Abstract:

Aims & Objective:
This paper will report on research which outlines the current state of education in the field of Intellectual property (IP) in Croatia. Its aim is to offer directions which will assist the identification of prevailing practices and highlight examples of good practices and quality of training programs in the field. This research is the result of the ongoing international project IPEDU - Introducing Intellectual Property Education for Lifelong Learning and the Knowledge Economy [1] which is co-funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union.

Methodology:
The research focuses on aspects of intellectual and industrial property contents in study programs at technical higher education institutions (HEIs). HEIs in Croatia are universities, polytechnics and colleges. The sample analysed in this national report includes technical faculties (university study programs), polytechnics (professional study programs) and universities with technical faculties in Croatia. After excluding private institutions from the population of HEIs delivering study programs in the field of technical sciences, the final sample comprises 46 institutions: 27 faculties, 7 polytechnics, 2 colleges, 9 universities, and 1 university department for professional studies.

In order to analyse the current state of affairs and good practices in IP education within technical HEIs, a survey was carried out between November 2020 and January 2021. In order to get a detailed insight of educational offers pertaining to knowledge and skills in the wider realm of IP, several approaches where used:
1. Distribution of an online survey to the management of technical faculties
2. Content analysis of published study programs and web domains of technical faculties

Collected data on study programs containing IP as an umbrella concept and its sub-concepts spanned all HE cycles: undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies.

Results & Conclusions:
Public Universities and their constituents (i.e. faculties), college and polytechnics show a general awareness on the importance of IP as an educational outcome in the technical field. IP infrastructure in the form of technology transfer centers, legal frameworks and issued rules is evolving or already in place, but these do not translate into educational practices on a satisfactory scale. IP is integrated in study programs only sporadically, and when it is formally integrated into study programs then courses with limited time-slots focusing on IP prevail. In the survey of technical faculty management respondents commented that there are no specific courses devoted to IP since IP is understood as a general outcome of all courses within the study program, or as stated by respondents, “the majority of courses generate IP knowledge and skills”. However, such an implied position of IP within study programs will not guarantee the development of necessary knowledge and skills on IP and related concepts.

Croatian public technical HEIs should pay more attention to IP concepts as these are currently not a substantial component of study programs. Although several examples of good practices based on more comprehensive approaches in covering IP topics have been identified, these are still limited to a smaller number of courses or programs, instead of being substantial and overarching features of educational programs within these types of institutions.

References:
[1] IPEDU website. 2021. https://www.ipeduproject.eu/ [17.11.2021.]

Keywords:

Intellectual property, education, technical universities, IPEDU, international projects.