International rankings reveal the best faculty in Croatia.
Judging by global rankings, at least those which differentiate faculties according to scientific disciplines, the Faculty of Agriculture is the best member of the University of Zagreb, reports Index.hr on April 17, 2017.
For example, in the QS World University Rankings in the field of agriculture and forestry, the University of Zagreb occupies a place among the top 150 universities in the world. It is the only of 46 scientific areas in which the Zagreb University is on the list of the top 300 universities. Overall, the University is ranked between 651 and 700 position.
The rankings of U.S. News & World Report rank the University of Zagreb at 142nd position in the agricultural sciences area. The NTU rankings for 2016 placed the University of Zagreb among the top 200 universities by the quality and quantity of scientific papers in agricultural sciences.
It is interesting that in all three ranking the Faculty of Agriculture is the only member of the University of Zagreb which occupies a position among the top 200 in the world, which shows that the Faculty fares much better than other members of the University. It is also telling that, in recent years, the Faculty of Agriculture has been steadily climbing on all these lists. Unfortunately, the University itself is simultaneously declining or stagnating at the bottom.
These three lists are interesting, among other things, because they try to provide objective information about where it is best to study the areas the future students are specifically interested in. They are mostly used by future freshmen students.
Boro Mioč, vice dean for science at the Faculty of Agriculture, would not directly answer the question whether the rankings meant that his institution was the best in Croatia and the region. But, he said that was certainly their goal and mission. “The answer is seen in the rankings. Our most valuable resource are people, especially highly educated, ambitious and professional young people,” said Mioč.
“Our important resource are laboratories and equipment. In total, there are over 130 scientific projects underway, of which 41 international, among which the most important ones are two Horizon 2020 projects, three FPZ projects, nine Cost projects, and a project supported by the Croatian Science Foundation,” explained Mioč.
Interest for admission to the Faculty of Agriculture is large, so enrolment quotas are regularly filled in the first enrolment period. But, like everyone, their young experts, after they finish university, face a difficult situation that prevails in the labour market. “That is particularly pronounced in the area of agriculture. However, more and more of our students return to their family farms, vineyards and wineries, slaughterhouses and butchers, dairy farms, where they further develop family businesses or open new farms. There are many such examples,” concluded Mioč.
