On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its foundation, the University of Rijeka, in cooperation with the Lürssen group, organised a unique two-day event titled the European Forum – Future for Universities in the to the premises of the former company Eksportdrvo.
During a two-day conference, the academic and business community of Rijeka and the Kvarner region had an opportunity to hear some first-hand experiences and advice of some of the most successful people from the business sector and higher education in Europe, including Mr. Peter Lürssen, CEO of Lürssen, Mr. Andreas Treichl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the ERSTE Foundation, and Mr. Roberto Kutić, co-founder and COO at Infobip and many others.
Opening of the European Forum
For 50 years, the University of Rijeka has been a national and regional example of striving for excellence in the education of numerous generations of academic citizens, who have become or will soon become the promotors of socio-economic development, not only in Rijeka, but also in the Kvarner region and beyond. The University of Rijeka is proud of the accomplishments achieved over the last 50 years, and it celebrates this great jubilee, without looking back, but rather, thinking about the future, with an emphasis on sustainability.
“The underlying idea of this European Forum, which, hopefully, will not be the only one, was primarily our desire to establish communication. Of course, there is cooperation between the business sector and the University, the civil sector, the local community, and citizens. However, our idea is that one can face the challenges of the future, as well as the temporary social problems, only if we put our heads together, if we somehow overcome the prejudices that are deeply rooted in our institutions – both business and university. We must endeavour to solve the problems together, because it is our duty, our moral obligation, to think about future generations as much as we think about the quality of life of our citizens”, pointed out Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, rector of the University of Rijeka
Peter Lürssen, CEO of Lürssen
The University of Rijeka and the Lürssen company, as a co-organiser of this special manifestation, share the common stance, i.e. the future of education lies precisely in cross-sectoral cooperation at multiple levels. Therefore, the European Forum – Future for Universities tried to embody exactly these values for the purpose of further development and strengthening the competitiveness of the general domestic academic and business community.
“One company alone cannot make a big change within a certain industry. The secret is that we have to work closely with educational and research institutions. By working openly and transparently, we can find a solution together, or direct the industry towards a solution. If one’s good idea doesn’t work the first time, give it a second chance and try to learn from the first failure, so that you may succeed the second time. After all, it’s all about people, creative and innovative people”, pointed out Peter Lürssen. Lürssen is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large yachts, who has been very active for some time and a prominent member of the local community of Rijeka.
Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, rector of the University of Rijeka
“As the strategic partner of the University of Rijeka, the Lürssen group observes the importance of creating new jobs of the future and continuously strives to work very closely with the University to educate new staff who will one day work on the development and research projects of both parties”, added Teuta Duletić, Managing Director at Lürssen Design Centre Kvarner.
Mr. Andreas Treichl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the ERSTE Foundation and former CEO of Erste Group Bank AG, drew attention with his rich experience and witty comments during the first day of the Forum, as he was one of the panelists in a panel discussion Education for the competencies of the future, giving the students valuable advice for future personal and professional development. Mr. Marko Filipović, Mayor of Rijeka, also welcomed the participants: “Through this conference, the University of Rijeka takes both the European and the global perspective, and its work enables Rijeka to connect not only with the academic but also with the business sector. On the other hand, the Lürssen company will implement the project which will change our city. We and the city of Rijeka must not miss the opportunity at hand, and the possibility of developing our city in the future, in Europe.” In addition to the mayor Filipović, the conference was also attended by Deputy Mayor Goran Palčevski.