Under the initiative of BDiB and MMI Programme Director, Professor Mario Spremić, students of international graduate studies accompanied by Professor Velimir Srića and Assistant Professor Božidar Jaković visited London Tech City and Reading University with the objective of strengthening international relations and taking students to the very centre of Europe's entrepreneurial activity regarding IT and Innovation.
Upon the arrival Zagreb Delegation was warmly welcomed by Mr David Rees, Visiting Executive Fellow at Henley Business School, University of Reading and accompanied to CISCO / Tech Incubation Hub where students received valuable input from CISCO’s strategy and innovation officer on company’s innovation focus as well as support it provides to young entrepreneurs through Raptor Incubation Programme ensuring financial funds and technical support to most prominent start-up projects. After 2 founders of such start-ups presented their stories the group was taken on a tour through Campus London, where numerous students and project founders share co-working space and passion for High Tech hardware and software solutions that will change the World.
According to the initial intention of strengthening ties between academic and real sector, the second part of the study visit was dedicated to the University of Reading where Croatian Delegation, led by Visiting Fellow David Rees, was received by Deputy Dean, Professor Ginny Gibson and Professor Kecheng Liu who communicated the opportunities regarding Business Informatics Master and Doctoral Programmes University and Henley Business School have got to offer to students coming from different parts of the World. Presentations were followed by the tour of campus and visit to University of Reading Enterprise Centre where Dr David Gilham gave students an insight into the role of the Enterprise Centre, development of the business community at the UoR and introduced plans for the science park to be established within the University. The entire study visit was rounded up with the collaboration discussion between University of Reading and University of Zagreb. Primary objective is to set up certain form of the exchange programme where our students from the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb would get the opportunity to spend semester at the University of Reading and vice verse. The first step toward one long-term and prosperous collaboration has just been accomplished.