An online session of the International Scientific Council of the University of Rijeka was held on November 15, 2021, in the late afternoon, on the topic of “Young researchers – attracting talent, career development and assessing contributions to science and art.” UNIRI Rector, Prof. Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Ph.D., greeted everyone present and pointed out that today’s session is open to the interested public, and so the session was also attended by the members of the University of Rijeka Senate, members of the University Council, Rijeka’s mayor Mr. Marko Filipović, members of various expert councils, rector’s advisors, vice-rectors, professors emeriti, UNIRI administration, as well as doctoral and postdoctoral students.
Almost all members of the International Scientific Council participated, namely Ivan Đikić, Željko Ivezić, Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela, Danica Kragić Jensfelt, Igor Mezić, Vedran Mimica, Nenad Miščević, Dražen Prelec, and Igor Žutić. Find out more about the members of the International Scientific Council HERE.
“Today, we want to talk about how to attract quality young researchers who are the future of the university. We would like to hear your thoughts on the challenges facing young researchers”, Madam Rector said in the introduction.
“Students and young researchers have suffered the most in this corona crisis. The real sector is more lucrative, so young researchers go there, but ultimately society loses its best talent. Science will always manage and will continue to work well, but that is not enough. People go to better-paid places but often don’t do what they want. Young researchers should be kept in science, but they should also be enabled to cooperate with the industry”, Đikić explained.
Željko Ivezić emphasized: “We need to attract young researchers, make them stay, and recognize the best among them. This problem is not specific to the University of Rijeka or the Republic of Croatia. It is global and there is no universal recipe for it. Also, children from working families do not have the same opportunities as those with academically educated parents. Young scientists should be provided with decent means for living and starting a family, it should be emphasized that working in science can often be much more interesting than in industry, and we should involve young researchers in decision-making at institutions.”
Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela presented a social science perspective: “As a sociologist dealing with the labor market, I am convinced that we need to support young researchers, not only formally and materially. It is becoming increasingly clear that the real sector expects us, the universities, to teach these doctoral students many other abilities and skills.”
“More and more large companies want to train their own specialists and encourage lifelong learning. I changed the fields of science in which I worked and somehow I successfully combined them, connecting mathematics, technology, and robotics. All sectors are becoming increasingly dependent on other sectors and thus becoming interdisciplinary. We must recognize this and educate doctoral students accordingly”, Kragić Jensfelt emphasized.
“Society is investing more and more in science, and society is gaining from that fact alone. I believe that society needs doctors of science outside the academic community. A young scientist may have 2-3 times higher income in industry, but in science, he can (or should) be able to do what he loves and wants. Diversity, quality, and atmosphere are the key factors with which a university can attract young quality researchers. Also, circulation, which is completely normal in the USA, is good for scientists and it should be insisted on in Croatia”, said Mezić.
“A student-researcher who combines philosophy with, for example, topics from culture will certainly pass worse than one who combines philosophy with, for example, ecology. It is important to keep in mind which combinations sell well”, said Nenad Miščević.
“In the USA, it is normal to ‘go further’ after a doctorate, and not to stay at the same university until you retire. Institutions of employment are changing, and not just once or twice, but several times. A young, quality researcher should be relieved of other obligations to do what interests him. Although the researcher works for the benefit of society as a whole, as well as for the benefit of his institution, he must be recognized as an individual within the scientific community. During the assessment of who is good, or who is excellent, one should be very careful, because it seems to me that it is easy to make mistakes. Holistic evaluation should be applied, but care should be taken to ensure that heterogeneous categories are a dangerous trap. This ‘insecurity’ among young scientists is not necessarily always bad”, Prelec emphasized.
“Not everything at universities can always be profitable and bring in money directly. A good doctoral education is needed in order to create quality competition. The importance of having a doctorate should be increased, but we must also understand that just having this knowledge is not enough. The University of Rijeka has many reasons to be proud, and one of them is, for example, the increasingly recognized doctoral study of physics”, Žutić claims.
The mayor of Rijeka, Mr. Marko Filipović, also addressed the participants, emphasizing the cooperation between the City of Rijeka and the University, as well as the importance of UNIRI’s participation in the YUFE Alliance. The mayor spoke about his and Madam Rector’s recent visit to Bremen, where they attended the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University of Bremen, which is also a member of the YUFE Alliance.
The last 20 minutes of the session were reserved for a discussion moderated by Prof. Saša Zelenika, Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Strategic Projects of the University of Rijeka.
Rector Prijić-Samaržija concluded the online session, stating that the conclusions should be drawn based on the summary of the reflections of the members of the International Scientific Council on the topic of the future of young researchers.