University of Zagreb

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Information and Communication Sciences

Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Course in Information Sciences

Introduction

Reasons for initiating the programme

Information sciences play an important role in the development of today’s information society. Although it may seem that the rise of information society is a result of the development of information and communication technology and therefore entirely depends on its further advancement, information technology is actually only one of the components in the structure of information society. Information society primarily consists of organized and ordered segments, and the identification, organization and ordering of these segments depend on individuals who have the knowledge necessary to select, organize and arrange them. Information is also an essential element in modern economies of highly developed countries which create their new products on the basis of information. It is therefore of crucial importance for Croatia to have educated individuals who understand the importance of information and the role it plays in society. The Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Course in Information Sciences trains highly educated and specialized professionals who understand how information society is created and organized, professionals who are able to recognize, select, transfer and protect information relevant for Croatian citizens and Croatian society as a whole.

The Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Course in Information Sciences is being initiated due to growing demands for specialists in social and human sciences, research projects in the field of information technology and basic research projects prompted by new insights. The course has been brought into accordance with various research projects on Croatian identity with special emphasis on information sciences and the development of information sciences through the development of information systems, informatology, library science, archival and documentation science, museum study, lexicography and encyclopaedistics.

The programme of the course is based on scientific research projects and its aim is to train students to fully understand the fundamental elements of information sciences within social and human sciences. The interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach will make students capable of conducting scientific research in the field of information sciences and making appropriate research evaluations.

The proposal for the programme of this course has been brought in accordance with the provisions of the Law on scientific-research activity and high education institutions, the Statute of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Rector’s Conference Guidelines for the formulation of proposals for postgraduate programmes. During the outlining of the programme of this course special consideration was given to making it compatible with similar programmes offered at European universities.

The proposer’s previous experience in the organization of postgraduate programmes

Since 1994 the Department of Information Sciences has been organizing and conducting the Postgraduate Research-Oriented Course in the field of information sciences which offers several different programmes – archival science, library science, museum science and social-humanistic informatics. During the past fourteen years this programme has continuously been updated through a regular introduction of new topics, course subjects and materials as a result of rapid and constant changes in the field of information sciences. The postgraduate course is organized in accordance with the programme regulations of the new graduate programme that were accepted by the University of Zagreb in 2005.

Facilitating the mobility of students

Since the course is structured in accordance with the ECTS credit system, it allows a high level of mobility of students as well as teachers. The students will be encouraged to participate in international exchange programmes as much as possible. Various visiting international lecturers are already included in the programme, and further efforts will be made to include as many of such lecturers as possible.

The possibilities for a full or partial integration of the programme into joint study programmes in collaboration with the universities from other countries

The structure and organization of the Postgraduate Doctoral Degree Course in Information Sciences enables its integration into joint study programmes with the universities from other countries which will be possible to organize after this doctoral degree course shows its first results.

General outline

The name of the course is thePostgraduate Doctoral Degree Course in Information Sciences. The course belongs to the field of social sciences, the area of information sciences and its basic branches are information systems and informatology, library science, archival and documentation science, museum science, lexicography and encyclopaedistics. In terms of its interdisciplinary approach the course is related also to human sciences and the field of philology, to technical sciences and the field of computer science as well as to natural sciences and the field of mathematics.

The institution that conducts the programme is The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb, Department of Information Sciences, in collaboration with archive, library, museum and lexicographic institutions whose staff members jointly participate in the realization of the programme of this course.

The institutional strategy of the development of doctoral degree courses is based on further development of interdisciplinarity both within the field of information sciences and its branches and other scientific fields and areas. The programme of this course is structured in such a way as to give a balanced approach between scientific research and multidisciplinary cooperation.

The innovativeness of the course lies in its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach as well as in its close cooperation with various information institutions.