Gender Equality Plan (GEP)

The University of Rijeka is the first university in the Republic of Croatia to adopt an institutional Gender Equality Plan. This strategic-action document ensures mechanisms for achieving an institutional culture of gender equality and diversity. It integrates gender perspectives into study programs and transfers knowledge about gender equality to the community to improve the quality of life and work at the University and to empower gender equality in career development, in scientific and artistic research.

The Gender Equality Plan of the University of Rijeka for 2021–2025 aims to profile the university as a place of equal opportunities. This place values diversity and inclusivity, and is safe, with zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, and any form of inequality. The Plan’s measures apply to all scientific-artistic teaching and other components of the University of Rijeka. The implementation of activities to achieve the goals of the Plan, in addition to the central university level, is also to carry out and monitor individually at the components of the University of Rijeka within the work of the University Council for Gender Equality and other competent bodies.

The document was prepared as part of the project Supporting and Implementing Plans for Gender Equality in Academia and Research (SPEAR), funded by the Horizon 2020 program.

For more information about the SPEAR project, read HERE.

Gender Equality Council

At its session in July 2021, the Senate of the University of Rijeka began activities under the Plan and established the University Gender Equality Council as a university representative body. The purpose of the Council is to institutionally monitor and contribute to gender equality at the University of Rijeka and in the broader community.

The Senate also adopted a Statement on the use of gender-sensitive language, supporting the use of non-discriminatory and inclusive language in all written documents and written and oral communication at the University. Additionally, it adopted a Recommendation for improving gender balance in appointments to ensure diversity of perspectives, talents, and skills, and consequently, to increase the quality of management, decision-making, and results. Furthermore, it made a Decision on collecting, recording, and processing data separated by gender, which will serve as a valid empirical basis for institutional analysis and implementation of the Gender Equality Plan, reporting, and drafting gender-aware policies.

In July 2022, the Council for Gender Equality adopted Guidelines for gender-inclusive communication: The use of gender-sensitive language at the University of Rijeka. The purpose is to present the basic determinants of gender-sensitive and/or gender-neutral communication and to encourage the University of Rijeka community to find new appropriate communication solutions.

At the proposal of the Council for Gender Equality, the Senate of the University of Rijeka adopted the Rules for awarding prizes and recognition for the development and promotion of gender equality at the University of Rijeka in January 2023, with amendments in December of the same year (revised text as of January 8, 2024). Based on the Rules, annual prizes and recognition are awarded to staff and students (individuals or groups) and components of the University of Rijeka (faculties, academies, departments, centers, library, etc.) and the Student Council of the University of Rijeka, or student councils of the University’s components, who have contributed to the implementation of plans for further improvement of gender equality at the University of Rijeka and contributing to the improvement of gender equality at the University and/or in society by conducting a specific project or initiative and/or through active gender-aware and inclusive action.

Awards and Recognition for Promoting Gender Equality in 2024

CALL for the awarding prizes and recognition for the development and promotion of gender equality at the University of Rijeka for the calendar year 2024.

Access the online application form HERE with your UniRi login credentials.

Forms for download:

• Europass CV
• Statement of accuracy of data
• Consent for application and use of personal data

The deadline for submitting proposals is March 5, 2025.

Awards and Recognition for Promoting Gender Equality in 2023

CALL for the awarding of prizes and recognition for the development and promotion of gender equality at the University of Rijeka for the calendar year 2023.

Access the online application form HERE with your UniRi login credentials.

Forms for download:

• Europass CV
• Statement of accuracy of data
• Consent for application and use of personal data

The deadline for submitting proposals is February 24, 2024.

Awards and Recognition for Promoting Gender Equality in 2022

CALL for the awarding of prizes and recognition for the development and promotion of gender equality at the University of Rijeka for the calendar year 2022.

Access the online application form HERE with your UniRi login credentials.

Forms for download:

• Europass CV
• Statement of accuracy of data
• Consent for application and use of personal data

The deadline for application is March 26, 2023.

Harassment, especially sexual harassment in any form, is contrary to the fundamental values on which the University of Rijeka is based and must not be tolerated or left unchecked. In its acts, including the Code of Ethics dating back to 2003, the University of Rijeka has unequivocally rejected and condemned all forms of sexual harassment and established ethical and disciplinary institutional procedures.

In the continuation, we highlight some of the recent initiatives and activities undertaken to make the University of Rijeka a “safe place,” which we designate as a responsible public space that does not tolerate sexual harassment, prevents it, and promptly takes appropriate measures to provide help, support, and investigate reports of sexual harassment.

In January 2021, a university group of experts and students was established at the University, which developed Guidelines for preventing and acting in cases of sexual harassment at the University of Rijeka. The document was created to facilitate the recognition of sexual harassment and appropriate action for everyone at the University, particularly in terms of reporting sexual harassment, receiving and providing necessary psychological and other institutional support, and taking more effective action in preventing sexual harassment and protecting its victims.

In March 2021, the University’s Council of Honor issued a Statement highlighting the provisions of the Code of Ethics on sexual harassment and called on the components of the University of Rijeka to inform and continuously educate their students, employees, and members of their bodies about the unacceptability of violence and the importance of respecting personal integrity, to provide available support to victims of harassment, inform them about their rights and potentials, and finally, to invest in building internal resources and collaborations with competent bodies to ensure the highest level of capacity to combat these harmful behaviors.

After that, on March 30, 2021, the Senate of the University of Rijeka adopted a Policy statement on the prevention of and the protection against sexual harassment, condemning all forms of sexual harassment and supporting the components of the University of Rijeka in implementing measures and activities aimed at preventing and suppressing sexual harassment.

In May 2021, the University Senate adopted the Gender Equality Plan of the University of Rijeka for 2021–2025, which explicitly includes measures aimed at preventing and combating sexual harassment. As the first Croatian university to adopt an institutional Gender Equality Plan, the University of Rijeka aims to profile itself as a place of equal opportunities, a place that values diversity and inclusivity, and is safe with zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, and any form of inequality.

Recognizing the need for cooperation between public and civil action, the University of Rijeka collaborates with specialized non-governmental organizations, particularly the SOS Rijeka – Center for Non-Violence and Human Rights, in the domain of sexual harassment.

The University pays special attention to prevention activities through science and art, open speech, and dialogue. For example:

• In November 2020, an online panel on sexual harassment in the academic community was organized by the Office of the Student Ombudsman of the University of Rijeka, attended by over 110 students and members of the academic community from across Croatia.
• In March 2021, a debate titled “Liberated Word: On Sexual Harassment and the Wall of Silence” was organized by the Student Council of the Academy of Applied Arts, the Center for Women’s Studies of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Center for Advanced Studies of Southeastern Europe of the University of Rijeka.
• In March 2021, the Student Cultural Center of the University organized an art exhibition “Artistic Impulses of Resistance to Violence” as a reaction to published stories of women who experienced violence in public spaces, which were published on the portal Bitna.si. Funds collected from the exhibition were donated to the SOS Rijeka – Center for Non-Violence and Human Rights.
• As part of the Croatian Science Foundation project IP-CORONA-04-2086 “Life in the time of COVID-19 – Social implications on the security and well-being of vulnerable groups in the European context” at the Faculty of Law in Rijeka, a lifelong learning program “Law in the Community” was launched to strengthen the protection of the rights of vulnerable citizens and improve their social inclusion conditions.
• In June 2021, as part of the SPEAR project, an online event “Discussion on the Implementation of the University of Rijeka Gender Equality Plan” was organized, attended by the representatives of stakeholders at the national, regional, and local levels, civil sector, and the University of Rijeka, as well as representatives of foreign universities, partners in the project.

The Ombudswoman for Gender Equality has recognized the University of Rijeka as an example of good practice in addressing the problem of sexual harassment in higher education.

Following these activities and initiatives, the University of Rijeka will continue to contribute to achieving equal opportunities, promoting diversity, and increasing inclusive practices for the benefit of the university community and society as a whole.

From the Sorbonne Declaration (1998), through the Prague (2001), Berlin (2003), Bergen (2005), London (2007), Leuven (2009) Communiqué, the Budapest-Vienna Declaration (2010), the Bucharest (2012) Communiqué, to the Yerevan (2015) Communiqué, the importance of the social dimension in higher education is emphasized. This stems from the understanding of higher education as a public good that should be accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Plan of Measures for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education for 2023–2025

The Plan of Measures is based on the European document Principles and Guidelines to Strengthen the Social Dimension in Higher Education in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), adopted as part of the Rome Communiqué in 2020. It is based on guidelines from the Report on the Implementation of the National Plan for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the Republic of Croatia 2019–2021, the Eurydice report Towards Justice and Inclusion in European Higher Education from 2022, the National Plan for the Development of the Education System until 2027, and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Plan for the Development of the Education System until 2024, adopted in accordance with the Government’s decision in March 2023 (NN 33/2023).

New Version of the Document on Underrepresented and Vulnerable Groups in Higher Education in the Republic of Croatia (October 2024) The National Group for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education has published a new version of the document on Underrepresented and Vulnerable Groups in Higher Education in the Republic of Croatia as part of the implementation of the Plan of Measures for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education for 2023–2025. The new version of the document, compared to the original published in 2016, introduces two additional vulnerable groups of students: students with additional family obligations, i.e., those from single-parent families or families without parents, and provides new data on the other 17 groups of students. The list serves as a basis for implementation of various measures to improve the social dimension of higher education both at the national level and at the level of higher education institutions.

National Plan for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the Republic of Croatia 2019–2021

The plan is grounded in the European strategic context, where national higher education policies are developed. In recent Croatian strategic documents, accessibility, affordability, and inclusiveness of higher education have emerged as key strategic features. These elements are fully articulated in the first comprehensive national education strategy, known as the Strategy of Education, Science, and Technology (NN 124/14). Among the main strategic goals of the Strategy related to higher education, it is stated that “accessibility of higher education to all according to personal abilities” is a priority, while “inclusion of underrepresented groups in the higher education system is one of the priorities of Croatian education development.” In line with the Strategy of Education, Science, and Technology (NN 124/14), the National Group for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education has drafted the National Plan for Improving the Social Dimension of Higher Education in Croatia, i.e., a proposal for specific goals, sub-goals, and activities to be implemented primarily by institutions and bodies in higher education, as well as other relevant stakeholders in the education system. Additionally, the National Plan proposes measurable indicators for monitoring the achievement of strategic goals and sub-goals.

Various forms of support and assistance to students and employees of the University of Rijeka are provided by the University Counseling Center (Croatian abbr. SSC). The SSC is a part of the University of Rijeka, and its services are free for users. Within the SSC, the Psychological Counseling Service, the Academic Adaptation Counseling Service, and the Career Development and Professional Guidance Counseling Service operate.

Psychological Counseling Service

Studying, like any other period of life, brings a series of challenges and problems. Some we overcome more easily, either alone or with the support of family and friends, while others significantly disrupt our daily life and require professional help.

The Psychological Counseling Service of the University Counseling Center provides professional psychological assistance and support to students and other members of the University of Rijeka community to improve the quality of life and increase the effectiveness of studying.

Find more information on the SSC’s website: https://ssc.uniri.hr/savjetovanje-i-podrska/za-studente/psiholosko-savjetovanje

Academic Adaptation Counseling Service

The availability of education at all levels under equal conditions without discrimination on any basis, including disability, is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. To ensure that all students have conditions for qualitative and equally accessible education, the University of Rijeka has established the Academic Adaptation Counseling Service within the University Counseling Center, formerly the Office for Persons with Disabilities.

The Office is intended for all students who, due to illness, injury, or disorder, have permanent, occasional, or temporary difficulties in achieving daily academic activities. The Office provides information, direct assistance, and support in addressing the specific needs of students. It also provides teachers with information on how to adapt the academic environment to the needs of students with disabilities and other difficulties.

Find more information on the SSC’s website: https://ssc.uniri.hr/savjetovanje-i-podrska/za-studente/studiranje-uz-podrsku

Career Development and Professional Guidance Counseling Service

The Career Development and Professional Guidance Counseling Service of the University Counseling Center provides professional support to students of the University of Rijeka with the aim of promoting the development of career management skills and entrepreneurial competencies, increasing the employability and competitiveness of students in the labor market, and connecting students with potential employers.

Find more information on the SSC website: https://ssc.uniri.hr/savjetovanje-i-podrska/za-studente/upravljanje-karijerom/karijerno-savjetovanje