Commencement of Classes in Doctoral Programs for the 2026/2027 Academic Year

On Thursday, November 5, 2026, the Catholic University of Croatia marked the start of classes in the doctoral programs History and Sociology: Values, Identity, and Social Change in Croatian Society. The gathering opened with a prayer led by Prof. Ante Crnčević, PhD, Vice-Rector for Quality, Identity, and Mission, followed by welcome addresses from the Rector, Prof. Željko Tanjić, PhD, and Prof. Zlatan Car, PhD, President of the University Doctoral Programs Council.

Addressing the 27 newly enrolled doctoral students for the 2026/2027 academic year—thirteen in the History program, eight in Sociology: Values, Identity, and Social Change in Croatian Society, and six in the preparatory bridging module—Rector Tanjić said: "Thank you for your trust! A significant, new step lies before you as you enter doctoral studies, and we hope to justify your confidence. The most vital element of earning a doctoral degree is perseverance. A doctorate is a collaborative endeavor between you, your mentors, co-mentors, and fellow colleagues—do not isolate yourselves; engage in dialogue, share knowledge with others, and persevere," concluded Tanjić.

Prof. Car highlighted: "You who are here today are the reason for our gathering. You have enrolled in the highest tier of education the higher education system can offer, and before you lies the transition from learning what others already know to creating what no one yet knows. At the end of this journey, it is not merely a degree awaiting you—you will become independent scholars, individuals who know how to ask the right questions, patiently seek answers, and honestly acknowledge the limits of their findings," Car stated.

Prof. Stjepan Kušar, PhD, the former President of the Doctoral Programs Council, delivered the inaugural lecture entitled The University (Universitas) in the Mirror of the Text. Starting from the premise that there is no university without the text, Professor Kušar examined the historical evolution of script and books to demonstrate how the materiality of text—from early scriptura continua and vocalized reading to the structured scholastic manuscript of the Middle Ages, complete with arguments and counterarguments—acted as a feedback loop structuring the human mind and fostering the distinct European university tradition open to risk and inquiry. Contrasting this historical role of the book with the contemporary era of screens and artificial intelligence, he warned of the danger of reducing the human intellect and education to mere mechanistic information transfer (input–output) rather than deep reflection, dialogue, and wisdom. He concluded with an encouraging call to the new doctoral candidates to approach research and the pursuit of knowledge not as a field of competition, but as a path toward lasting intellectual and spiritual friendship.