Organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, the first meeting marking the launch of the new project “Mentorship in the Legal Profession” was held yesterday, on 29 November 2022. The aim of the project is to connect final-year students with mentors, alumni of the Faculty, in order to help students better prepare for the labour market and employment after obtaining their degree. It is important to emphasise that the project is also open to young graduates who completed their studies within the past year.
The meeting began with an opening address by Ivana Karaman Jurić, responsible for alumni relations and the promotion and visibility of the Faculty’s work, who thanked everyone for the strong turnout, especially the volunteer mentors who recognised the importance of this project for young people. She highlighted that the European Commission had declared 2023 the European Year of Skills, making the timing of the project particularly appropriate.
On behalf of the Faculty administration, attendees were addressed by the Vice-Dean for International and Interinstitutional Cooperation, Prof. Iris Goldner Lang, who first praised the initiative and especially thanked the project’s conceptual founders, attorneys Ema Menđušić Škugor, Natalija Labavić, Iva Mišković, and Associate Professor Ružica Šimić Banović.
She emphasised that the project of connecting young people with the labour market, with a focus on skills development, has long been recognised as a need by the Faculty, mentors, and students alike, and that the large response from students and volunteer mentors confirms this. The project brought together 40 student and graduate candidates, 20 mentors from legal practice, 6 mentors from public administration, 6 mentors from the judiciary, 12 mentors from the business sector, 8 mentors from international institutions, as well as members of the academic community.
“I hope that this project will achieve the desired results, continue to be implemented on an ongoing basis, and thereby contribute to the development of the Alumni community, to even stronger cooperation between the academic community and the labour market, and, most importantly, enable young people to pursue a higher-quality path toward their chosen profession.”
This was followed by detailed presentations by the project’s conceptual creators: attorneys Ema Menđušić Škugor from the law firm Divjak Topić Bahtijarević & Krka, Natalija Labavić from the Law Office of Natalija Labavić, Iva Mišković from the law firm Mišković & Mišković, and Associate Professor Ružica Šimić Banović, to whom we extend special thanks for their commendable volunteer engagement and dedication to the project’s success. Students welcomed the presentations with applause, after which a Q&A session followed, along with a two-hour networking gathering between all mentors and candidates.
We wish all students great success in learning from their mentors, hope for even stronger cooperation with the Alumni community, and already look forward to continued collaboration and positive outcomes, all for the benefit of the students of the Faculty of Law.
