As the only university in Croatia established by a woman, assoc.prof. Gordana Nikolić, PAR symbolizes a significant milestone in the academic world, highlighting the critical role that women play in shaping the future of education.
For the next generation of female entrepreneurs, we share inspiring stories, connect with experience and aspired women entrepreneurs and support them on their way to success. We are committed to supporting all ambitious individuals with entrepreneurial aspirations through several established frameworks. Particularly focusing on groups with fewer opportunities, PAR provides access to education, offering free education courses and implemented mentorship to support unemployed youth and NEETs.
As a part of the European Dual Study University, PAR provides dual study model and its innovative spirit, PAR creates a new landscape of work by integrating academic with practical experience and preparing students for their careers and meaningful contributions to society. The unique profile of our institution and close collaboration with both industry and society meets the challenges of digital transformation, climate change, de-carbonisation and other contemporary issues that will impact our future.
PAR dual study program for student athletes is one of the highest impact program with scholarships that support athletes in continuation of their careers, both athletic and academic. Among our professional sport students, we proudly count several Olympic medallists, who exemplify the university's spirit of excellence and inspire our entire student community with their stories of determination.

In 2007, PAR has been founded with a mission to offer an innovative and progressive education model in the form of dual study programs. We soon realised this seemed to be quite an utopian goal in the context of higher education in Croatia at the time.
Inspired by examples from different countries that have already had experience with dual studies, PAR decided to continue developing educational model that combines classroom with practical work. We stand as a pioneer of higher dual education in Croatia, and an inspiration for those who are motivated to lead a change.
15 years later, we have been recognized by the European Commission and achieved significant milestones. Becoming a part the European Dual Studies University EU4Dual with other partners represents an opportunity to continue developing higher education focused on future societal needs. We continuously enhance our curriculum to make it benefcial for our students and respond to the changing demands of the global job market.
Today, we are proud to be recognized as leaders in the educational field that are capable of leading the change and making a lasting impact. PAR isn’t just to be a place to earn a degree— it's a place to learn, grow, and prepare for a future rich with possibilities. Through its leadership and innovation, PAR University of Applied Science has not only transformed the education system but reshaped the job market, by our continuous growth and generating knowledgeable and skillful workforce and experts keen to contribute to the sustainable future,

PAR vision of dual model for higher education is supported by already articulated plans to promote and expand the reach of EU4Dual’s activities. By the end of the year, we will launch a certification programme for Dual Education, accompanied by implementation guidelines, consultancy and tutor training programmes.
As part of the institution’s efforts towards expanding dual education, PAR agreed to open up a range of new collaborating opportunities with the alliance:
• up to 6 associated partners will be invited to associate with the alliance - these partners will have the opportunity to participate in joint mobility, study and research programmes;
• around 20 partners globally will be supported in developing and strengthening their dual education systems, through participation in institutional transformation activities supported by the certification scheme;
• additional researchers, institutional leaders and decision makers will be invited to participate in our network events and share practice in particular via our annual conference on dual studies and its linked journal
The EU4Dual certification programme will award a global quality label indicating that programmes have achieved excellence in their implementation of work-integrated Higher Education.
In the coming year, many of these activities will be transferred under the umbrella of a distinct legal entity, controlled by the members of the alliance, which will be tasked with promoting the Common Dual Model for Higher Education in Europe and beyond, on a global scale.