Recognizing Excellence: RIT Croatia's Annual Faculty and Staff Awards

In continuous celebration of academic and administrative competency, RIT Croatia once again presented its distinguished faculty and staff members with annual awards that recognized their steadfast dedication and remarkable contributions. In addition to celebrating excellence in various domains, the commitment and loyalty of long-serving individuals within the institution were also acknowledged.

Categories of Excellence

The awards ceremony featured several categories that aimed to honor different aspects of faculty and staff contributions to RIT Croatia. All faculty and staff members had the opportunity to nominate their colleagues and support their nomination with an explanation. These categories included:

Excellence in Service: This category acknowledges individuals who have displayed an unparalleled commitment to enhancing the university experience. These awardees have exhibited outstanding dedication to their roles, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment for both colleagues and students.

The recipients of the Excellence in Service awards are:

• Matija Mitić, Facility Manager and IT Support

Matija is awarded primarily because of his positive attitude and going above and beyond to provide exceptional service to all constituencies. He understands the importance of addressing students, staff, and faculty needs in a timely manner. He excels in problem-solving and approaches challenges with a can-do attitude looking for effective solutions.  Matija is well-liked by their peers and consistently maintains a positive attitude, even in challenging situations.

• Maja Obadić, Academic Advisor

Excellence in Service Award is presented to Maja due to her unwavering dedication, personalized guidance, and commitment to student success. She plays a crucial role in guiding and supporting our students throughout their academic journey, going above and beyond her responsibilities to ensure student success. She is an invaluable member of the team and a constant pillar of positivity and support for her colleagues, always with a smile on her face.

• Dr. Kristina Šorić, College Professor

Kristina is an incredibly engaged faculty member, creative, and supportive RIT Croatia Tiger, who continuously volunteers her time to get involved in activities that help RIT's brand and reputation.  She doesn’t only participate in RIT Croatia community outreach activities but also initiates them. Just this year, this individual (again) initiated our Večer matematike (and delivered a workshop), and suggested we get involved in HAVK Mladost learning initiatives (where she again was a lecturer). Moreover, she does all this with absolute passion and dedication to students’ success, as well as with an open mind, kind approach, and inspiring ease.

Excellence in Professional Engagement: Recognizing the importance of engaging with the professional community, this award celebrates those who have formed meaningful connections between academia and industry. Their efforts have not only enriched the educational experience but have also contributed to the broader advancement of knowledge.

The recipients of Excellence in Professional Engagement awards are:

• Dr. Martin Žagar, Senior Lecturer

Martin has engaged in a number of industry-related projects, which have been invaluable not only to students’ academic development but also to the reputation of RIT Croatia. By bridging the gap between academia and industry, he has provided students with real-world experience and exposure to practical applications of his research. In addition, he was a keynote speaker at the World Conference on Nursing, Healthcare, and Hospital Management. Finally, Martin has an active role in several prestigious professional organizations, such as the European Commission Expert Group for the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy.

• Dr. Kristina Šorić, College Professor

Kristina is an active member of our community, involved in a number of projects at RIT Croatia. She is also our brand ambassador on LinkedIn, making it easy for anyone to see how committed she is to students' learning experience and success. This year she participated in the Honors Program, the Youth Business Camp for the third year in a row, summer Study Abroad, mentored students who won a presentation at RIT Imagine festival this year, participated in the Global Governance Summit, and is an active Rotary club member. Her level of engagement both within RIT Croatia and the broader community helps build strong relationships and positively impacts the reputation and influence of RIT Croatia.

Excellence in Research: This accolade shines a light on those who have contributed significantly to the institution's research endeavors. Through their exploration and discovery, they have expanded the frontiers of knowledge and brought recognition to RIT Croatia on a global stage.

The recipients of the Excellence in Research award are:

• Dr. Francis Brassard, Lecturer

Francis has published three articles in peer-reviewed journals, presented at two international conferences, and submitted three additional manuscripts for publication, some of which are quite extensive, including the translation of Ruđer Bošković’s main work into French. Furthermore, he participated in an Erasmus mobility program in an effort to establish cooperation between RIT and the Croatian research community with regard to spectral imaging. In addition, he attended an international research seminar in Germany.  Francis’s continual work at the intersection of religion, philosophy, and culture truly enriches RIT Croatia’s research environment.

• Dr. Martin Žagar, Senior Lecturer

Martin has co-authored 11 research articles in journals and proceedings of international conferences. He also devotes his time to reviewing, so in the last academic year, he served as a reviewer on 10 research articles. Furthermore, his continuous efforts to seek out grant opportunities have propelled the research goals of RIT Croatia to new heights. By actively engaging in the rigorous process of securing EU grants, he has demonstrated his commitment to advancing knowledge and fostering innovation within the institution. His persistent drive shows unwavering dedication to expanding the research horizons of RIT.

Outstanding Achievement: This award is reserved for individuals who have consistently exhibited exceptional performance across multiple domains. These individuals are creators, inspiring their colleagues and shaping the institution's future.

The recipients of the Outstanding Achievement award are:

• Marija Šušak Mišetić, Academic Affairs and Student Services Manager & Dr. Jakob Patekar, Associate Dean for Research and General Education

The Honors Program has achieved a huge success among students, they really see it as an added value during their journey at RIT Croatia. Marija and Jakob did an amazing job with the idea itself and making it remarkable, valuable, and outstanding for our students. The results are already visible after only one academic year of running the program and the amazing projects that were done.

• Ivan Smoljan, Recruitment and Enrollment Specialist

Ivan has shown a great deal of passion and initiative when recruiting students applying for our Dubrovnik-based programs and has been trying to find different ways of strengthening the program's position in Croatia and abroad. This year, he went above and beyond his regular responsibilities to work on developing a new partnership with Adriatic Luxury Hotels - and he succeeded. ALH became a partner in our Hospitality Search Contest, being a part of the competition, and offering a full scholarship to the best candidate. This created some additional marketing and communication opportunities in the region and has helped us get some great new candidates. Also, activities like this contribute to our brand value and support our strategic plan initiatives.

• Dr. Martin Žagar, Senior Lecturer

Martin’s persistence and unimaginable working hours result in a fantastic result each year and it can be summed up in impressive numbers:

• • 6 project applications
  • 41 partners
  • 26 countries
  • 6.1 million EUR
  • 3 projects won!
  • 219 thousand EUR
  • 1 project where RIT Croatia is the lead partner

Celebrating Years of Service

In addition to the excellence awards, RIT Croatia also took the opportunity to commend the commitment and loyalty of its long-serving faculty and staff members. Length of service awards were presented to those who have dedicated 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of their careers to RIT Croatia. These awards not only served as a token of appreciation but also highlighted the enduring relationships that have been forged over the years.

The recipients of the Length of Service award are:

5 years

• Dr. Nina Antičić, Lecturer
• Tanja Janđel, Finance and Accounting Specialist
• Tea Kovačević, Instructor
• Dr. Azra Tafro, Instructor

10 years

• Alice Almer, Marketing and Communications Manager
• Ana Gudelj, Lecturer
• Dr. Irena Guszak, President and Dean
• Štefica Povoljnjak, Cleaning Staff
• Dr. Vanja Vejzagić, Lecturer

15 years

• Mario Ljubišić, Facility and ITS Manager
• Kevin Walker, Lecturer

20 years

• Dr. Besim Agušaj, Senior Lecturer

25 years

• Dr. Nikolina Božinović, College Professor
• Zrinka Friganović Sain, Senior Lecturer

The recognition of outstanding achievements serves as a powerful motivator for continued excellence and innovation. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to strive for greatness, knowing that their contributions are valued and acknowledged.

As RIT Croatia continues to grow and evolve, the annual awards ceremony stands as a symbol of the institution's dedication to nurturing talent, fostering collaboration, and recognizing those who make a significant impact on campus life and beyond.