Doctoral school

The main objectives of the Doctoral School include increasing the quality of doctoral studies at the University of Rijeka, as well as the quality of research and teaching capacities, promoting interdisciplinarity and greater sciency in doctoral studies/programs at the University of Rijeka, encouraging the establishment of interdisciplinary, joint, and combined (international) doctoral studies, and providing research education and training for students.

The Doctoral School of the University of Rijeka encourages the application of a holistic approach to doctoral students, which involves taking into account the individual needs of the doctoral candidates in choosing content, social, gender, and other sensitivities to understand socioeconomic and other determinants that affect the completion rate of studies. It provides conditions for strengthening mentoring skills, ensuring equal opportunities for all, caring for vulnerable and underrepresented groups, and respecting diversity, inclusiveness, and dignity.

Furthermore, special attention is given to empowering the role, valuing and encouraging doctoral candidates and young researchers to participate in scientific research projects, especially those that add value in the real sector, with mechanisms in place for providing financial support (scholarships) to doctoral students.

The doctoral school promotes the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of doctoral studies aimed at individuals in order to increase their attractiveness and adaptation to the needs of the job market while guaranteeing quality standards.

Furthermore, advocating for the strengthening and support of horizontal connections between existing and the development of new doctoral programs, the activities of the doctoral school enable additional flexibility and personalization and open up possibilities for interdisciplinary cooperation between constituent doctoral programs while encouraging networking between the business and academic community.

Therefore, the quality of the doctoral school is based precisely on the quality of programs aimed at internationalization and interdisciplinarity, the encouragement of both mentor and doctoral student excellence, with mandatory high-quality logistical, administrative, and financial support for the full exploitation of its potential. Each of the aforementioned factors requires an individual approach focused on the advancement and development of science and research as drivers of economic and social development while improving the higher education system.

With the exceptional potential of the already established strategic partnership of the University of Rijeka within the European University Initiative Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) and the Network of Young European Research Universities (YERUN), the doctoral school ensures regional and international visibility of the University and improves educational models and contents of doctoral education – through active participation in the process of creating and adopting (educational) policies at the European Union level and by creating space for significant involvement of university staff in processes at the highest levels.

An important segment of the work of the Doctoral School is proposing measures and instruments for improving the quality, interdisciplinarity, and internationalization of doctoral studies at the University, as well as participating in the development of all important acts in the domain of third-level doctoral study.

In addition to continuously monitoring the quality of its work, the Doctoral School also monitors the quality of doctoral studies carried out at the University and through the work of the Expert Council of the Doctoral School, it seeks to improve and unify internal procedures that contribute to the quality of the implementation of the programs.

With the support of the University Administration and Senate, and through the efforts of the Doctoral School, from the academic year 2022/2023, the Rector’s Award for Excellence is also awarded to doctoral students, by scientific field, based on the Guidelines for Evaluating Doctoral Excellence at the University of Rijeka.

We are pleased to announce that in the year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University and 390 years of tradition in higher education in Rijeka, we will be rewarding our doctoral students for their excellence.

Recognizing the work and dedication of the Doctoral School, the University of Rijeka awarded the Doctoral School a Certificate of Appreciation in 2022 for the steps taken to integrate doctoral programs through the work of the Expert Council of the Doctoral School and for promoting the exchange of experiences and communication aimed at improving doctoral studies at the University of Rijeka.

Through the challenges of connecting the academic community, competitive economy, and society as a whole, the Doctoral School of the University of Rijeka aims to increase the innovativeness and attractiveness of all doctoral programs, focused on current generations of doctoral students oriented towards the future, who will effectively apply their knowledge gained during doctoral education in their future work, linking science, research, and education with the all-encompassing social, economic, and political relations at the regional, national, and European levels.

Striving to encourage networking and the improvement of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary knowledge and skills of doctoral students from all scientific fields, the Doctoral School has launched a series of activities that are carried out continuously, such as the organization of doctoral workshops, local and international scientific conferences, facilitation of informal events aimed at networking doctoral students, but also encouraging various forms of lifelong training for mentors.

The following activities are highlighted:

International activities

• The Doctoral School of the University of Rijeka, in collaboration with the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Department of Biomedical Sciences in Rijeka, and the Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences – Rijeka Branch, organized the first International Doctoral Conference within the framework of the Alps-Adriatic Rectors’ Conference (AARC), which took place on the UNIRI campus on September 19th and 20th, 2019.
• From September 16th to 24th, 2022, the University of Bergamo, the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory of the University of Belgrade, the University of Rijeka, Delta Lab, and Doctoral Schools organized an international summer school ‘Waterscapes in Heritage and Environment.’

National activities

• Adjusting to the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the challenges of organizing public events and participating in education, the Doctoral School adapted to the new situation by organizing webinars. One of them, for example, held in December 2020, was on the topic of ‘Challenges and Different Approaches to Writing Doctoral Dissertations’ 2
• The Doctoral School regularly organizes summer schools and workshops for doctoral students, often located in the Moise Palace, the scientific-educational center of the University of Rijeka in Cres. Some of thetopics of previous workshops, organized in collaboration with a number of university and non-university partners, were:
  • Communication and Science (May 2022)
  • Academic Writing (October 2022)
  • Let’s Learn to Communicate Science Successfully (May 2023).
• A series of PhD Career Café events organized in collaboration with the Career Office of the University Counseling Center and the Student Council of the University of Rijeka, aimed at exchanging experiences and introducing doctoral students from all constituents of the University of Rijeka to various career development opportunities in academic and non-academic environments. Some topics covered in previous PhD Career Cafés were: Doctoral Students for Doctoral Students, Mentoring, Interdisciplinary Networking, PhDs Outside the Academic Community (…).

In the words of one of the regular participants in our activities: “From each workshop, I was able to take something that I didn’t know before and that can be useful not only within the framework of the doctoral program but also in my later career… Moreover, the practical part of the workshops forces us to participate and reflect actively.”