Business

Thanks to its strategic location at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans and the Adriatic Sea, Croatia has historically developed strengths in the maritime, petrochemicals and tourism industries. However, Croatia is working hard on diversifying its economy, pushing for more growth in technology and consumer goods. Although Croatia’s traditional partners are Italy, Germany and Austria, many UK companies have made a foray into the country, including GlaxoSmithKline, British Airways and Vodafone.

Following its accession to the European Union in 2013, Croatia has made substantial progress in creating an open business environment. Major reforms implemented since July 2014 have lifted economic growth significantly and help Croatia jump 45 places to rank 43^rd globally in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 2017. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is restricted in certain sectors, including transportation, publishing and education, but the government has pledged to reduce restrictions in the coming years.

This progressive economic climate is reflected in the business education at Croatian universities. There is a strong focus in helping students develop an international outlook, entrepreneurship and flexibility. Studying business in Croatia is a good opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and become a resourceful professional.

As of May 2018, there are four business undergraduate programmes taught entirely in English in Croatia. All consist of compulsory and elective courses, allowing you to build a strong foundational knowledge of all aspects of a business and the economy while still being able to explore a particular area in more depth. The compulsory courses often include mathematics, statistics, economics, accounting, corporate finance, international trade, marketing, IT and, most surprisingly, physical education. Unlike in the UK, all business students in Croatia must write a dissertation. Because of the similarities in the course structures among Croatian universities, it is very important to consider the elective course offerings to decide which course suits you best. 

The “Bachelor in International Business” programme at the University of Rijeka takes 3 years to complete, and elective courses are available from the second year onwards. Depending on your career aspirations, you will take classes in financial markets and institutions, public finance or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). You will also have the option to learn a foreign language, either Italian or German, up to B3 level. If you want to gain work experience while studying, it is possible to complete an internship in the first semester of the third year and earn 4 ECTSs for it. That’s half of the number of elective ECTSs you need for that semester!

The “Bachelor in Business” at the University of Zagreb is the only in Croatia to have received the prestigious EPAS accreditation by the European Foundation for Management Development. It is offered for a small, select group of 50 students, and takes 4 years to complete. The first two years consist of only compulsory courses. In addition to the common classes available in every business course in Croatia, the University of Zagreb also incorporates commercial law, investment strategy and tourism in its core curriculum. In the final two years, students are allowed to take 12 ECTS worth of elective courses per semester. Most of the courses at the university worth 5 to 9 ECTSs. To foster creativity and innovation among its business students, the university encourages taking elective courses outside of the Faculty of Business and Economics. There is no restriction on the subjects that they can study.

Following the American higher education model, the “Bachelor in International Business” programme at the Zagreb campus of Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia (RIT Croatia) takes 4 four years to complete and leads to two degrees: an American Bachelor degree awarded by Rochester Institute of Technology and a Croatian degree from RIT Croatia. There are no elective courses in this programme, but in the final year, you get to choose one among three concentrations: Marketing, Finance and Management. To prepare students for the graduate job market, the university requires that every student complete 800 hours of cooperative education or internships during their studies. Another highlight of this programme is its interdisciplinary curriculum, as it stays true to the holistic nature of American liberal arts education. This means you will find yourself studying psychology, American literature, environmental science and ethics alongside with your usual business classes. The foreign language course offering at Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia is more diverse than at any other institution, and it is compulsory to learn a foreign language while you are there. The options available are French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and German.

The “Bachelor in Business and Economics” programme at Libertas International University Kutina takes 3 years to complete and is suitable for anyone interested in entrepreneurship. It is also the only programme which offers classes in e-business, insurance, securities trading and logistics. The first-year core curriculum spans four main topics: economics, accounting, business and communications. Elective courses are available from the second year onwards.

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