The goal was to present opportunities to high-school and university students.
The Scholarships and Higher Education Fair, organized by the Institute for the Development of Education, took place on Tuesday at the National and University Library in Zagreb. The main objective of the fair was to inform high-school and university students and their parents about possibilities of studying and financing of studies at home and abroad, reports Lider on October 11, 2016.
Every year, the Institute seeks to improve the fair and enrich it with innovative content and interesting programmes for students. The fair has been held for the 12th consecutive year, and gathered more than 50 exhibitors from Croatia and 12 other countries which presented their study and scholarship programmes.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to enrol and successfully complete their studies. This year, we have organized a special ‘Croatian corner’ where we have gathered Croatian institutions which award scholarships for studying in Croatia, including scholarships for vulnerable groups of students, such as students from poor families and people with disabilities”, said Ninoslav Šćukanec, executive director of the Institute for the Development of Education.
This year’s partner country is Germany. Therefore, the fair was opened by Thomas E. Schultze, the Ambassador of Germany in Croatia. Ambassador Schultze said that Croatia and Germany were close in the field of economy and education, and he in particular stressed that young people should have access to education.
Ante Bebić, Deputy Minister of Social Policy and Youth, explained that having effective higher education was one of the preconditions for the creation of a regulated labour market and full employment, and pointed to the problem of mismatch between labour market and education system.
“While the overall level of education in society is growing, prevalent among the unemployed persons are those with secondary education. Employers have been complaining for years about the lack of workers with certain qualifications and skills. Insufficient competences lead to difficulties in hiring which reduces national and individual resources”, said Bebić.
Of special interest at this year’s fair is a MIG flight simulator, which is being presented by the Ministry of Defence, which regularly takes part in the fair. Visitors also had the opportunity to try out some of the applications developed by the Faculty of Computer Sciences of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. The fair also included an entertainment programme called “Speed Dating with Scholars”.
After Zagreb, the fair will move to Rijeka where it will be held on Thursday.
