On the 5th and 6th of November 2024, Jasmina Mašović and Emil Vargović attended the scientific conference on academic freedoms organized by the law faculties of the universities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek. The attendees from various scientific backgrounds discussed the findings of recent research on academic freedoms at European universities. Other topics included the different definitions of academic freedom, the autonomy of Croatian public universities, and the normative frameworks that structure contemporary higher education systems.

Emil Vargović presented different conceptualizations and conditions of academic freedom, which always include adequate financial support from the state. He focused on the analysis of existing models of public financing of higher education in EU states and how they match the dominant conception of academic freedom today.

Jasmina Mašović presented the Scandinavian higher education model through the example of Norway and the consequences of their model on the autonomy of higher education institutions. Research conducted in Europe and the Nordic countries shows that there are similarities as well as differences between Nordic states on their respect for academic freedoms, which have recently been facing the issues of “managerialization“ and “academic capitalism“ in higher education as well as the growing involvement of the state in university leadership and administration.