SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU, FAKULTET ORGANIZACIJE I INFORMATIKE

Their core work

The Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) at the University of Zagreb is a Croatian higher education institution specializing in information systems, organizational informatics, and applied digital technologies. In H2020, they contributed expertise in cloud-based educational technology — specifically adaptive learning platforms, learning analytics, and digital competence frameworks for vocational and professional certification contexts. More recently, they extended into open data research methodology and interdisciplinary informatics, focusing on the economic and social value of research data. Their work sits at the boundary between computer science, organizational theory, and the practical digitization of learning and knowledge systems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2017-2019), FOI was firmly focused on applied EdTech: cloud infrastructure, personalized learning, gaming mechanics, learning analytics, and digital certification — concrete product-oriented work. By their second project (2019-2023), the keyword set shifted entirely toward open data, interdisciplinary methodology, scientific excellence, and the social and economic value of research — more abstract and policy-adjacent. This suggests a deliberate pivot from building digital learning tools toward contributing to the broader informatics research ecosystem and open science infrastructure.

FOI appears to be moving away from product-focused EdTech and toward open data governance and research capacity — positioning themselves as a methodological partner in interdisciplinary digital research rather than a technology builder.

How they like to work

FOI has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as project coordinator — in both H2020 projects. With 22 unique partners across 11 countries from just two projects, they joined large, internationally diverse consortia, which indicates they contribute a specific technical or thematic role rather than driving project strategy. There is insufficient data to assess partner loyalty, but their willingness to engage in both IA (innovation action) and CSA (coordination/support) schemes suggests flexibility in how they join consortia.

FOI reached 22 unique consortium partners across 11 countries through just two projects, indicating involvement in sizeable, geographically spread European consortia. No clear geographic concentration is visible from the available data, though their Croatian base gives them natural relevance as a Western Balkans / EU-accession region partner.

What sets them apart

FOI is one of the few Croatian higher education institutions with H2020 participation explicitly spanning both applied EdTech and open data research, giving them a credible bridge between digital skills infrastructure and open science policy. Located in Varaždin rather than a major capital, they represent a regional Croatian informatics perspective that can be valuable to consortia seeking geographic diversity within EU13/widening-eligible countries. Their combination of organizational theory and computer science — which is the faculty's defining academic identity — makes them useful in projects where digital transformation meets organizational change.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CRISS
  Largest project by budget (EUR 248,125) and the clearest evidence of FOI's hands-on EdTech expertise, covering cloud learning infrastructure, adaptive delivery, big data, and gamification in a single innovation action.
• TODO
  Demonstrates FOI's pivot toward open data operational frameworks under the Widening Participation pillar, extending their profile beyond EdTech into research data governance and scientific capacity building.