School of Public Health

"Andrija Štampar"

The complete renovation of the School of Public Health "Andrija Štampar" of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zagreb, which suffered extensive damage in the 2020 earthquakes, has been completed.

On this occasion, the ceremonial opening of the School was held on April 8, 2024, attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Parliament, and the University of Zagreb.

The ceremonial opening of the renovated School of Public Health "Andrija Štampar" is an institution of special status not only in Croatia, but also bears the name of a person whose work has had a strong impact on the health of people around the world. The school did not stop working during the COVID-19 pandemic, nor after the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes in 2020, but continued to operate at other locations and in an undiminished scope - said the director of the School of Public Health "Andrija Štampar", Prof. Dr. Sc. Mirjana Kujundžić Tiljak, at the opening of the renovated School.

She added that the School, after a complete renovation, is safer and stronger and is now reopening its doors, following Štampar's vision and ideas.

Our main task in this new phase of development is to transmit new knowledge through modern communication channels and contemporary technologies, creating a public health policy based on science and scientific evidence, all in order to achieve the high goals of educating the people for health that were set for us by our great teacher and visionary, Andrija Štampar, who, as a young doctor, wrote in his booklet Health, back in 1912 that the future of a people lies in the health of a people.

Prevention and education are the keys to public health policies, and with this Government, prevention, health literacy of citizens and strong investments in hospitals and doctors, the health of the people has once again been placed among the priorities of state policy - emphasized Kujundžić Tiljak.

The Dean of the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Prof. Slavko Orešković,Ph.D. said that he was pleased and filled with pride that the fully renovated School building was being ceremonially opened on the occasion of this year's World Health Day, which is celebrated every year to commemorate the beginning of the work of the World Health Organization, in the creation of which Dr. Andrija Štampar played the most important role.

The building of the School of Public Health "Andrija Štampar" is the first and largest building to be fully renovated to date after the earthquake, and the projects for the full renovation of three more buildings of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zagreb on Šalata that were damaged by the earthquake are also nearing completion. This will enable all classes to be held in the newly renovated premises of the Faculty of Medicine in the next academic year - said Dean Orešković.

The Government of the Republic of Croatia, through the European Union Solidarity Fund and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has secured the necessary funds for the location of the School building, which has an area of ​​over 7,600 square meters, and after conducting tenders for services and works, the full renovation of the School began on November 11, 2022.

The project was carried out using a FIDIC Design and Construction contract, and everything was completed within the contracted costs of 11,076,010.35 euros. The renovation process of the School lasted 17 months. As the building is located within the protected zone of the Historic Urban Entities of the City of Zagreb, the consent of the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Monuments was obtained. The load-bearing structure was reinforced with new reinforced concrete walls throughout all floors of the building, and the project was entirely designed in a way to reduce the energy required for heating and cooling, to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities and reduced mobility, as well as fire protection.

The facade was renovated with a new layer, as well as all internal and external joinery, all in cooperation with the conservation supervision of the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Monuments. Particularly valuable windows were originally preserved in the directorate premises, which were restored with necessary repairs. New sanitary facilities were built, floor and wall coverings were renovated or new ones were installed, and all new installations were carried out in accordance with new standards in order to ensure the necessary working conditions for employees and students of the "Andrija Štampar" School of Public Health, University of Zagreb School of Medicine.

All the Faculty and staff of the School are looking forward to returning to the renovated and safe building where they will be able to teach students, finally live at the highest level of teaching standards, and continue with their scientific work and the implementation of numerous public health activities.