11 projects were financed through the First Swiss contribution
The Swiss-Croatian cooperation program supported activities that directly enable the improvement of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, through projects:
Water supply and wastewater of the municipality of Delnice, Fužine and Brod Moravice
Work was carried out on the construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the water supply system in Delnice, Fužine and Brod Moravice, a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) and a system for monitoring and controlling water losses in these areas were established. Works were also carried out on the extension of the public drainage system of the municipalities of Fužine and Brod Moravice, as well as the installed devices for wastewater treatment in those areas.
Demining and socio-economic integration
As part of the project, demining of the mine suspected area of the Kotar Forest and other areas in Sisak-Moslavina County was carried out, and a total of 3.34 km² was demined. Demining of this area has contributed to the safety of the local population and employees of Croatian Forests who live and work there, and enabled the use of the forest for economic purposes.
Eurostars
As part of the project, the participation of Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international projects focused on research and development was financed. Vouchers were awarded for the use of consulting services in the preparation of project applications, and various panels, workshops and lectures on research and innovation were organized, through which SMEs were given the opportunity to be informed about global trends, promote their products and services, technology and knowledge, and thus improve their competitiveness in the market.
Program of Excellence in Higher Education – “Tenure-track”
Through the project, research teams of young scientists were financed with the aim of their long-term employment. As part of the project, three research groups were funded over a period of 5 years. Two sub-projects were carried out at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, and one at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. The Faculty of Science’s project Exotic Nuclear Structure and Dynamics (ExoNSD) investigated the processes inside the nucleus of an atom. The Ruđer Bošković Institute’s project, Evolution in the Dark (EvoDark), studied the evolutionary processes of cave organisms, while the Mining the Variable Sky (MVS) project participated in collecting data on our galaxy and mapping the universe.
Modernisation of Vocational Education and Training programmes
The project improved vocational curricula for the occupations of chimney sweeper, glazier, beautician, hairdresser, painter- decorator, intermedia photographer in order to better reflect the needs of the labour market, and 13 vocational schools were equipped. The capacities of vocational education and training service providers (schools and employers) were improved for designing, providing and continuously improving the work-based learning.
Croatian-Swiss research programme
Through the project, 11 research sub-projects of Croatian and Swiss scientists were carried out, within which new researchers were employed. As a result of joint projects, 90 scientific publications have been published so far and 8 scientific awards have been awarded. The project also carried out activities to strengthen the capacities of the Croatian Science Foundation in the management of international projects, and the cooperation between the Croatian Science Foundation and the SNSF was extended to other European initiatives in the European Research Area.
Project Preparation Facility
A Feasibility Study and three project proposals for infrastructural investments in water and wastewater supply in the town of Delnice and municipalities of Fužine and Brod Moravice were prepared, and legal assistance was provided in relation to the preparation and execution of the contract on the preparation of construction project documentation, the conclusion of a co- financing contract, project contract.
