IREDS was part of partners of the ResearchCult project who visited the University of Zagreb, Croatia, during 30 November – 3 December. There were around 45 participants from the project’s partners. They had the chance to see how the research process works within this university, and to discuss about experiences and best-practices related to research.

This study visit was consisted of different meetings, presentation and also workshops held with the participants. Partners from Croatia, Higher Education Institutions in Kosovo, IREDS and representatives of MESTI as well, all made presentation related to different topics related to the research topics. Among the presentations and the workshops held, the Project Management Team meeting and the Quality Management Board meetings were conducted as well.

This Study Visit had a very important impact on the development of the ResearchCult project for the left period of time, because of the experiences and the best-practices that were exchanged between the partners.

​The main topics and activities of this study visit were:• Partners’ exchange and progress about Establishment of Scientific Journal and Open Access – Research Platform– The partners from Croatia explained the role of national publishing platforms, as well as talked about research ethics. They also presented their university’s journals, such as: “Brodogradnja / Shipbuilding”; “Chemistry in Industry”; “Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ)”. • Workshop session on the Establishment of Scientific Journal and Guidelines to Develop the national standards for scientific journals – The participants were divided into six groups. The groups were asked to work on framing scientific journals in:o Environment, Energy and Natural Resourceso Medical Research.  o Agricultural Production and Food Safety o Development of a Knowledge Based Societyo Linguistic, Historic and Cultural Studieso Information and Communication Technologies

In the end, the participants prepared a report and presented it in the joint plenary session. • Academic and Scientific titles and promotion – The participants from Croatia and the ones from Kosovo as well, shared their experiences regarding this topic within their countries. • Visit to Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology – (FKIT)• Partners’ exchange and Progress about Establishment of Open Access Research Platform Progress of Establishment of Kosovo Research Information System (KRIS) – Croatia partners presented the role of nationalbibliography and sharing scientific equipment. On the other hand, representatives of IBCM presented the progress of Establishment of Kosovo Research Information System (KRIS).• Rules and practice for academic/scientific titles and promotion – The Croatian partners shared how the Library of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture works, so what their duties and aims are. • Visit to Ruđer Bošković Institute – The participants had the chance to visit the “Laboratory for ion beam interactions” and “Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Sensing Devices”.

Project Management Team meeting• Quality Management Board meeting

The participants had their time to make questions and discuss about what was presented after each presentation, therefore making it possible for them to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible from this Study Visit. The participants were able to exchange experiences and best practicesregarding research process, therefore they benefited the real practice on research ethics and activities. Lastly, the participants were also informed about the development of the ResearchCult project so far, and what is left to do.

The key outcomes of the site visit were:- Workshop for framing scientific journals, and exploring collaboration with Croatian universities in scientific journals;;- Croatian practices for research information databases and systems;- Research promotion and development criteria in universities and research institutes