RUDER BOSKOVIC INSTITUTE

Their core work

Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) is Croatia's largest multidisciplinary research centre, with deep strengths in particle and nuclear physics, radiation detectors, and life sciences at the molecular level. They design and build particle detectors, sensors, and signal processing electronics for international physics experiments, while simultaneously running advanced research in cell biology — particularly chromosome segregation and mitotic spindle mechanics. RBI also serves as a key node in European open science and research data infrastructure, contributing to EOSC and OpenAIRE ecosystems. Their applied work spans antimicrobial materials, coastal environmental monitoring, and medical radiation applications.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014–2018, RBI focused heavily on open access data infrastructure (OpenAIRE, EOSC, EGI) and building up its particle physics instrumentation capacity through the PaRaDeSEC widening project. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted toward research infrastructure governance and sustainability, coastal observation systems (JERICO), and high-profile life science research — culminating in the EUR 3.8M ANEUPLOIDY grant. The recent period also shows growing involvement in applied health topics like antimicrobial materials and medical radiation strategies.

RBI is maturing from an infrastructure user into an infrastructure shaper — increasingly leading projects and moving toward applied biomedical and environmental research where their physics instrumentation expertise finds new applications.

How they like to work

RBI operates as a versatile partner, coordinating 9 of 37 projects (24%) while predominantly participating in large European consortia — their 680 unique partners across 55 countries reflect an exceptionally broad network. Their coordinator roles tend to be focused grants (ERC-style life science or capacity-building), while as participants they join large-scale infrastructure projects with dozens of partners. This mix signals an institute that can both lead focused research and integrate reliably into major collaborative frameworks.

With 680 unique consortium partners across 55 countries, RBI has one of the broadest collaboration networks in Southeast Europe. Their partnerships span the entire EU research landscape, with strong ties to major physics labs, open science infrastructure providers, and life science centres across Western and Southern Europe.

What sets them apart

RBI is Croatia's flagship research institute and the country's primary gateway into large-scale European physics and infrastructure projects — a rare combination in Southeast Europe. Their dual strength in hard physics instrumentation and molecular life sciences means they can contribute detector engineering to a particle physics consortium one month and chromosome biology expertise the next. For consortium builders targeting Widening countries, RBI offers genuine top-tier research capacity without the typical trade-off of limited international experience.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ANEUPLOIDY
  Their largest grant (EUR 3.8M, coordinator) investigating molecular origins of chromosome segregation errors — signals world-class cell biology leadership.
• PaRaDeSEC
  EUR 2.4M Widening project they coordinated to build Croatia's capacity in particle detectors and sensors — a strategic investment in national research infrastructure.
• EUROfusion
  Their longest-running project (2014–2022) and second-largest funding (EUR 1.9M), connecting RBI to Europe's fusion energy roadmap.