Review article
https://doi.org/10.47960/2831-0322.2025.1-2.29.171
STRATEGIC RETROSPECTIVE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MOSTAR (2017–2025): INTEGRATION, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING
Zoran Tomić
orcid.org/0000-0003-1148-2896
; University of Mostar, BiH
Abstract
This paper aims to analytically present and scientifically interpret the transformational development of the University of Mostar (SUM) during 2017–2025, with a focus on institutional integration, digital transformation, international cooperation, scientific and publishing output, and infrastructural and biomedical development. The research is designed as a strategic retrospective study based on the analysis of institutional documents, quantitative indicators (number of projects, mobilities, publications, study programmes, doctoral candidates), and descriptive reports of organisational units.
During the analysed period, SUM underwent three phases of transformation: (1) structural and organisational reconstruction, (2) digital and international expansion, and (3) consolidation towards a European university model. Legal and financial integration, the establishment of new services and unified procedures, alongside budget stabilisation, created the conditions for significant growth in research, teaching, and project activities. The digital transformation, led by the Centre for Information Technologies (SUMIT), resulted in the establishment of an integrated digital ecosystem covering the full student lifecycle and institutional resource management, as well as the development of AI-based solutions and the SUM AI Centre, accompanied by strengthened cybersecurity capacities (SUM CERT).
The international dimension of SUM’s development is evidenced by a substantial increase in student mobility (1253 %) and staff mobility (1598 %), participation in 30 Erasmus+ projects, membership in 19 international networks, and involvement in prestigious European Universities initiatives. Scientific output has multiplied: 1,012 publications indexed in Web of Science with more than 9,800 citations, while doctoral studies and PRESSUM’s integrated publishing ecosystem have consolidated SUM as a research-oriented institution.
In addition, the field of biomedicine has recorded exponential growth in study programmes and publications. At the same time, infrastructure (campuses in Mostar, Rodoč, and Široki Brijeg) has undergone one of the most extensive modernisation processes within the higher education sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Finally, systems of student support (Counselling Centre, Office for Students with Disabilities), quality assurance, public procurement, and public relations have contributed to the comprehensive transformation of SUM into a modern, internationally recognisable university, as confirmed by its global achievements in the WURI and THE Impact Rankings.
Keywords
University of Mostar; institutional integration; digital transformation; international cooperation; scientific output; doctoral studies; infrastructure; artificial intelligence; student support; WURI; THE Impact Rankings
Hrčak ID:
344687
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2025.
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