POLICIJSKA AKADEMIJA

Their core work

The Police Academy (Policijska akademija) in Zagreb is Croatia's principal institution for professional law enforcement education and research. It trains police officers, develops curricula for public safety careers, and conducts applied research on security threats. In EU projects it contributes practitioner knowledge — how police forces actually operate, what tools are deployable in real investigations, and what training gaps exist — rather than purely theoretical research. Its participation in security consortia bridges the gap between academic research outputs and operational police practice.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 engagement (Unity, 2015) focused on inter-agency and cross-border police cooperation — the structural and procedural side of law enforcement. By 2018 the focus had shifted firmly toward online radicalization and digital threat prevention with PROPHETS, reflecting the broader European security agenda's pivot to countering extremist online content. With only two projects and no keyword data available, this trajectory is inferred from project titles alone, so should be treated as indicative rather than definitive.

They appear to be moving from broad police-cooperation themes toward more specific digital-threat and counter-extremism work, which aligns with current EU security funding priorities around online content regulation and CVE (countering violent extremism).

How they like to work

The Police Academy has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never taking a coordinating role — consistent with an institution that provides specialist practitioner input rather than driving research agendas. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 24 unique partners across 11 countries, suggesting their contributions are valued in large, multi-national security consortia. They appear to join broad European networks rather than forming tight bilateral relationships.

The Academy has built connections with 24 partners across 11 countries through just two projects — averaging roughly 12 partners per project, which is typical of large RIA security consortia. Their network is pan-European with no obvious geographic concentration beyond the Western Balkans and Central-Eastern Europe.

What sets them apart

The Police Academy is one of the few HES institutions in the Western Balkans / South-East Europe that brings direct law enforcement authority and police training infrastructure into EU research consortia. This gives them a rare combination of academic credibility and operational legitimacy that pure universities or research institutes cannot offer. For consortia that need end-user validation from actual police services — mandatory in many Horizon security calls — the Academy is a practical and credible partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROPHETS
  The largest of their two funded projects (EUR 85,000), focused on preventing online radicalization through harmonized toolkits — a high-priority EU security topic with clear policy relevance.
• Unity
  Their entry into H2020, addressing cross-border police unity — foundational for establishing the Academy's European research network.