Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Poverty as a lack of means to meet basic life needs and ensure existence, unavailability, or limited opportunity for education, homelessness, poor and inadequate housing conditions, represents a state of deprivation of income and other material, social and cultural resources, and affects overall health, employment, learning, and respect.

Students of the University of Rijeka have the opportunity to apply for a national scholarship for students of a weaker socioeconomic status, for a scholarship and financial aid of the University of Rijeka from the “Solidarity” program of the “Aleksandar Abramov” Fund, a scholarship for the excellence of the University of Rijeka, a scholarship for students residing in the Rijeka region who are being educated for deficit occupations, a scholarship of the City of Rijeka, which is awarded according to social criteria, and a scholarship for students from earthquake-affected areas. The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management got involved in helping its students after the earthquake in Petrinja and the surrounding areas, and in the campaign organized during 2021, 6 new and 2 used laptops were collected and given to the students. At the Department of Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Rijeka, the course Criticism, Emancipation, Utopia introduces students to the problems of uneven distribution of wealth in societies and historically offered solutions, and offers scientifically-researched and critically based valorization of economic-political and socio-cultural effects of uneven distribution of produced wealth. This lays the foundations for understanding the problem of poverty, opens a discussion on its eradication, and enables further study of the topic.

In 2021, at the Faculty of Economics and Business, the Torpedo Student Entrepreneurship Incubator started operating as an interesting and innovative way of contributing to the achievement of the global goal of sustainable development related to poverty reduction.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Rijeka issued a public call for students of the University of Rijeka of lower socioeconomic status to express their interest in using a tablet and the corresponding Internet cable free of charge, to enable unhindered access to online classes. Based on the expression of interest, students were allowed to continue using the tablets during the academic years 2020/2021, 2021/2022, and 2022/2023. All students and employees were given free internet access via their Eduroam account.

In cooperation with the Primorje-Gorski kotar County and the local association “Center for Dialogue Culture – CeKaDe, the University of Rijeka participates in the creation of policies and actions to end poverty, especially for children aged 6 to 16 (https://www.pgz.hr/objave/moje-mjesto-podsuncem/). For the “My Place under the Sun project”, the University of Rijeka provided a space where the activities of the program take place, and where children who live below the poverty line primarily spend their time. The Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka participates in the project by encouraging the affinity of students and teachers towards various forms and contents of the fight against poverty and social exclusion, involving students in the MMPS Program through volunteering, and in the exchange of experiences and the transfer of knowledge and information by organizing round tables, conferences, lectures, workshops, an exhibition of works by children, students, and teachers, as well as similar activities.

The University of Rijeka is aware that hunger, closely related to poverty and destitution, has accompanied human growth and development of technology throughout history, is dependent on weather conditions, natural disasters, and climate change, and is a companion of wars and unstable political and economic situations. Therefore, through socially responsible business and dialogue with the wider community, the University of Rijeka, with its study programs, which in a significant part include education for sustainable development, indirectly contributes to the achievement of the second goal of sustainable development, which strives to eradicate hunger, by raising the level of awareness of the need to increase food security and improve nutrition and promotes a sustainable economy.

The University of Rijeka encourages its students and employees to get involved in volunteer work and other activities of various humanitarian organizations that implement various health and social programs and provide assistance to the neediest in the event of disasters (e.g. the Croatian Red Cross, social supermarkets, soup kitchens, and other charities) and supports the work of the UNIRI Volunteer Network.

The Faculty of Engineering in Rijeka participates in the steering committee of the COST action “European network for ensuring food integrity using non-destructive spectral sensors” (SENSORFINT). Through the study program Management of Sustainable Development as well as through the course Food and Nutrition, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management (FMTU) strives to raise awareness of the importance of proper nutrition and a sustainable economy. For this purpose, an online course on proper nutrition for young people was organized. Likewise, through the AdriAquaNet project, where FMTU is one of the partners, we want to encourage the further development of mariculture in Italy and Croatia, following the principles of sustainability. Among other things, the project includes promotional activities, all with the aim of better-informing consumers, the general population, as well as the business market about sustainable Adriatic mariculture and changing beliefs and attitudes about farmed fish.

In all segments and business processes, the University of Rijeka applies the provisions of the current legislative framework, including the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette 110/07) and the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 30/2009), thus contributing to one of the 8 defined key areas of sustainable development that represent strategic development directions of the Republic of Croatia, i.e. strengthening of public health.

In addition to the education of students as future healthcare workers, the University of Rijeka has contributed to ensuring a healthy life and promoting a healthy lifestyle, medical achievements, and well-being for people of all generations, in cooperation with the Education Institute for Public Health of the Primorje-Gorski kotar County, Student Council of the University of Rijeka and the Student Center Rijeka. Their cooperation resulted in the establishment of the COVID-19 Info-center, with a total of 6 telephones, i.e. 6 working units on the premises of the Student Center, offering a rapid antigen test point (BAT) at UNIRI Campus (Café Bar “Akvarij”, ground floor, Radmile Matejčić 3, Rijeka). Through its activities, the UNIRI Student Council encouraged the involvement of students in carrying out the work of COVID-19 testing and set up a portal for applying for COVID-19 inoculation. The Student Council also continuously, in cooperation with the Croatian Red Cross, organizes voluntary blood donations at UNIRI Campus.

All University of Rijeka students have access to the health services of competent doctors of school medicine. In cooperation with the Education Institute for Public Health of the Primorje-Gorski kotar County, the doctors offer their services at the Student Infirmary on Campus (kampus.zdravlje@zzjzpgz.hr), which include regular health check-ups for first-year students, check-ups before the admission to the student dormitory, teamwork with students with disabilities related to the PE course, counseling work and vaccinations. In cooperation with the Education Institute for Public Health of the Primorje-Gorski kotar County, in 2021, all UNIRI students and employees were allowed to get their COVID-19 vaccine at the Student Infirmary on Campus. Furthermore, all employees of the University of Rijeka are provided with regular health check-ups, and at all UNIRI constituents, smoking is prohibited.

The Faculty of Medicine (MEDRI) stands out for its cooperation with a large number of health institutions (hospitals, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Education Institute for Public Health), which are also UNIRI teaching bases, and achieves long-term cooperation with renowned private sector companies. Medri also cooperates with JGL (Jadran-galenski laboratorij) on the development of the new antiviral product “Rino-spray and the development of a new application solution for SARS-CoV-2”. What is more, there is also a strong cooperation with the biopharmaceutical company “Omnix Medical Ltd.” on the production of antibodies and the antigenicity products test, based on the project “RAIL: disrupting the monoclonal antibodies manufacturing paradigm with ionic liquids” within the scope of Horizon Europe (Pathfinder Open). Long-term cooperation was also achieved with “Fidelta” in the field of preclinical phases of drug development.

The University of Rijeka’s Speech and Language Pathology study program, the Speech and Language Pathology study program at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies in Mostar, and the Croatian Speech Therapy Association marked Stuttering Awareness Day in Croatia by holding a symposium on the topic “Express the change you want”. The UNIRI Faculty of Engineering collaborates on competitive projects and through networking and mobility programs (improving health standards) with numerous health institutions in the Republic of Croatia and abroad: Development of intelligent systems for the prediction of the medical and economic effect of COVID-19, Development of procedures based on machine learning for recognition of diseases and injuries from medical images, Machine Learning for Knowledge Transfer in Medical Radiology – RadiologyNET.

From January to April 2021, the Department of Social Medicine and Epidemiology of the Faculty of Medicine conducted a series of workshops to improve and promote health on the topics “How do I deal with a chronic disease during a pandemic?”, “Values in my life” and “Virtual world and possible IT support”. The research was also carried out in the community and focused on the quality of life of the elderly, for whom exercises were organized during October by the Faculty of Medicine. The CroMSIC Association (Croatian Medical Students’ International Committee) is a non-governmental and non-profit association of medical students in the Republic of Croatia. Since 1992, it has been one of the 130 full members of IFMSA, the International Federation of Medical Student Associations, which has over a million members worldwide. The goals of the Association are the promotion of humane ideas, ethical principles, and human rights, as well as contribution to the education of medical students, popularization of all forms of health education and education of the wider population, additional education of medical students through international exchange of medical students, and the performance of other permitted activities necessary to achieve the goals of the Association, in primarily in the field of human health care.

The Faculty of Civil Engineering stands out by encouraging and informing employees and students to lead a healthy life (GRADRI lives healthy), and employees continuously participate in B2B Run races and other races organized by University of Rijeka constituents, encouraging changes and fostering activities and habits that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management contributes to ensuring and promoting a healthy lifestyle through numerous humanitarian actions. On October 20, 2021, at FMTU Opatija, the 7^th consecutive humanitarian action of voluntary blood donation was held, organized by the Department of Transfusion Medicine of the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Red Cross Opatija, and the Faculty. Most of the students and teachers are multiple blood donors, and there were also new donors. FMTU will continue to carry out such and similar actions of a humanitarian nature in the future. The action “Solidarity in Action 2021 – Don’t think, give for the other!” was also held, and organized by the Croatian Red Cross. The campaign collected funds intended for the Social Self-Service of the Red Cross Directorate of Opatija.

In 2021, the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies participated as a partner in the H2020 MESOC project, which aims to create an Internet service (MESOC Toolkit) for assessing the social value and impact of cultural policies on personal well-being and health, inclusion, and participation of citizens, urban identity and social cohesion. Additionally, the goal is to propose a (framework) set of statistical data sources that will supplement the existing measures of social value and cultural influences by adding their effects on the mentioned areas. The Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies is the head of the RAASS project (funded by the Croatian Science Foundation), which aims, with the help of AI, to analyze and monitor the activities and techniques of athletes, especially amateurs, children, and recreational athletes, so that the performance is correct, to spot irregularities and suggest corrections for correct performance of exercises and reduced potential injuries. The result of the project is a model for distinguishing individual actions and activities and a metric for comparing the performance of the action with the reference performance of the action. The developed prototype will be used to develop a system that will enable athletes, coaches, physiotherapists, and others to monitor exercise performance, improve performance, monitor progress, collect statistical data for sports event analysis, and the like. Employees of the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies participate in the COST project Multi3Generation: Multi-task, Multilingual, Multi-modal Language Generation, which encourages an interdisciplinary network of research groups working on different aspects of language creation, and language generation technologies are widely used by public and private services which are offered to EU citizens in a multilingual Europe and have a strong economic and social impact and in the project Managing MASS Casualty through an artificial intelligence-based system (MASSAI), which aims to design a decision support framework for healthcare personnel to manage mass casualty situations at assembly points by implementing emergency ultrasound in disaster injury assessment and computer-aided tools for mobile devices. The proposed decision support framework can be used in disasters caused by terrorism as well as natural disasters, especially in countries with a high risk of earthquakes.

Employees of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are preparing a monograph on the topic of (post)pandemic education under the title “Towards post-pandemic education: how to strengthen the education system?”, while the Academy of Applied Arts is contributing to the achievement of this goal by participating in a project by organizing an international regatta, gathering and a workshop for deaf and hard-of-hearing people entitled “The sea is available to everyone”, along with the installation of the exhibition “Singing over the bones” in the Kortil Gallery, with the publication of the author’s comic “It comes in waves” about burnout syndrome, about the ups and downs of an intensely lived day, and questioning the way a seemingly ordinary problem can be solved by printing the manual “Non-toxic graphics: green printmaking” which contributes to the awareness of toxicity when creating artistic graphics and improves the situation by introducing non-toxic procedures in future work with students and by participating in the “Hidden/Invisible” project, which aims to raise awareness the role of art and the fine/artistic expressions in the preservation of mental health.

The University of Rijeka also put great emphasis on lifelong learning and provides access to informal forms of education through various programs that are offered to all university constituencies and their employees. University of the Third Age offers informal forms of education to the people of the third age enables them to acquire new knowledge and combine the acquired knowledge with personal life experience. In 2021, University of the Third Age conducted 4 different lecture cycles with over 40 hours of lectures. In order to offer various events to as many people and to the local community, the program, which takes place in the Moise Palace, is free and open to the general public and covers various topics, from history and local historiography to topics from the natural and social spheres. Faculties of the University of Rijeka also conduct numerous programs of lifelong learning and training: a training for acquiring practical knowledge and skills for working in the Opera PMS system was held at FMTU (February 23-25, 2021), the Career and Professional Practice Center of FMTU organized a total of 10 workshops and lectures from October to December 2021, intended for students, staff and alumni of the faculty. The workshops covered the following topics: critical reflection, continuous development of skills needed to enter the labor market, entrepreneurial skills. Access and services are available to all citizens at the University , which implemented a regular program of lifelong learning and information systems for researchers in 2021. As part of SVKRI, the Center for Open Science and Scientific Information Management (COZ) was established as an earmarked organizational unit for conducting scientific and highly specialized work, which participated in the creation of the online course Research Data Management under the national RDA node. The Maritime Faculty of the University of Rijeka, as a partner of the ACTs project, offers the COLREGs e-course to provide and test the knowledge of the international rules for avoiding collisions at sea in a simple and user-friendly way with easy interpretation and easy-to-understand explanations.

The University of Rijeka is part of the YUFE alliance (Young Universities for the Future of Europe), an alliance that represents a new moment in the development of the European Higher Education Area, offering all students the opportunity to develop individual study paths according to their interests.

The University of Rijeka, understands its responsibility towards the local and regional community in which it operates and promotes and directs its activities towards the general public and assumes a responsible role in the promotion and development of quality education at all levels.

The University of Rijeka and its partners have developed a proposal for the curriculum of the subject “Civic Education” for secondary education, called “School and Community – ŠIZ”. The aim of the course is to educate young people for democratic civic participation in society, as major deficits have been identified in this area, especially among young people. Scientists from the Faculty of Medicine have spoken out through their public appearances in various media at the national and local level, and have put a lot of effort into educating the public, both about the specifics of the COVID -19 virus and the specific pandemic, and about the benefits of vaccination in general. As part of the international project “Teddy Bear Hospital”, students of the Faculty of Medicine have organized educational workshops for children, in which they try to bring children closer to the medical environment and reduce their discomfort and fear of doctors with games, fun and a lot of interactive content. medical examinations and therapies. The project “Cjepko zna – the most important thing about vaccination” aims to raise awareness and educate about the topic of vaccination. In addition, the promotion of the project was organized within the framework of the World Immunization Week on the Corse.

Within the framework of the university calls for proposals, through which the project CLASS1: Language Technologies and Digital Text Processing, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is developing a lifelong learning program that expands access to higher education for non-traditional students and facilitates vertical mobility by revising graduate and post-graduate enrollment policies and developing personalized learning pathways by applying the system of recognition of prior learning experiences (formal, informal, and non-formal) and the methodology of harmonization of acquired learning outcomes with the learning outcomes of the study program.

UNIRI promotes curiosity, inclusivity, diversity, participation and solidarity as necessary conditions for progressive and just institutions, along with the availability of education, ensuring equal opportunities for all, caring for vulnerable and underrepresented groups, promoting diversity, inclusivity and the dignity of every person, academic honesty and public accountability, which increase the authentic quality of research and educational work and contribute to fairness in society.
The University of Rijeka is the first university in the Republic of Croatia to adopt a Gender Equality Plan in 2021, implementing the guidelines of the Strategic Action Document adopted in 2020, which ensures mechanisms for achieving a culture of equality and diversity in the institution, integrating the gender perspective in the study programmes and sharing knowledge about gender equality with the community in order to improve the quality of life and work at the university, but also to strengthen gender equality in career development – in scientific and artistic research. With the Equality Plan, the University of Rijeka aims to distinguish itself as a place of equal opportunities, a place that respects diversity and inclusion and that is safe and shows zero tolerance towards discrimination, harassment and all forms of inequality. The document was prepared within the framework of the project “Supporting and Implementing Plans for Gender Equality in Academia and Research”, whose acronym is SPEAR (eng. Supporting and Implementing Plans for Gender Equality in Academia and Research), funded by the Horizon 2020 programme. By participating in this project, the University of Rijeka confirms its strategic commitment and duty as a responsible and socially sensitive public actor, creating a stimulating environment against any form of inequality in the academic community.

In July 2021, the Gender Equality Council of the University of Rijeka was established and held its first meeting. As part of the project, the Gender Equality Plan was presented at a European Commission training event attended by representatives of the University of Rijeka. At the request of the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, in December 2021 the Rectors’ Council of the Republic of Croatia appointed Associate Professor Ph.D. Dalida Rittossa from the Faculty of Law in Rijeka as the representative of the academic community in the working group for the preparation of the National Plan to Combat Violence and Sexual Harassment for the period 2022 to 2027; at the “FoodWave/Eating City International Platform 2020-2030: Cres Workshop” held on 23. October 2021 in Palača Moise, the representative of the University of Rijeka, Daria Glavan Šćulac, gave a presentation entitled “Inspiration in creating a policy framework for gender equity for food sector professionals in the EU”; members of the UNIRI team participated in conferences organised within the framework of three EU projects: CHAlleNging Gender (In)Equality in Science and Research – CHANGE, Leading Towards Sustainable Gender Equality Plans in Research Institutions – LeTSGEPs and Supporting and Implementing Plans for Gender Equality in Academia and Research – SPEAR.
In addition, UNIRI avoids the problem of simultaneous use of terms referring to the feminine and masculine genders in regulations, documents, decisions and other legal acts and public tenders it publishes by using words and terms in the masculine form and indicating that the masculine form applies equally to the masculine and feminine genders: “words and terms that have a gender-specific meaning refer equally to the feminine and masculine genders”.

In 2021, the Academy of Applied Arts made its contribution to gender equality by participating in the project “All Shades of Vulnerability – Movement, Sound, Image and Word in the Protection of the Rights of the Vulnerable” through the selection of artworks, the design of the exhibition and the publication of the catalogue. The Faculty of Economics continuously applies the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the Faculty of Economics, the latest amendments to which were adopted by resolution in 2018. Technically, it also applies the provisions of the Code of Ethics and collects and has data that can be used to prepare quantitative reports and monitor contributions to gender equality, in terms of measures of student access, measures of women’s progress – tracking the graduation rate of women.

Proud of Croatia’s results of using less than 1% of available drinking water, UNIRI is developing awareness and promoting a culture of water conservation with educational programs on water protection and conservation. It should be noted that running drinking water is available in all UNIRI facilities.

The Faculty of Medicine participates in three projects for the protection and conservation of the environment, including water, thus developing awareness and promoting a culture of environmental protection: adaptation to the new EU directive on bathing water quality, KLIMOD – Computer model of pollution, flooding and spreading of pollution in rivers and coastal sea areas – KK.05.1.1.02.0017 and characterization of health risks due to population exposure to traditional pollutants and new age pollutants for consumption of marine products.
As part of their activities, the members of the Eco-Committee of the Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality organized training sessions on the proper management of water and waste.

In all segments and business processes, UNIRI applies the provisions of the applicable legal framework, including the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette 80/13, 153/13, 78/15, 12/18, 118/18), the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 30 /09) and the Energy Efficiency Act (OG 127/14), contributing to one of the eight defined key areas of sustainable development, which are the strategic development directions of the Republic of Croatia – achieving energy independence and increasing the efficiency of energy use.
Through study programmes related to environmental protection and energy efficiency, UNIRI develops awareness and promotes technological progress, energy saving, use of renewable natural resources and increased energy efficiency. The Faculty of Engineering offers the programme CO “Education for Energy Certification of Buildings” and has a project for the renovation and upgrading of the northern building that would increase the energy efficiency of the building, and in 2021 it also implemented numerous commercial professional projects to increase energy efficiency and clean energy.
The Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka, after the creation of the main project for the solar power plant in 2021, carries out activities based on the signed contract with HEP – operator of the distribution network for the use of the grid for FNE – and installs a heat pump with associated equipment, making a significant contribution to the efficiency of energy use. In 2021, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rijeka carried out an energy renovation of the building, after which it is in energy class A, for which it received an energy certificate based on the report on the energy audit of the building after the energy renovation.

The Faculty of Economics at the University of Rijeka is a member of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education), a United Nations- supported initiative (UN) that acts as a platform for raising awareness of sustainability in business schools around the world and for promoting understanding and developing the skills of today’s business students to contribute to positive change in the future, as well as a partner in the project “Climate Governance: Implementing public policies to calculate and reduce the carbon footprint of business entities” (Climate Governance: Implementing public policies to calculate and reduce organisations carbon footprint) measures and calculates their carbon footprint and makes the data available to the public accordingly in their Carbon Footprint Report. Although it is called a carbon footprint, the footprint reported refers not only to CO2 emissions, but also to emissions of other greenhouse gases (GHG – Greenhouse Gas Emissions). The calculation of the carbon footprint allowed EFRI to learn about the structure of greenhouse gas emissions and has a direct impact on the selection of measures to reduce them, with the aim of mitigating climate change.
Through the course Energy Management in Tourism, the Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality promotes energy saving, the use of renewable natural resources and greater energy efficiency. As part of the ECO COMMITTEE website, students created a poster with tips on how to successfully conserve energy and water. FMTU also measures energy consumption and monitors CO2 emissions, and the report is posted on the faculty website.

In all segments and business processes, UNIRI applies the provisions of the legal framework described previously, additionally shaped by the Labor Code (Official Gazette 93/14, 127/17, 98/19), contributing to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and dignified work for all, as prescribed by the Labor Code.
The international organization defines decent work as productive work for women and men under conditions of freedom, equality, security and human dignity, meaning that it must be fairly paid, guarantee a secure form of employment and safe working conditions, provide equal opportunities and conditions for all, include social protection for workers and their families, provide opportunities for workers’ personal development and social integration, and allow workers to voice their concerns.
As early as 2003, with the adoption of the Code of Ethics (revised in 2018) and the Code of Ethics for Students in 2019, UNIRI established mechanisms and institutional procedures to ensure the enjoyment of guaranteed human rights and the conditions for the realization of the principles of equality and justice. UNIRI is a signatory to the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Employment of Researchers, which establishes non-discrimination as one of the general principles and requirements for employers; employers and/or funders of researchers must not discriminate in any way against researchers on the basis of gender, age, ethnic, national or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language, disability, political opinion, social or economic situation.

And this year, 2021, all components of UNIRI apply the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers (Official Gazette 46/22), according to which they have adopted their internal laws that allow for the effective protection of whistleblowers, which includes ensuring available and reliable ways to report irregularities.
In addition, all employees of the College of Rijeka are free to join a trade union or other organization. Most of the College’s employees are members of the Independent Trade Union for Research and Higher Education.
Through teaching programs on the above topics, UNIRI provides students, the active social actors of tomorrow, with knowledge about the state and development of the economy, which is defined by the availability of natural and industrial resources, human knowledge and the ability to use them, and organizational forms and social institutions that regulate and direct economic activities. FMTU maintains good cooperation with the business community and aims to provide students with information on the current state and development of the economy through guest lectures by entrepreneurs. In 2021, the faculty established the Business Council, which is composed of distinguished business people who contribute their knowledge and experience to development processes. From 10-12.11.2021. FMTU students participated in the traditional meeting of economists “Economic Policy of Croatia”, where the new age of economy and the challenges of the economy in the post-pandemic period were discussed.

Technology transfer is the process by which research results are transformed into new or improved products or services that are then commercialized. The fundamental goal of the Office for Technology Transfer at the University of Rijeka is to strengthen the link between the University and the business community, to promote research and professional work, and to support the protection and commercialization of the results of this work at all stages: from idea development to intellectual property protection and commercialization. The Office for Technology Transfer at the University of Rijeka was established in 2009 within the framework of the Technological Development Project (STP), financed with a loan from the World Bank and with the contractual participation of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

The Office for Technology Transfer assists scientists in the transfer of research and work results from the College to industry: educating scientists and students of the University about the importance of technology transfer and intellectual property, professional assessment (evaluation) of the commercial potential of research results, advice on the possibilities of intellectual property protection and methods of commercialization, search for partners for commercialization and sources of funding, and presentation and promotion of the results of scientific research and professional work to the scientific, professional and general public.

The Career Days and the UNIRI Job Fair were organized in collaboration with the UNIRI Careers Office and the UNIRI ALUMNI Association. The Faculty of Civil Engineering participated in the organization of the 6th AdriaTech Innovation Fair and the first Innovation Forum within the Innovation Fair. FMTU is investing in digitalization and new technologies. In 2021, a contract was signed with Microsoft and a new online platform DigitalHub@FMTU was developed to improve digital skills. This platform enables students and employees to acquire additional knowledge and skills in the application of digital technologies in business to increase personal competitiveness in the labor market. In order to promote innovation, FMTU has excellent cooperation with the business incubator HUBBAZIA Opatija – Center for Innovations in Tourism. FMTU is a partner in the project InCompEdu, which deals with innovative competences in higher education. The aim of the project is to develop and promote innovative digital competences of teachers that can be used in fully online and hybrid higher education, including the ability to use platforms for the delivery of online courses in higher education, with the aim of creating innovative curricula in higher education.
Staff from the Faculty of Computer Science and Digital Technologies are participating in the National Competence Centers in the Framework of EuroHPC (EuroCC) project, which aims to establish national competence centers for HPC and contribute to building the European HPC ecosystem in order to strengthen existing competencies in high performance computing (HPC) and develop new competencies. At the same time, it will create the conditions for a synergistic approach to policy development, funding and resource management in three areas: HPC, High Performance Data Analytics (HPDA) analysis of large data sets on HPC resources, and Artificial Intelligence (AI ) technology. In addition, members of the Faculty of Computer Science and Digital Technologies participate in the project Use of Modern Accelerators for Scientific Computation Offloading in Molecular Dynamics Simulations, funded by the company NVIDIA within the framework of the Program for Higher Education and Academic Research. This project explores new and unproven ways to use GPUs and other types of accelerators in computations in scientific software, with a focus on molecular dynamics simulations.

SDG10 is mainly focused on reducing income inequality (and the best results have been achieved in countries that achieve continuous economic growth), as well as on those inequalities based on gender, age, disability, race, class, ethnicity, religion, etc., both within and between countries.

Sustainable income growth, needed to reduce inequality and ensure shared prosperity, is inevitably accompanied by sustainable economic growth. Through teaching programs related to the aforementioned topics, the University of Rijeka provides students, future active social actors, with knowledge about the state and development of the economy, defined by the availability of natural and manufactured resources, human knowledge, and the ability to use them, as well as organizational forms and social institutions that regulate and direct economic activities.

Therefore, UNIRI acts following the provisions of the Code of Ethics, the Rulebook on the Disciplinary Responsibility of Teachers and Associates, which articulates the inadmissibility of any discriminatory treatment and harassment, the Rulebook on the Disciplinary Responsibility of Students, which articulates the inadmissibility of any discriminatory treatment, and the document of the National Group for the Improvement of the Social Dimension of Higher Education “Underrepresented and vulnerable groups in higher education in the Republic of Croatia” and through the University Counseling Center, which includes the Psychological Counseling Office, the Office for Students with Disabilities and the Career Office, provides various forms of free support and assistance to students and employees of the University of Rijeka. The University Library Rijeka strives to meet the needs of particularly sensitive groups of students. To reduce inequality, in cooperation with the Office for Students with Disabilities of the University of Rijeka, it participates in the project “Adaptation of literature for blind and partially sighted persons”, carried out by the “Zamisli” association in partnership with the University of Rijeka, with the financial support of the Ministry of Science and Education.

Every year, the University of Rijeka issues a tender for the award of scholarships/financial assistance from the “Solidarity” program of the “Aleksandar Abramov” Fund. Scholarships/financial assistance are intended for full-time and part-time students of lower socioeconomic status. Students of the University of Rijeka and its constituents are entitled to apply for the tender. Also, every year, students of lower socioeconomic status are granted additional subsidies for accommodation in the Trsat Student Dormitory, to facilitate access to higher education for these vulnerable groups.

To reduce inequality, the Student Mentor project is implemented at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management. The Student Council launched this peer support initiative to help first-year students to adapt to new life circumstances. The student-mentor is expected to advise students, help them in their studies, familiarize them with the work and organization of the respective faculty, and guide them in the activities and opportunities that their faculty provides. In 2021, 100 student-mentors (in higher years of study) participated in the project, and were distributed among a total of 221 full-time and part-time first-year students. FMTU also helps the Children’s Home in Lovran. For every completed student survey on satisfaction with the quality of teaching (survey conducted at the level of all UNIRI constituents), FMTU donates 0.50 HRK to the Children’s Home. Furthermore, the Faculty joined the action of collecting and selling used books organized by the Lions Club Opatija. The Faculty donated its books, and the sale of all collected books took place at Korzo Street in Rijeka from November 8 to November 20, 2021. The books were sold at the popular price of only 15,00 HRK, and all proceeds were donated to the Department of Oncology of the Kantrida Children’s Hospital. FMTU also cooperates with the Association of Persons with Disabilities from Opatija. In December 2021, children from the Association made Christmas souvenirs that students and employees of the Faculty could buy at appropriate prices and thus support the work of the Association.

Employees of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are members of the TEMCO project (Thematic Network: Lifelong Education Available to All), supported by the Institute for the Development of Education. The project is funded by the European Social Fund (in the amount of HRK 3,542,852.64). The purpose of the project is to strengthen the capacity of associations (which specifically deal with education, child development, or public policies) to achieve an effective dialogue with public administration and the scientific community in the design and implementation of public policies to ensure lifelong education available to all.

The Academy of Applied Arts organized a set of workshops for deaf and hard-of-hearing people “The sea is accessible to everyone” and made its contribution to reducing inequality by setting up the exhibition and editing the catalog “All shades of vulnerability – movement, sound, image, and word in the protection of the rights of the vulnerable”. Numerous UNIRI constituents have elevators and operate following the Protocol for the care and monitoring of students with health problems, disabilities, and chronic diseases, following the Decision on the amount of participation in study costs (Points II and III), and the Student Center of the University of Rijeka contributes to reducing inequality as prescribed by the Rulebook on Conditions and Methods of Exercising the Right of Full-time Students to Subsidized Housing (Article 8).

At University of Rijeka there is a great variety of university centers that act as special units for fostering knowledge transfer and community engagement in various contexts. Specifically for the sustainable cities and communities, UNIRI established Center for support Smart and Sustainable Cities that supports smart and sustainable development of the Croatian cities through multidisciplinary approach.

University of Rijeka understand the importance of the (cultural) heritage and its role in preserving different parts of the heritage, local and national. Center of Industrial Heritage of the University of Rijeka implements programs in the field of science and research and conducts activities of topmost expertise, by executing projects in the domain of cultural heritage.

Theology in Rijeka and the Department of Philosophy of the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Zagreb, the Department of Social and Human Sciences in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rijeka, the Faculty of Health Studies of the University of Rijeka, and the Faculty of Theology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń (Poland), organized an interdisciplinary scientific symposium with international participation “Rijeka Science Bridges 5”, with the focus theme “Urban and humane: scenarios and plans for the city we want”. Lecturers from various scientific and academic disciplines shared their reflections on numerous essential determinants and the topic of the City of the Future, such as the city at the service of the citizen, the citizen at the service of the city; evolution of urban forms – uniformity between tradition and development; the problem of overcrowded cities and empty villages; connection and infrastructure of cities – solidarity that includes all levels of citizenship; new technologies and the design of “smart” cities; the city as a living organism – inclusivity, safety, health and freedom; tourism and the city; ecology and the city – green oases and garbage dumps; spirituality and religious spaces within the city; religious events in the City.

During 2021, the Faculty of Civil Engineering made a significant contribution to the creation of more sustainable cities and communities by participating in the following projects: The development of a model for predicting the behavior of children pedestrians in the urban transport network, Transport infrastructure as a function of sustainable urban mobility and Concept for decision support in the sustainable management of urban environments. To effectively use resources, reduce pollution, and generally encourage the sustainable development of cities, in November 2021, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management organized a lecture on the topic of Local self-government – city management. The mayor of Opatija analyzed the current and future position of the city of Opatija and answered the students’ questions. The Faculty also participates in various professional and scientific projects and research whose goal is to ensure the sustainability of destinations and local communities. Through the project Sustainable cities as carriers of economic development, the urban challenges faced by cities are analyzed and the goal is to provide solutions for improved use of resources, reduction of pollution, and further progress and sustainable growth.

In all segments and business processes, UNIRI applies the provisions of the current legislative framework, which includes the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette 80/13, 153/13, 78/15, 12/18, 118/18), the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 30 /09) and the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 127/14) and thereby contributes to one of the 8 defined key areas of sustainable development, focusing on sustainable production and consumption, which aims to do more and better with less, i.e. it implies reducing the use of resources, degradation, and pollution of the environment and improvement of the quality of life.

To succeed as a society in the above, further education and sensitization of all stakeholders are needed to act rationally and benevolently towards the resources that are used every day, and therefore UNIRI provides the students, future active social actors, with knowledge about the current state through teaching programs related to the above-mentioned topic, and encourages them to reconsider and change adopted patterns of behavior. The Faculty of Engineering, by its example, contributes to the reduction of environmental pollution by disposing of the waste following the Occupational Safety Ordinance. The Faculty of Civil Engineering has signed an agreement for the purchase and installation of a heat pump and associated equipment and is participating in the Solar Power Plant project.

Sustainable consumption and production refer to the promotion of efficiency in the use of resources and energy efficiency, helping to achieve overall development plans, reducing future economic, environmental, and social costs, strengthening the competitiveness of the economy, and reducing poverty. Through the Sustainable Developmentcourse, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management promotes the rational use of resources, promotes the circular economy, and the zero-waste concept. Encouraging the circular economy is the basis of sustainable consumption and production. In this spirit, the Academy of Applied Arts is involved in the artistic UNIRI project Cultural-artistic animation of the local community of the island of Susak, and as part of the new elective course, a project was developed that includes the Socially Useful Learning method: wooden elements for the “Talking Room” as part of the Kantrida Laurel Park in cooperation with Hiking Society Kamenjak and Local Board Kantrida. As part of the UNIRI project “Social and technological aspects of art: challenges of the new normal”, employees of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences held several workshops that touched on the topics of sustainable development. On these activities, they collaborated with the University of Warsaw and the Callegari School, and the purpose was to point out sustainable development in the context of everyday life, i.e. technological activities.

Responsible production and consumption contribute to achieving development plans, reducing future economic, environmental, and social costs, strengthening economic competitiveness and reducing poverty (SDG1, SDG2, SDG8, and SDG9), contributing to environmental protection and minimizing the negative effects of production and consumption (SDG13, SDG14, and SDG15).

Climate change, closely related to people’s extreme needs for energy and food, is a pervasive threat that affects all segments of society in all countries. The fight against them is considered one of the most significant challenges today, as they directly affect the achievement of sustainable development, and higher education institutions are expected to be pioneers in raising awareness of the seriousness of the problem and its consequences, which will affect the poorest the most, through research and education, as well as by providing innovative green solutions that use renewable energy sources.

SDG 13 applies to all the other SDGs because, if nothing is done, climate change can exacerbate storms and natural disasters and cause threats such as food and water scarcity (SDG2 and SDG6). In this case, too, the effects of negative climate change will most intensively affect the poorest (SDG1), it will affect lives both on land (SDG15) and in the sea (SDG14). However, innovation (SDG9) and work on clean energy (SDG7) can help to mitigate the impact of climate change on the economy and society as a whole and reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and society to the negative impacts of climate change and increase the ability to recover from the effects of climate change.

The University of Rijeka encourages, actively supports, and implements numerous initiatives that contribute to raising awareness of the seriousness of climate change and its consequences, among which it is worth noting a series of planting trees at the University Campus, encouraging the use of public transport instead of private cars to reduce environmental pollution. The Faculty of Economics and Business, as a member of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education), an initiative supported by the United Nations (UN), and as a partner in the project “Climate Governance: Implementing public policies for calculating and reducing the carbon footprint of business entities” continuously monitors and reports on its ecological footprint, The Department of Biotechnology held a round table discussion on the topic of climate change, the Faculty of Engineering participates in the KLIMOD project as part of the scheme for strengthening applied research for climate change adaptation measures, while Faculty of Maritime Studies participates in the project “Development of the system for control and protection of ports from the introduction of foreign species – ProtectAS”.

Within the framework of the Environmental Economics course held at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, the topic of the necessity of preserving the climate for future economic and social trends was analyzed. Students are continuously educated about the effects of greenhouse gases, carbon footprint, and renewable energy sources. Also, to reduce the impact on the environment, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management encourages its employees to use public transport. The project “Impact of environmental tax policy on sustainable development and green growth” starts from the assumption that environmental taxes have a negative impact on greenhouse gas emissions, i.e. they contribute to the reduction of emissions and the achievement of sustainable development and green growth, we want to point out the importance of climate protection and encouraging a cleaner environment. During 2021, the Faculty of Civil Engineering participated in the following projects: Applied Landslide Research for the Development of Risk Mitigation and Prevention Measures (PRI-MJER), Management of Karst Coastal Aquifers Threatened by Climate Change (UKV), Sustainable Construction of Beaches: Construction of New and Increasing Existing, Methodology Development assessments of landslide susceptibility for land use planning using LiDAR technology, Impact of open fires on soil and water quality, Hydrology of water resources and identification of the risk of floods and mudflows in karst areas, Assessments of the impact of climate change on the hydrological stability of protected lake systems in the karst area of Croatia and Vulnerability of Kvarner coasts in relation to climate change and sea level rise.

In all segments and business processes, UNIRI applies the provisions of the current legislative framework, including the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette 80/13, 153/13, 78/15, 12/18, 118/18) and the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 30 /2009), thus contributing to one of the 8 defined key areas of sustainable development that represent the strategic development directions of the Republic of Croatia: the protection of the Adriatic Sea, coasts, and islands.

Aware of the threat of climate change, land-based pollution, destruction of coastal ecosystems, invasive species of coastal development, overfishing and bycatch and other negative effects, the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Rijeka and the Department of Physics of the University of Rijeka are implementing an agreement for water potential analysis and change dynamics services water from the source of the water supply on Učka with the Croatian Waters.

Through its activities, the University of Rijeka makes a significant contribution to the protection and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. As a result of the KLIMOD project, as part of the scheme for strengthening applied research for adaptation measures to climate change, which conducts applied scientific research and develops a computer model for effective modeling of the flow and spread of pollution in open watercourses and the coastal sea area, with the reception of river estuaries, torrential estuaries and industrial and sewage discharges into the coastal sea area, with the simultaneous development of a prediction model of microbiological pollution based on artificial intelligence models and the integration of the model of the spread of microplastic pollution into the overall model. The computer model is adapted to the supercomputer environment, which enables high-resolution simulations to be carried out to implement measures to mitigate the consequences of climate change in priority vulnerable and transversal areas, as one of the results, the publications of the project team should be highlighted.

The Faculty of Medicine is the holder and/or collaborator on international projects that deal with the promotion of the preservation and sustainable use of seas, rivers, and marine resources. Such is the project “Characterization of health risks due to exposure of the population to traditional and modern pollutants due to the consumption of marine products”, which aims to determine the level of potentially toxic compounds in marine organisms of interest and to characterize the health risks for certain categories of compounds.

The project “Port IoT for Environmental Leverage (PIXEL)” deals with the development of an environmental index that evaluates the environmental performance of port areas, which is based on the measurement and display of results through sensors in real-time. The EUROBATH project (Towards the New European Union Bathing Water Directive) aims to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and protect human health. The main goal of this project is to provide basic guidelines for the revision of the existing Croatian national regulation on the management of the quality of coastal waters for bathing. This will be achieved by using the results of research conducted within the framework of this project and current scientific knowledge. The new regulation will provide a better framework for the management of coastal bathing waters and ensure better protection of human health and the environment. The results of the project could be applied to other countries and regions with similar ecological conditions, such as Mediterranean countries. The Faculty of Medicine also participates in the project “The establishment of a method for isolation RNA viruses in municipal wastewater for future modeling method of surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 virus in population”, which deals with the isolation of RNA viruses in municipal wastewater for the purpose future modeling of the SARS-CoV-2 virus surveillance method in the population.

During 2021, the Faculty of Civil Engineering participated in the implementation of scientific projects that are closely related to the preservation of the aquatic world: Management of karst coastal aquifers threatened by climate change(UKV), Computer model of flow, flooding, and spread of pollution in rivers and coastal sea areas (KLIMOD), Assessments of the impact of climate change on the hydrological stability of protected lake systems in the karst area of Croatia, Vulnerability of Kvarner coasts in relation to climate change and sea level rise, and Impact of open fires on soil and water quality.

To contribute to the preservation of the aquatic world, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management participated in the beach cleaning action as part of World CleanUp Day, which was held on September 18, 2021. The Blue Cleanup: Let’s do it Mediterranean! is a joint one-day action to clean the sea, underwater and coastal areas. Students and employees of FMTU marked World Cleanup Day on the beaches of Kostrena, where the action was organized to collect cigarette butts and plastic waste.

Along with SDG14, the preservation of aquatic life, this is the second of all SDGs that look at the ecosystem from a broader perspective, following the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette 80/13, 153/13, 78/15, 12/18, 118/18)) and the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette NN 30/2009), whereby UNIRI contributes to one of the 8 defined key areas of sustainable development: protection of the environment and natural resources.

At a time when biodiversity is a major challenge and life on land a precious resource, appropriate efforts must be made to ensure that we preserve them for future generations. Higher education institutions in this segment are expected to have a responsibility that includes a broader context than the local environment in which it operates, in terms of creating a contribution to sustainable forest management, combating desertification, stopping land degradation, and protecting biodiversity. Contributing to the achievement of this goal simultaneously contributes to other, complementary goals because the ecosystem and biodiversity represent the origin of adaptation to climate change (SDG13). Clean water (SDG6) and clean energy (SDG7) are necessary prerequisites for life on land, and life on land and the aquatic world (SDG14) are interconnected and synergistically contribute to the reduction of hunger (SDG2) and poverty (SDG1).

Sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and preventing further loss of biodiversity are recognized as indispensable on the path to sustainable development. Therefore, during 2021, UNIRI encouraged, actively supported, and implemented numerous initiatives to which it contributes, among which it is worth highlighting the planting of trees at the UNIRI Campus and the reforestation of Učka in cooperation with the Žmergo Ecological Society, postgraduate doctoral study program in the field of technical sciences and mechanical engineering “Shipbuilding, Basic Technical Sciences and Interdisciplinary Technical Sciences” of the Faculty of Engineering. The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management implements activities as part of the ZeroWaste project, in cooperation with the City of Crikvenica, with which he signed an agreement on the creation of a “Sustainability Study of Tourism Development and Reception Capacity with an Action Plan of the City of Crikvenica”, and also participated in the FOST INNO project. The Faculty of Civil Engineering participates in the project “Impact of open fires on soil and water quality”.

To integrate with nature, and on the occasion of marking International Biological Diversity Day, on May 22, members of the Eco Committee of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management made, painted, and installed birdhouses in the yard of the Faculty. The birdhouses are placed among the treetops to be as close as possible to the natural habitat of the birds. Students and members of the Eco Committee wanted to point out that biological diversity means all the diversity of life on Earth – habitats, populations, and genes, and its disruption – can have far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and human life.

SDG16 and SDG17 are key prerequisites for achieving the other SDGs. Therefore, strong, inclusive, and effective institutions, including universities that provide quality higher education (SDG4), along with health (SDG3), fair economic policies (SDG8), and environmental protection (SDG13, SDG14, and SDG15), are key to achieving other sustainable development goals.

The activities by which UNIRI, as a strong institution that supports peace and justice, contributes to the promotion of a peaceful, inclusive, and just society are manifested at all levels of all business aspects, among which the University of Rijeka Statute (Article 60) should be mentioned. The Statue ensures the representation of all scientific-teaching and art-teaching constituents of the University and various fields of science and art and supports the work of the Student Council of the University of Rijeka and other student associations at all constituents. The Statute also mentions the University of Rijeka Council, a body that takes care of the development of the University and its interaction with the society in which it operates and discusses and confirms the strategic and development decisions of the Senate, supervises the execution of the University’s tasks, the legality of its work, the rational use of personnel and material resources and the implementation of the Senate’s decisions. It consists of representatives of University scientists or teachers, students, the Ministry of Science and Education, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, and bodies of local self-government units.

The University of Rijeka was the first university in the Republic of Croatia to sign The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, and thus accepted the initiative of the European Commission, which adopted these documents in 2005 to improve employment opportunities and increase the value of a research career as vital elements of the strategy to stimulate economic growth and employment and the establishment of a European research area. UNIRI is also among the first signatories of the EC Declaration on participation in the “Group for the implementation of the human resources strategy”.

The promotion of the values of peace, dialogue, tolerance, and international solidarity is also reflected in the exhibition “Culture of memory and the Spanish Civil War”, an online forum held as part of the Rijeka Science Festival “System of ethics in science and higher education: from promising starting points to orchestrated marginalization.”

Faculty of Humanities and Social Science in Rijeka actively participates in the initiative “Rijeka Healthy City and Healthy County”, while respected members of the academic community are involved in all segments of the work of local and regional administration (e.g. Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka cooperates with Rijeka Port Authority).

Other researchers are also included in (inter)national initiatives. Assoc. Prof. Nena Rončević, Ph.D., is a national manager of the international OECD Program (PIAAC: Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), which is implemented by the Agency for Vocational and Adult Education with the aim of continuous monitoring of the development of skills in adulthood. Prof. Vlahović-Palčevski, Ph.D., is an Education Officer in ESGAP (ESCMID Study Group for Antimicrobial Stewardship, ESCMID: European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases). Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka cooperates with the City of Rijeka in connection with translational research to find new biomarkers for target therapy, intending to study the following diseases: breast tumors, colon cancer, melanoma, head and neck tumors, lung tumors, gynecological tumors, tumors of the urinary tract and male reproductive system and biospecimens as part of the investigation of spontaneous and medically indicated abortions). The Academy of Applied Arts made its contribution by publishing the comic book “Let’s go on a big, big boat” about the similarities between Croatian migrants in the past and today’s migrants from Asia and Africa. The comic was published in Galženica Gallery’s comic “Migrations, Homage to Dragutin Trumbetaš” and will be published in the comic anthology 2023 Yearbook (Fibra Publisher).

It is also worth mentioning the establishment of the Interreligious Dialogue and Diplomacy Committee of the University of Rijeka, a collegial body of the Rector whose purpose is to contribute to the strengthening of interreligious cooperation with an emphasis on the development of international cooperation, social engagement and social sensitivity. The Committee consists of representatives of the University of Rijeka, representatives of religious communities, and representatives from the ranks of diplomacy, who through a series of public events, forums, round tables, and other appropriate activities encourage inter-religious dialogue and international cooperation and will make the community aware of issues related to the Committee’s work.

In response to increasing demands for universities to open up to society and demonstrate their impact on society, thus strengthening the global partnership for sustainable development, UNIRI as a partner participates in the SHEFCE project (Steering Higher Education for Community Engagement), which represents a continuation of the TEFCE project (Towards a European Framework for Community Engagement in Higher Education). The long-term goal of the SHEFCE project is to contribute to increasing engagement in the European university community, in the form of partnerships with local and regional stakeholders in solving social challenges. The specific aim of the project is to build the capacity of universities, policymakers, and stakeholders to include joint engagement in higher education in Europe. As a partner in the project, the University of Rijeka participated in the creation of a framework for reflection on current and future work on initiating, promoting, and strengthening the engagement of the higher education institution in the community. The TEFCE institutional report is available on the UNIRI official website.

The openness of the UNIRI constituents towards the social community is also visible through the activities of the Commerce Council of the Faculty of Engineering, which consists of representatives of influential economic entities, as well as employees who participate in the preparation of occupational standards and standards as part of the following projects: “Implementation of the Croatian Qualification Framework (HKO) at the level of higher education”, “Application of the Croatian Qualification Framework for university study programs in the field of electrical engineering (HKO-ELE)”, “Dig IT project: Development of occupational standards and qualification standards in computing activities”. They are also active members of numerous bodies that influence the content of policies, e.g. (inter)sectoral committees, thematic working groups, etc.

It is also worth mentioning the cooperation between the City of Rijeka and the Faculty of Medicine related to translational research to find new biomarkers for target therapy, to study the following diseases: breast tumors, colon cancer, melanoma, head and neck tumors, lung tumors, gynecological tumors, urotract tumors, and the male reproductive system and biospecimens as part of the investigation of spontaneous and medically indicated abortions. Furthermore, the Vice-Dean for Quality at the Faculty of Medicine is also the deputy mayor of Rijeka. In the 2021 local elections, an employee of the Faculty of Medicine ran for mayor, and a female employee ran for the prefect of the Primorje-Gorski kotar County. One employee of the Faculty of Medicine is the head of the Administrative Department for Health of the Primorje-Gorski kotar County, and the other is a member of the European Parliament. The Faculty of Civil Engineering in Rijeka is involved in the following projects: Joint Training on Numerical Modeling of Highly-flexible Structures for Industrial Applications (THREAD), Modeling mixed-mode rate-dependent delamination in layered structures using geometrically nonlinear beam finite elements, European Cooperation in Science and Technology(COST) and Innovative connector for connecting structural elements made of thin-walled steel C-profiles.

During 2021, the University of Rijeka ALUMNI network continued with the implementation of the strategic program activities of the University of Rijeka, including the promotion, encouragement, monitoring, and coordination of the activities of the University, its graduates and alumni organizations that are part of the University, the implementation of cooperation, projects, holding public lectures or other appropriate events, data collection for the necessary processing, recording, monitoring, reporting, etc. It is envisaged that the UNIRI ALUMNI network and the YUFE Alliance (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) will carry out their activities in cooperation with universities, public and private sectors, and citizens throughout Europe.

The University of Rijeka nurtures and develops strategic partnerships with companies, especially with the JGL company (Jadran-galenski laboratorij) on the new study program of Pharmaceutical Studies. The University of Rijeka and JGL cooperate on the development of an innovative ecosystem of the University of Rijeka and JGL which improves the prerequisites for launching collaborative projects and strengthening the interdisciplinary scientific and development centers of the University and develops integrated institutional support for the transfer of knowledge to the economy and community, thereby contributing to the closely related SDG16 and SDG17.

The Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies is a partner in the STEM (AJMO!) project, which aims to strengthen the capacity of involved civil society organizations to implement the STEM popularization program through examples of good practice, the development of new methodologies for working with end users, and the design and implementation of specific activities with citizens. To transfer knowledge to the community, members of the EduLab laboratory of the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies participate in national and regional expert meetings and hold presentations and webinars organized by the Education Agency on topics related to learning and teaching in informatics/computer science classes, and members are also of the commissions for taking professional exams in informatics/computing in primary and secondary schools as examiners of methodology. The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management fosters business cooperation with tourism and hospitality practice, scientific and educational institutions in the country and abroad, local self-government units, associations, and the rest of the public. Cooperation with business entities in the field of tourism and catering, with a special emphasis on renowned hotels, camps, and associations in the Republic of Croatia, is achieved through the implementation of student internships, lifelong education programs, as well as the creation of studies and projects. In 2021, the Faculty concluded agreements for professional practice with 55 hoteliers, and agreements are being signed with institutions, companies, and travel agencies to achieve professional practice for the study programs Management in Tourism and Management of Sustainable Development.

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences participates in the international scientific-research-development project ERASMUS+ Key Action 2: KA220-HED, category – Cooperation partnerships in higher education (Leveraging Individual SDG Contributions by University Staff). The consortium of partners consists of Universtity de Girona (UdG), Spain, project leader, Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania and University of Rijeka, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka, Department of Pedagogy, Croatia in cooperation with Copernicus Alliance, K-Veloce, The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU). The Faculty also participates in two more projects dealing with sustainable development. Assoc. Prof. Bojana Ćulum Ilić, Ph.D., is the holder of the project “Formal education in the function of sustainable development” (funded by the Croatian Science Foundation), while Assoc. Prof. Siniša Kušić, Ph.D., is the holder of the UNIRI project “Human Resources and Education for Sustainable Development” (ADOOR). Assoc. Prof. Dunja Anđić, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is the holder of the UNIRI project related to sustainability (“Connection with nature, organization of free time of early school-aged students and digital technology”, PROVIDIT). The goal of the project is to determine guidelines intended for the development of a more significant connection with nature, better implementation of organized free time for students, responsible use of digital technology, and improvement of the quality of life of students, teachers, schools and sustainable development of the community.

Members of the UNIRI academic community hold courses and study programs related to sustainability, namely:

• Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management (B.A. study program Sustainable Development Management, M.A. study program Sustainable Tourism Development, and postgraduate study program Sustainable Development Management);
• Faculty of Physics (compulsory and elective courses as part of B.A. and M.A. study programs: Environmental Physics, General Ecology, Waste Management, Water Management, Ecology of Terrestrial Systems, Water Ecology, Physical Modeling of the Environment, Marine Physics, Geohazards, Instrumental Methods in Environmental Physics, Environmental Microbiology, Environmental impact assessment, Environmental protection, Waste disposal);
• Faculty of Teacher Education: compulsory course Pedagogy of sustainable development at the integrated B.A. and M.A. study program Teacher Education, and regular and part-time B.A. study program Early and preschool education;
• Faculty of Engineering: post-graduate university Ph.D. study program, major: Ecological Engineering and Environmental Protection.