Vision and mission

Dean's opening speech

The University of Zagreb is the oldest continuously operating Croatian university and one of the oldest in Europe, with a tradition spanning over 350 years. Since its foundation in 1669, it has developed into a leading academic and research institution in the Republic of Croatia, with more than 68,000 students and more than 8,000 teachers, researchers and professional staff at 31 schools and three art academies.

Higher education in the field of dental medicine at the University of Zagreb has been conducted for more than a hundred years, and the School of Dental Medicine, founded in 1962, today represents the central national institution for the education of doctors of dental medicine. The School conducts integrated undergraduate and graduate university studies in Croatian and English (360 ECTS), six specialist studies and a doctoral study in Croatian and English. Teaching is conducted in accordance with the highest European and world standards, as confirmed by international re-accreditations and the continued interest of domestic and foreign students. Enrollment quotas are regularly fully filled, and integrated studies are among the most desirable in Croatia. Currently, more than 1,100 students are educated at all levels of higher education.

The School operates through nine departments and thirty Chairs that cover all basic and clinical medical and dental fields. The teaching staff consists of more than 160 highly educated employees, including more than 130 doctors of science, who, through their professional and pedagogical work, shape new generations of dental doctors. Some of the teachers also participate in education at other universities in Croatia, the region and Europe. The School's teaching bases are the Sestre milosrdnice Clinical Hospital, Zagreb Clinical Hospital, Dubrava Clinical Hospital and the "Dr. Fran Mihaljević" Clinic for Infectious Diseases.

Scientific and research excellence is one of the key values ​​of the School. As the most productive scientific institution in the field of dental medicine in Croatia, the School develops research in modern and interdisciplinary areas – from salivary diagnostics and advanced dental materials to the application of artificial intelligence in dentistry. Foreign researchers also work in the School's laboratories, and numerous teachers are winners of domestic and international awards. The School has been publishing the international scientific journal Acta stomatologica Croatica for 60 years, which publishes papers in Croatian and English and is indexed in the most important world index databases.

Professional activity is achieved through specialist studies, lifelong learning programs with numerous domestic and international courses. Of particular note is the International Congress of the School of Dental Medicine, which brings together leading experts and enables the rapid transfer of scientific knowledge into the educational process and clinical practice, in line with the School's mission to improve the oral health of the community.

Over more than six decades, the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, has built a recognizable identity as an institution that fosters excellence, academic integrity and social responsibility. More than 6,800 doctors of dental medicine have graduated from this School – a legacy that we are extremely proud of and that obliges us to continue improving every day, because those who do not want to be better cease to be good!