EMUNI’s Teacher Builds Bridges With Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek in Croatia

From the 4 to the 6 of April, EMUNI’s Prof Dr Boštjan Šimunič conducted a teaching mobility at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek in Croatia.

Dr Šimunič, who is the head of the Institute for Kinesiology Research at the Koper Science and Research Centre is going to teach Ergonomics and Research methods & epidemiology at EMUNI’s freshly launched Master’s programme in Kinesiology of Human Performance.

Ahead of taking up his courses at EMUNI’s Kinesiology Master’s, Dr Šimunič visited the University of Osijek for a series of lectures in the framework of Erasmus+-funded teaching and training mobilities.

In the two days he spent in Osijek, Dr Šimunič taught three lectures and conducted a practical workshop. The lectures covered skeletal muscle adaptation to various stressors, microgravity, physical inactivity and ageing, and the interactions between ageing and physical inactivity. In turn, the workshop dealt with tensiomyographic assessment of skeletal muscle contractile properties. The practical side of the workshop was to delve into the functioning of hardware and software for TMG assessment in various skeletal muscles.

Dr Šimunič also seized the opportunity to hold several meetings with the host University’s staff. He discussed the design of their laboratory and the research equipment they need to support their study programme and conduct research. These discussions led to an agreement for the donation of used ZRS equipment that can still help researchers in Osijek in updating their facilities.


As usual, this mobility opportunity was not all about teaching since Dr Šimunič reports that he was able to exchange with students and discover the cultural heritage of Osijek.

Overall, the mobility’s impact is positive as it allowed to build bridges between ZRS, EMUNI and the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. These new ties are likely to yield greater scientific collaboration in the future and a steady mutual exchange of students and researchers.