As part of the academic program of Dalekovod d.d., titled "Connecting People, Creating Opportunities," a visit was organized for our fifth-year students and employees to the Aurland–Vik–Sogndal and Blåfalli–Bismarvik projects in Norway. During these visits, the students were introduced to the processes of transmission line construction and the management of complex infrastructure projects in some of the most challenging terrains and under demanding weather conditions. They also became familiar with the company’s operations, employment opportunities at Dalekovod, as well as options for student internships and scholarship programs during their studies. We thank Dalekovod for the opportunity to complement our academic knowledge with technical, real-world examples, thereby further enriching our study program.

Poziv na prijavu na natječaj za vodećeg istraživača koji bi sudjelovao na istraživačkom projektu Alat za preventivni redispeč elektroenergetskog sustava temeljen na optimalnim izmjeničnim tokovima snaga. Projekt je financiran iz NPOO programa Podrška transferu tehnologije. Voditelj projekta je prof. dr. sc. Hrvoje Pandžić.

Potrebne kompetencije kandidata:

• završen prirodoslovni ili tehnički fakultet (VSS),
• minimalno 5 godina radnog iskustva iz područja elektrotehnike ili doktorat znanosti i dvije godine radnog iskustva iz područja elektrotehnike nakon stjecanja doktorata,
• odlično teoretsko poznavanje i iskustvo u radu s optimalnim tokovima snaga,
• odlično teoretsko poznavanja i iskustvo u modeliranju elemenata prijenosnog elektroenergetskog sustava,
• izvrsno poznavanje programskih jezika i načela potrebnih za učinkovitu nelinearnu optimizaciju,
• vrlo dobro znanje engleskog jezika u govoru i pismu.

Zainteresirani kandidati mogu se do 5.5.2025. prijaviti slanjem životopisa na email hrvoje.pandzic@fer.hr.

An educational and ecology-awareness raising event was organized by the popular student portal srednja.hr on April 15th in Šibenik. Our assistant professor Mirna Gržanić Antić and Igor Kvasić from Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies presented study programmes and activities at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER).

About 100 students, accompanied by 6 professors, attended the event with several of local students joining, gathering insights into the diverse academic programs FER offers — from traditional engineering disciplines, practical approaches to learning, research, to the increasingly popular study program in Renewable Energy Sources, taught in Šibenik. Their presentations highlighted the importance of engineering approaches to modern challenges, focusing on the fields of sustainability, energy efficiency, climate change and marine conservation. Mirna explained how low-carbon technologies, energy efficiency and smart energy management can help our planet, but also how these topics are taught at FER and Šibenik studies. The lecture was followed by an overview of another important technology that helps us protect our nature – underwater technology. Igor explained how surface and underwater marine robots can be used for marine conservation, sustainable fishing and protection of underwater heritage. The event served as a platform for students to discover exciting opportunities in science and technology, and to directly connect with representatives from leading Croatian universities.

On Friday, March 21, 2025, Luka Budin participated in a panel discussion on Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy Sources at Dubrovnik Expo 2025, alongside esteemed experts including associate professor Ivana Grčić , Dean of the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering University of Zagreb, and professor Stjepan Posavec, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb.

The discussion focused on cutting-edge solar technologies, enhancing wind turbine efficiency in urban environments, overcoming barriers to renewable energy adoption in smaller communities, and the impact of global policy frameworks on renewable energy development. Also, how the integration of renewable energy sources can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance urban infrastructure resilience, and conserve natural resources was explored. It was enlightening to share insights and experiences with colleagues and discuss the future of sustainable development.

On Friday, February 28, 2025, Nikolina Čović successfully defended her PhD dissertation, Providing Flexibility Services to the Power System using Residential Demand Response and Hydrogen Technologies, completed under the supervision of professor Hrvoje Pandzic. Her research focused on leveraging residential demand response and hydrogen-based technologies to enhance power system flexibility.

Key aspects of the dissertation included optimizing hybrid energy systems that combine photovoltaics, batteries, and hydrogen technologies for multi-energy balancing services, as well as developing machine learning approaches for user-preferred appliance scheduling and indoor temperature prediction to improve demand-side flexibility.

The defense was evaluated by a committee consisting of professor Tomislav Capuder, professor Dubravko Sabolić, and Dr. Jochen Cremer, whose discussion and feedback contributed to a constructive and engaging assessment of the research.

Dear Nikolina, congratulations and best of luck in your future work! 👏

Our Professor Igor Kuzle was a guest in the Croatian National Television science popularization serial Prometej, where he spoke about the impact of renewable energy sources on the dynamics of the power system and the research on this topic within the Horizon Europe "Transit" and Croatian Science Foundation "Dynasty" projects, which he leads at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. He also commented the profile and knowledge of bachelor's students graduating from the University of Zagreb's dislocated Study of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which is conducted in Šibenik. 

You can see the recorded television clip here.

On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, students of the first semester of the Master's degree program in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, profile Electrical Power Engineering, visited the EL-TO Zagreb (combined heat and power plant) in the Trešnjevka district of Zagreb. The visit was organized as part of the Power Generation course and was attended by about 40 Croatian and foreign students who learned about all the technical units of the combined heat and power station including separate units for the production of process steam for the pharmaceutical and food industries. The EL-TO Zagreb power plant was commissioned in 1907 (the famous Zagreb Munjara), has been modernized and rebuilt several times with different technologies and is today the key to supplying the western part of Zagreb with thermal energy (it supplies about 300 MWt of heating and process steam). In addition to thermal energy, which is generated in several separate boilers, the electricity generation capacity in two gas turbines is currently 50 MWe. The construction of a new combined-cycle cogeneration unit with an electrical output of 150 MWe and a thermal output of 114 MWt is underway and is scheduled to be commissioned this summer.

Within the power plant we also visited the 110/35 kV TS (the largest GIS facility in Croatia with 16 bays), which was built 3 years ago.

As part of the Electric Power Equipment Maintenance course, FER students visited the Zrakoplovno-tehnički centar – ZTC (Aviation Technical Center) in Velika Gorica on January 21, 2025. There they learned about the activities of the ZTC, the maintenance procedures in the maintenance of civil and military aircraft and the differences between Western and Eastern technology (e.g. Martin-Baker Mark16F and Mikoyan-Gurevic KM-1M ejection seats). They were shown and explained in detail the maintenance procedures for the Canadair-415 amphibious firefighting aircraft and the Air Tractor AT-802F (two-seater) and AT-802A Fire Boss (single-seater), as well as the maintenance and upgrade procedures within the modernization of the Pilatus PC-9M aircraft, which is used for light combat missions by the air forces of some countries (e.g. Slovenia) in addition to training military pilots. We also had the opportunity to inspect the Mil MI-8 Hip helicopter, which is regularly maintained. We should also mention fighter planes Rafale C F-3R and MIG-21 bisD the Sikorsky UH 60M Black Hawk, Bell 206B JetRanger III and Bell OH 58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. All of them are maintained at the ZTC but were unavailable at the time of our visit.

If you want to explore the future of energy, there is no better place to be than SynGRID Summer School!

From May 11th to May 16th 2025 join us in Ljubljana for a dynamic week of expert-led sessions, workshops and site visits to progressive energy companies in Slovenia.

Students, researchers, young professionals and others passionate about renewable energy and smart grids can apply until March 20th 2025.

No tuition fees! Accommodation and meals are provided.

Hope to see you there!

You can find more information here.