The Republic of Croatia has formally joined the family of Central European nations that support the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies. The Republic of Croatia has formally joined the family of Central European nations that support the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies. In a formal adhesion ceremony held on 9 November 2010 at the University of Alberta, the Croatian ambassador to Canada, H.E., Mme. Vesela Mrđen Korać, and a delegation of officials from the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Alberta sealing this new partnership. Croatia thus becomes the seventh Central European country formally associated with the Wirth Institute, which, in addition to the founding country, Austria, also includes the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The Croatian delegation also included Mr. Staša Skenžić and Mrs. Kristina Gerber Sertić of the Directorate for International Cooperation and European Integration of the Croatian Science Ministry, as well as Mr. Zoran Joković, the Consul of the Croatian Embassy in Ottawa. Signing on behalf of the University of Alberta were the Provost and Vice-President Academic, Dr. Carl Amrhein, the Dean of Arts, Dr. Lesley Cormack, and the Director of the Wirth Institute, Franz Szabo.
The new agreement with Croatia establishes a Croatian Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Wirth Institute, jointly financed by the Croatian Ministry of Science, the Croatian community in Canada and the Wirth Institute. Because preliminary agreement on the fellowship had already been reached last February, the first competition for it was held well in advance of the formal signing. As a result, the first Croatian fellow, Ms. Jelena Bulić of the University of Zagreb, was able to join the Institute on September 1, along with similar fellows for the 2010-2011 academic year from Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
In addition to the agreement with the University of Alberta, Ambassador Mrđen Korać also signed a broad general agreement on post-secondary education with the Province of Alberta. Deputy Minister Annette Trimbee, of the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology, who signed on behalf of the Province, noted "Through this memorandum of understanding, we will be able to share the best resource available to us: our knowledge. Alberta places great emphasis on the international relationships fostered by our post-secondary institutions and we are particularly proud of the U of A. This university is a leader in developing successful international partnerships based upon the highest standards of teaching and research capabilities."
Also present at the signing ceremonies were members of the Croatian community of Canada, including the President of the Vancouver-based Canadian Croatian Congress, Mr. Ivan Curman, and the president of the Edmonton branch of the Congress, Mr. Stjepan Krolo, who took the opportunity to sign a long-range donation agreement with the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Cormack, and to make a preliminary donation of $26,400 in support of the fellowship program.