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University of Osijek

Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek is a medium size University when compared to other European universities. Our common goal is development of the University as a modern European institution of higher education, as a center of excellence, of course keeping pace with other institutions of higher education in Europe.

Nine faculties, the Department of Mathematics and the Teacher Training College offer courses of studies in the following fields: natural sciences, technical sciences, biomedicine and medicine, biotechnical sciences, social sciences and the humanities. There are three more affiliated institutions of the University of Osijek that contribute to and support higher education: the City and University Library in Osijek, the Student Centre in Osijek and the Student Centre in Slavonski Brod. In the years ahead, the main activity of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University Administration will be to ensure the regular functioning of the University, including teaching and publishing, research and cooperation between universities in the country and abroad, and the reconstruction and development of the University. The long-term plans and programs envisage the development of university facilities at three main locations in the city of Osijek: Tvrđa, "Drava" and "Gaj" barracks.

History

The history of higher education in this area began almost three centuries ago, i.e. in 1707, when the first institution of higher education was founded in Osijek. It was the Higher Theological School, which was opened in the 1707/1708 academic year as Studium Philosophicum Essekini, and included a three-year course of studies in philosophy.

The significance of the first colleges in Osijek lies in their huge contribution to Croatian language and literature, the spreading of liberal-arts education, and the study of languages and classical literature.

The recent history of higher education in the area began in 1959 when the Zagreb Faculty of Economics, in accordance with the University of Zagreb, founded the Centre for part-time studies in Osijek as a branch of the Zagreb Faculty of Economics.

The initiative for the founding of the University of Osijek dates back to 1975. On 26 March 1975, the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) passed the Decision granting consent for the establishing the University of Osijek. Two months later, on 31 May 1975, the Agreement concerning the founding of the University of Osijek was signed by the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Processing, the Institute of Agriculture, the Zagreb School of Engineering and Naval Architecture for Engineering Studies in Slavonski Brod, the Teacher Training College in Osijek, the Zagreb Music Academy for the Music Department in Osijek, the City Library and the Historical Archives in Osijek. Therefore, we celebrate 31 May as the day when the University of Osijek was founded.

Several important years in the history of the founding of the various faculties of the University of Osijek need ti be outlined:

• in 1975 the Faculty of Law,
  
• in 1976 the Faculty of Food Technology,
  
• in 1977 the Faculty of Education,
  
• in 1979 the School of Engineering in Slavonski Brod and Medical Studies in Osijek, which developed into the Faculty of Medicine in 1998,
  
• in 1982 the Faculty of Civil Engineering,
• in 1990 the Electrical Engineering Studies developed into the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and in the same year, the Senate of the University passed the Decision to include the name of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in the name of the university.
  

Thus, the youngest Croatian University is named after this extremely important person in Croatian and European history. Furthermore, the academic year 1991/1992 began in wartime Croatia. The University of Osijek is the only university in Croatia that suffered severe damage in the war for independence.

University of Osijek