Full Professor Ante Uglešić, Rector of the University of Zadar, attended the meeting „An Evening at the Bookstore“ in the bookstore Verbum in Zadar on Wednesday, 10 December.
As a rector of the oldest Croatian University that cherishes the tradition of the Dominican Order’s 14th century General University, he recalled its restoration stating that the University had become a recognizable and important factor of education in the region. It had become respectable, perhaps even outside Zadar's borders. Others say that and indicate its international aspect, and the Rector's wish is that one day more foreign students attend Zadar's university. Currently, there are 62 foreign students at the university.
The aim is also to strengthen the existing studies and to develop engineering, natural and biomedical sciences. The sub-aquatic technology study programme stemmed from that idea, and mechatronics and robotics study programmes are also being planned. After the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, that founded the Zadar's counterpart, Zadar had the most disciplines in the area of the humanities. Even today, they are more present in Zadar than on the other Croatian universities, but the Rector is of the opinion that the humanities have been neglected during past years, and that more attention should be drawn to history, the Croatian language, archaeology and other sciences from the area of the humanities. Full Professor Ante Uglešić also commented on the „brain drain“ and concluded that the departure of the young people from Croatia should be stopped by opening job vacancies, taking better care of the young in our society and completely changing the state's economic system.