OBJECTIVE: Providing support to excellent young scientists in establishing an independent research group and a long-term scientific career in Croatia.

RESULTS: 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. Through the project, membership in research groups has been established, articles have been published in international journals and several informal collaborations with foreign institutions have been established. The project also presented a new model of career development based on clear and internationally competitive and comparable merit-based criteria, which was made possible by the adoption of two new laws – the Act on Higher Education and Financial Activity and the Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Science.