On Friday, 8 May 2026, the seminar on pedagogical entrepreneurship Pedagogue Outside the Box was held, led by Prof. Renata Jukić, PhD, Natali Bosić, MA in Pedagogy, owner of the Pedagoški kabinet business from Rijeka, and Mia Filipov, PhD, Teaching Assistant. The event was part of the FUZ&JA science popularisation project of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek and was organised by the Department of Pedagogy. This three-hour seminar was intended for pedagogy students and graduate pedagogues considering careers outside the formal education system.
The seminar was opened by Renata Jukić with a brief lecture on service-learning and pedagogical entrepreneurship. Natali Bosić then shared her own experience of building a career outside the formal education system, from starting her own business to providing a detailed description of her business model and day-to-day operations. She also discussed the advantages and challenges of self-employment, as well as the pedagogical areas in which she develops her practice. In the second part of the seminar, a creative brainstorming session was held with the aim of developing participants’ pedagogical business ideas. The participants then elaborated their business ideas in accordance with the guidelines of the Croatian Employment Service (CES). In doing so, they practised the steps required to apply for the CES active labour market policy measure for self-employment. At the end of the seminar, they evaluated their business plans according to CES criteria in order to assess their feasibility and prepare for a potential application for state financial support.
Almost all participants stated in the evaluation forms that the seminar had helped them become more aware of the wide range of opportunities available to pedagogues outside the formal education system (“I had not considered it before because I was not sufficiently informed, but now I see it as a possible option.”). Participants also recognised the seminar as a valuable addition to the pedagogy study programme, particularly in the context of preparation for entrepreneurship, indicating a need for a more systematic inclusion of such content in the study programme. However, the students also recognised the importance of their own proactivity and creativity in responding to labour market needs (“(…) I can and should bring my ideas to life.”). Finally, most participants expressed openness to the idea of starting their own pedagogical business, at least as an option they intend to explore in the future.
A video report from the seminar is available HERE.