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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
On Thursday, 19 February 2026, the project Algorithmic entrepreneurial process: reshaping the dominant paradigm – AGENT officially started at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics. The project is an research project (UIP-2025-02-7375) approved for funding by the Croatian Science Foundation.
The FOI International Relations Office is organizing Welcome Week ahead of the start of the summer semester 2025/2026 for incoming international students who will spend the upcoming months at FOI. The programme will take place from 24 to 26 February 2026.
The 37th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems – CECIIS 2026 will be held from September 16 to 18, 2026, in Varaždin, Croatia. We invite you to participate in the conference by submitting scientific papers and promoting the conference among your professional contacts!
On Tuesday, 10 February 2026, the electoral assembly of the Association of Graduates, Associates and Friends of the Faculty of Organization and Informatics AMAC-FOI was held at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin. Members of the Association with voting rights attended the assembly and elected the new leadership for the upcoming term of office.