September the 19th, 2026 – A newly renovated university campus worth over €50 million has opened as part of FER in Zagreb.
After two years of extensive works, Buildings B and C of the campus of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of the University of Zagreb (FER) were solemnly opened. The complete renovation amounting to €50 million excluding VAT was co-financed with European Union funds from the Solidarity Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Poslovni reports that this concerns an area spanning 18,000 square metres in Unska Street that includes five modern amphitheatre lecture halls with a capacity of 900 seats, 153 office rooms and 26 classrooms and laboratories for teaching. The newly opened FER premises were visited by representatives of the state leadership, the City of Zagreb, the University of Zagreb and prominent entrepreneurs, members of the Faculty’s Alumni Board.
FER Dean Prof. Vedran Bilas, PhD, said that the investment in the renovation is the initial phase of the campus development, which was last expanded at the end of the 1980s, when the faculty had almost half as many employees, fewer study programmes and many times fewer research projects than today.
“Generations of professors and students before us built this institution, its competences, significance and values. FER is a synonym of excellence in the Croatian public, academic and business community. This renovation and this ceremony are stations on a path that continues. The Faculty has an experienced and proven team and capacity for the implementation of complex infrastructure projects, ready to continue cooperation with the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth on campus development projects,” Bilas said and announced a new spatial expansion: “The Government of the Republic of Croatia, through a Loan Agreement with the World Bank, is financing the preparation of the main project for the reconstruction of Building A, which will be completed by the end of this year. The reconstructed building will have three underground and nine above-ground floors, five more than now.”
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković praised the Faculty’s results and emphasised its contribution to society.
“By renovating these buildings we aren’t investing merely in space, but in Croatia’s ability to understand, shape and lead the technological changes that in the decades ahead will determine the economic strength, security and technological independence of states. FER is one of the central places where Croatia creates knowledge for the digital age, and we count on its professors, researchers and students also in responding to the challenges of artificial intelligence, cyber security and quantum computing. Our vision is clear: Croatia must not be only a user of other people’s technology, but must develop and export its own high value-added solutions,” said Prime Minister Plenković.
“Through patient work, persistence and joint action we have arrived at a result that benefits our teachers and those most important for our future, and that is our students. I believe that the Faculty in the renovated premises will develop new visions and continue to lead in the IT sector and digital transformation, recognising what society and the state need,” said Rector of the University of Zagreb, Prof. Stjepan Lakušić, PhD.
The FER team responsible for the implementation of the renovation guided representatives of the Government, Prime Minister Plenković, Minister of Construction and State Property Branko Bačić, Minister of the Economy Ante Šušnjar and other high-ranking guests through the newly renovated premises, and the tour ended on the 13th floor with a spectacular panoramic view of the whole of Zagreb. The contractor for the extensive works was the construction company TROMONT d.o.o., and a complete energy, fire-protection and multimedia renovation was carried out.
The programme and celebration of the opening will continue in the afternoon. From 18:00 a parking party for friends, fellow citizens and neighbours is planned on the FER car park in Unska Street, with musicians Duška Brčić, Vjeko Ključarić, Filip Rudan, young up-and-coming bands and the Disco section of KSET.
