Head of the Institute:
Ljubica Pilepić Stifanich, Ph.D., Associate Professor
The Institute has six departments:
- Department of Logistics and Tourist Resources
- Department of Informatics
- Department of Cultural and Historical Heritage
- Department of Business Communication
- Department of Business Foreign Languages
- Department of Food and Nutrition
The multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary structure of the Institute, visible through the chairs and all members of the Institute, shows its importance in enriching the field of tourism through scientific research, teaching content, professional activity and work with students.
The department includes activities in the areas of learning and teaching foreign languages, business communication, cultural and historical heritage, food and nutrition, informatics and IT monitoring of business processes, geographical bases and ecological resources of tourism, logistic processes in tourism, transport as the basis of all tourist activities and legal bases of tourist activity.
The Institute strives to combine all these areas, which are very different from each other but very important for tourism, into a whole, with the aim of a high quality and marketable product of a tourist destination.
Department of Logistics and Tourist Resources
Department Head:
Nataša Kovačić, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Members of the Department:
The research areas of the Department of Logistics and Tourism Resources are:
Study and application of logistics systems, space and resources in the space used by tourism.
The department actively participates in all activities of the Faculty. Its main activities relate to the scientific, research, professional and teaching work of its members in the field of activity of the Department. The scientific activity is based on the management and participation in scientific projects of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia. The members of the Department publish scientific works and participate in scientific congresses and conferences abroad and in the Republic of Croatia. In their works they scientifically investigate:
Transport and logistics in increasing the quality of the tourist product, geographical background and ecological potential in designing the tourist offer, various aspects of maritime law and law in tourism.
The members of the Department actively participate in the specialised projects of the faculty. The importance of the Department stems from the scope of activities of its members, who, although working in very different scientific fields, contribute to the enrichment of scientific, professional and educational work in the field of tourism. With their research results, the members of the Department contribute to the enrichment of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of tourism. For this reason, the Department shall seek interaction with other departments within and outside the Institute of Multidisciplinary Areas.
Department of Informatics
Department Head:
Tomislav Car, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Members of the Department:
- Mislav Šimunić, Ph.D., tenured full professor
- Ljubica Pilepić Stifanich, Ph.D., associate professor
- Tomislav Car, Ph.D., assistant professor
Teaching activities include teaching activities of the faculty members in the regular studies (undergraduate and specialised) in Opatija and part-time studies (undergraduate and specialised) in Opatija and Zabok.
Scientific activity is based on the participation of the members of the Department in scientific research projects, publication of scientific and professional papers, active participation in international and national scientific and professional conferences and publication of a university textbook.
The importance of the Department results from the field of activity itself. Within the framework of the Department’s courses, all the important areas relevant to the application of computer science in the everyday professional life of future tourism employees (now students) are interconnected. The research results of the members of the Department should contribute to Croatia’s ability to respond qualitatively to the increasingly rapid technological changes that development dictates. Croatia’s accession to the European Union represents a key process and a prerequisite for qualitative changes in all areas of business and the affirmation of a knowledge-based value system (knowledge society) in order to achieve competitiveness of the Croatian economy, tourism and individual companies. The department should strive for interaction with other departments within and outside the Institute, with the aim of better education of future leaders and implementation in practise.
Department of Cultural and Historical Heritage
Department Head:
Members of the Department:
- Dolores Miškulin, Ph.D., Associate Professor
- Alenka Šuljić Petrc, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer
- Iva Barić, Lecturer
- Ana Ravnić Perfido, Lecturer
The following thematic areas/courses are studied in the Department:
- Croatia as a Tourist Destination
- Tourist Destinations in Croatia
- Cultural and Historical Heritage of Croatia
- Cultural and Historical Sights of Croatia
- Glagolitic Monuments in Croatian Tourist Routes
The main activities of the Department are related to the teaching activities of its members. Scientific and professional activities, as well as scientific and professional training and promotion, are carried out within the framework of the Department of Foreign Languages, to which all members of the Department belong. In the Department of Cultural and Historical Heritage the elective courses Croatia as a Tourist Destination, Cultural and Historical Heritage of Croatia, Tourist Destinations of Croatia, Cultural and Historical Landmarks of Croatia and Glagolitic Monuments in Tourist Routes are taken. Croatia as a Destination and Cultural and Historical Heritage of Croatia are studied in the fifth semester of the undergraduate studies, Glagolitic Monuments in Tourist Routes in the seventh semester of the undergraduate studies, and Tourist Destinations of Croatia and Cultural and Historical Landmarks of Croatia in the fifth semester of professional studies.
In all courses, with the exception of the course Glagolitic Monuments in Tourist Routes, teaching is in foreign languages: English, German, Italian and French.
The importance of the Department stems from the importance of cultural and historical heritage as one of the basic resources for the development of tourism. The aim of the courses in this subject area is to get to know Croatia as a tourist destination and to present its cultural and historical heritage in English, German, Italian and French.
Department of Business Communication
Department Head:
Members of the Department:
The activities of the department are pedagogical and scientific/professional. The department offers the following courses: Communication in Organizations (2nd year, compulsory course in Business Communication), Business Communication (graduate course, compulsory course in Management in the Hotel Industry), Corporate Communication (elective course, scientific postgraduate course in Management in Modern Hotel Management), Corporate Communication (elective course, new doctoral study program Business Economics in Tourism and Hospitality).
Scientific research within the Department of Business Communication focuses on three areas:
- the discourse of the organization
- (socio)linguistic aspects of communication in management
- the discourse of tourism.
In the three mentioned research areas, the Department of Business Communication actively participates in the international exchange of knowledge through the publication of articles in renowned journals, through the publication of books in Croatia and abroad, and through participation in domestic and foreign scientific events as lecturers, guest lecturers and section leaders.
The importance of the Department stems from its field of activity, which in the broadest sense is business communication, which plays a very important role in the tourism business.
Department of Business Foreign Languages
Department Head:
Alenka Šuljić Petrc, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer
Members of the Department:
- Dolores Miškulin, Ph.D., Associate Professor
- Alenka Šuljić Petrc, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer
- Iva Barić, Lecturer
- Ana Ravnić Perfido, Lecturer
The Department of Foreign Business Languages includes pedagogical, professional and scientific activities. It participates in the implementation of the study programs of all specializations of the Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality. Teaching activities are carried out in the framework of undergraduate, graduate and professional programmes.
The aim of the courses studied within the Department is to train students for oral and written communication in foreign languages, so that they can apply the acquired knowledge and skills in various social and professional situations related to tourism and hospitality.
In addition to English, German, Italian and French, Russian, Japanese and Chinese will be introduced as electives at the entry level in the foreseeable future.
The Department of Foreign Business Languages has always endeavoured to follow the latest achievements in the field of foreign language didactics, with special attention to the specifics of professional language, and to implement them in new teaching programmess. Taking into account the innovations in the learning and teaching process, the foreign language teachers, by using modern teaching methods and means, manage to motivate the students and train them for communication in the hospitality and tourism industry, despite the small number of hours. The faculty is equipped with networked personal computers that enable students to learn foreign languages interactively. For this purpose, teaching materials have been prepared for students and made available on the Internet with the help of the “Distance Learning” programme.
Within the framework of the Department of Foreign Languages, study trips to Germany and Italy have been organized so that students can become acquainted with the cultural and civilizational elements of the countries whose languages they study.
In addition to their teaching activities, the members of the Department are scientifically and professionally trained and have written a large number of scientific and professional works published in national and international publications, in addition to numerous textbooks. They collaborate as authors or co-authors in domestic and foreign scientific journals. They have actively participated in numerous domestic and foreign scientific and professional meetings and reviewed numerous works of domestic and foreign authors.
Department of Food and Nutrition
Department Head:
Greta Krešić, Ph.D., Full professor with tenure
Members of the Department:
The members of the Department have continuously participated in all pedagogical, scientific and professional activities of the Faculty since its establishment. Teaching activities are carried out within the framework of undergraduate, postgraduate and professional studies at the Faculty. The members of the Department are involved in all forms of teaching in Opatija and in the Zabok Study Center. The scientific activity of the members of the Faculty results from their continuous participation in scientific projects financed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.
The members of the Department constantly participate in professional projects of various clients, in which they use their knowledge in the field of food processing, food with increased biological value and current nutritional trends to solve specific problems.
In addition to teaching, members of the department are continuously involved in projects and numerous activities in the field of food technology and nutrition. Accordingly, the activities of the department are focused on the following areas:
The development of food products with potential positive effects on health, the study of the quality of nutrition and lifestyle habits of different population groups, the implementation of achievements in the field of scientific and professional work in profiling specific hospitality and tourism products according to current trends.