational Science Day event, which will be hosted each year by one of the signatories.
This agreement is particularly significant in the context of the conference’s current theme, which this year focused on the challenges of the longevity society. Changes in demographic structure, as well as economic and social development, require adaptations within organizations and an understanding of the need for intergenerational cooperation and technological connectivity regardless of age. The conference also emphasized the importance of collaboration between academia and industry, fostering the creation of new knowledge applicable in both science and practice, and adapting organizations to changes in the external environment and labor market.
For the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, this agreement represents a continuation of its long-standing tradition in the development and institutionalization of organizational sciences. Since its establishment in 1974 on the foundations of the Higher School of Economics, its formal integration into the University of Zagreb in 1975, and its systematic promotion of organizational and information sciences as an interdisciplinary field, FOI has achieved significant results over the decades in education, research, and international cooperation. This Memorandum further strengthens its collaboration with regional faculties, reinforcing the position of organizational sciences in both academic and applied contexts.
Below is a continuation of the text on the positioning of organizational sciences at FOI, from its founding to the 2000s, prepared by Prof. Emeritus Vjeran Strahonja:
The Faculty of Organization and Informatics was established in 1974 on the foundations of the Higher School of Economics. A year later, it became a constituent of the University of Zagreb. This required meeting several conditions, including defining a scientific discipline in which FOI would operate that was not already covered by other University of Zagreb units. Organizational and information sciences were selected, although at that time they were not formally recognized in Croatia’s classification of sciences.
In 1983, the Association of Universities of the Socialist Republic of Croatia established a distinct scientific field of Information Sciences within the social sciences and humanities, as a result of systematic efforts by FOI faculty members and a broader group of stakeholders.
Since organizational sciences were not included in the list of scientific fields, initiatives to recognize them as a distinct discipline have continued for more than fifty years.
Below is a brief overview of the development of the idea of organizational sciences as a distinct scientific discipline at FOI and its thematic diversification:
1. Early Development (1960–1974)
At the Higher School of Economics, the predecessor of FOI, organization was treated as an applied economic discipline, with a strong focus on business organization and management economics, particularly within the framework of self-management socialism. There was a clear connection to industry and practical organizational challenges, including work organization, planning, and production management.
2. Recognition and Institutionalization of Organizational Sciences (from the 1970s onward)
Following the formal establishment of the faculty in 1974, several attempts were made to define organization as a scientific field. Notable contributions came from professors Miroslav Žugaj, Slavko Kapustić, and Dušan Radošević. Through research in areas such as organizational science, structure, design, culture, and the relationship between organization and informatics, FOI became one of the leading centers in the former Yugoslavia for the development of organizational and information sciences as an interconnected field.
At the time, there was a strong initiative to recognize organizational sciences as an interdisciplinary field, with FOI playing an active role. The “Aleksandar Đurašević” Memorial conferences were particularly influential in shaping the field.
Academically, collaboration among related faculties—FOI (Zagreb), FON (Belgrade), and FOV (Maribor)—was especially significant:
- In the 1970s and 1980s, meetings of students and faculty from higher education institutions in organizational sciences across Yugoslavia were held. The third meeting took place in Varaždin on November 14–15, 1980.
- The international SYM-OP-IS conference, held since 1974 and organized primarily by FON, brought together research groups in operations research.
- FOI researchers regularly participate in the International Conference on the Development of Organizational Sciences, organized by FOV in Portorož, which is being held for the 45th time in 2026.
- Other forms of cooperation today include academic visits, study stays, summer schools, student exchanges, and joint research projects.
A formal attempt to define fields and branches within organizational sciences was last made in 2004, when an expert committee at FOI drafted a proposal. An initiative was submitted to the Ministry of Science and Sports and the University of Zagreb’s Science Committee, but it was not adopted.
As a compromise, the branch “Organization and Informatics” was introduced within the field of Information Sciences, following the efforts of another committee formed in 2005.
3. Integration with Information Sciences and Thematic Diversification (from the 1980s to the 2000s)
In addition to fostering organization as a distinct discipline, FOI is recognized for integrating organization and informatics in research, teaching, and professional practice. Organizational topics are embedded in IT study programs and research, while organizational theory and practice are linked with other domains:
- Organization as a system – A systems approach is reflected in research and teaching; Kapustić’s 1984 textbook follows this perspective, integrating information systems into organizational design.
- Organization and information systems – Development of information systems is based on organizational structure, needs, and goals; changes in one require changes in the other. Research includes system modeling, business processes, informatization, and automation.
- Work organization, production, and industrial engineering – Present since FOI’s early years, with an interdisciplinary perspective connecting organization, industrial engineering, and production systems.
- Organization, governance, and management – Focus on modern management methods and corporate governance.
- Quantitative methods, operations research, and decision theory – Includes multi-criteria decision-making and operations research in organizational contexts.
- Organization, marketing, and communication – Examines marketing and communication dimensions and stakeholder relationships.
This diversification remains visible today, with new contributors.
In conclusion, organizational science at FOI developed as an open, interdisciplinary field with strong practical application. Institutionally, the establishment of the Department of Organization in 1994 was significant, although organizational topics are researched across multiple departments.
The recent Regulation on Scientific and Interdisciplinary Areas, Fields, and Branches places branches of organizational sciences across several scientific domains. At FOI, continuity in research and teaching on organization is maintained within:
- Field 5.04 Information Sciences, branch 5.04.06 Organization and Informatics;
- Field 5.01 Economics, branch 5.01.04 Organization and Management.
*Photo source: www.fov.um.si/
