On Wednesday, July 10, we were delighted to host our guests and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, i.e. accomplished professionals who are pursuing their Doctor of Education degrees in Higher Education Management. The Penn GSE delegation first met with the members of the UNIRI Management: the Rector, Prof. Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Ph.D, Prof. Gordan Jelenić, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Science and Art, Prof. Saša Zelenika, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Strategic Projects, and Prof. Marta Žuvić, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Studies, Students and QA.
The students were accompanied by the GSE faculty members, Julie Wollman and Larry Moneta, program coordinator Laura Stern, and the local faculty, Dr. Lucia Brajković, who lives in Zagreb and works with the World Bank.
During the plenary session, Rector Prijić-Samaržija presented the University of Rijeka – its goals, mission, and vision following the UNIRI Strategy 2021-2025 – and referred to the main values that make the University of Rijeka a true European university of the future. Emphasizing the importance of YUFE and YERUN membership, she touched upon the biggest contemporary challenges in European higher education, including possible scenarios for the future of universities. The Rector’s presentation was followed by a Q&A section, allowing the students to ask more concrete questions about the university’s structure, student satisfaction and study experience, quality of study and the most popular study programs, national and European frameworks of higher education, prevailing challenges and opportunities, future objectives, and other broad distinctions of the University of Rijeka.
The group then broke into three working groups addressing their specific group assignment. The first team discussed institutional alignment with national objectives for research, workforce development, and other priorities, the second group focused on student welfare and the student experience overall, and the third group learned more about the organizational, management, and governance structure.
The UPenn GSE delegation visited Rijeka as part of their Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management, a two-year accelerated pathway to an Ed.D. for accomplished professionals who are not in a position to interrupt their careers to obtain their doctorates. The group, class of 2025, consists of 13 successful and aspiring individuals who continue working in various roles, raising families, and completing coursework and original research dissertations in two years. Despite its complexity, the program has been running for 23 years and is in high demand.
As part of the program, the students travel internationally in the summer between their two academic years. In the past two years, the students traveled to UAE and India and previous cohorts have been to Kazakhstan, England, and other countries. During such trips, the students aim to learn more about the local higher education system with visits to public and private institutions, government and business contacts, and other pertinent contacts. They conduct interviews and on their final day, deliver presentations on themes that have been pre-selected for the trip.
Before arriving in Rijeka, the Penn GSE delegation visited Split and Zadar, and will spend another week in Zagreb.
