What does the study of applied cognitive science bring that combines the strengths of FER and the Faculty of Philosophy?
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 8:08 am
It is an interdisciplinary study of Applied Cognitive Science , which began this academic year. In a conversation with its co-leader, Dr. Sc. Renata Geld from the Faculty of Philosophy, we learned just how it was created, what it brings to its students, and what jobs of the future it prepares them for.
The idea and desire to launch this study program has existed for quite some time, but the opportunity only opened up when the Faculty of Philosophy received a large development project aimed at developing new studies , reforming existing ones, and further developing a system for ensuring the quality of university teaching.
In addition, in 2018, we launched the Cognitive Science Forum at the Faculty of Philosophy , which hosted international and domestic scientists dealing with various interdisciplinary issues belonging to the cognitive science hexagon, and in this way we sensitized teachers and the administration at the time to the great importance of this interdiscipline both for science in general, but also for its application in industry and the labor market.
Let us recall that cognitive science studies the human mind and its functions and consists of six fundamental disciplines: anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, psychology and computer science .
"We started from occupational standards and conversations with employers"
Geld explains that they decided to focus on the synergy of social-humanities and car owner database technical sciences and that FER was therefore their first choice:
FER as a partner was the main option since computer science as a discipline has been, and still is, a fundamental component of cognitive science from the very beginning . That's when the conversation started with people at FER who have the versatility, knowledge, disciplinary and interdisciplinary, and the will to embark on this academic-innovative venture.
The working group consisted of: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Dario Bojanjac (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Alan Jović (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ana Sović Kržić (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Mirjana Tonković (FF), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ivana Hromatko (FF), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Diana Tomić (FF) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Renata Geld (FF) as the leader of the working group.
The biggest challenge was the process of getting to know each other in the working group, going beyond the scope of our disciplines and thinking beyond the usual . Then, of course, it was a challenge to specifically identify what it is that we need on the labor market and predict what will be needed in the near and far future,
says Geld, explaining that they wanted a study program that was innovative, relevant, and truly met the needs of the labor market , but also the needs of society as a whole:
We designed a study that is exactly that: we started from occupational standards and conversations with employers , mapped employers who employ cognitive scientists in the USA and Europe, created a new occupation with key jobs and competencies of the present, but also of the future.
The idea and desire to launch this study program has existed for quite some time, but the opportunity only opened up when the Faculty of Philosophy received a large development project aimed at developing new studies , reforming existing ones, and further developing a system for ensuring the quality of university teaching.
In addition, in 2018, we launched the Cognitive Science Forum at the Faculty of Philosophy , which hosted international and domestic scientists dealing with various interdisciplinary issues belonging to the cognitive science hexagon, and in this way we sensitized teachers and the administration at the time to the great importance of this interdiscipline both for science in general, but also for its application in industry and the labor market.
Let us recall that cognitive science studies the human mind and its functions and consists of six fundamental disciplines: anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, psychology and computer science .
"We started from occupational standards and conversations with employers"
Geld explains that they decided to focus on the synergy of social-humanities and car owner database technical sciences and that FER was therefore their first choice:
FER as a partner was the main option since computer science as a discipline has been, and still is, a fundamental component of cognitive science from the very beginning . That's when the conversation started with people at FER who have the versatility, knowledge, disciplinary and interdisciplinary, and the will to embark on this academic-innovative venture.
The working group consisted of: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Dario Bojanjac (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Alan Jović (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ana Sović Kržić (FER), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Mirjana Tonković (FF), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ivana Hromatko (FF), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Diana Tomić (FF) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Renata Geld (FF) as the leader of the working group.
The biggest challenge was the process of getting to know each other in the working group, going beyond the scope of our disciplines and thinking beyond the usual . Then, of course, it was a challenge to specifically identify what it is that we need on the labor market and predict what will be needed in the near and far future,
says Geld, explaining that they wanted a study program that was innovative, relevant, and truly met the needs of the labor market , but also the needs of society as a whole:
We designed a study that is exactly that: we started from occupational standards and conversations with employers , mapped employers who employ cognitive scientists in the USA and Europe, created a new occupation with key jobs and competencies of the present, but also of the future.