Gordana Nikolić

Dean and founder of the Rijeka Business Academy, assistant professor, Ph.D. Gordana Nikolić, promotes the cooperation of international higher education institutions as one of the nine European university leaders of the European Alliance Group for dual education. She received a number of awards for her work: she was elected as an ambassador to the European network of women, a scholarship holder of the program supporting women entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe, included in the book “100 Croatian Leaders” and was declared Entrepreneur of the Year in the Republic of Croatia in 2014.

Among the more significant world recognitions, she stands out for the “Exceptional Women of Excellence 2018” award, which was presented to her at the World Women Economic Forum in 2018 in New Delhi. In November of the same year, she was elected as a senior official of the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) and as a WBAF senator in February 2019, she was elected as the vice-president of the Global Women Leaders Committee, which brings together women in the global network of business angels.

As a global leader and role model for women around the world, Gordana leads the higher education sector within the G100 network. The G100 is an eminent club of 100 world women leaders in 100 sectors, and includes Nobel Prize winners, former heads of state, ministers, businesswomen, philanthropists, investors, entrepreneurs, corporate and social leaders.

She is the president of the organizing committee of the PAR International Leadership Conference (PILC) and the event called Women without PARdon, with the aim of promoting the role of women in society.

She is a member of many professional and scientific associations, as well as program committees of several important scientific professional conferences and summer schools of countries in the region.

She graduated from the Maritime Faculty, received her master’s degree and doctorate in the field of management at the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka, and trained all over the world, including at Harvard Business School, in the field of creating entrepreneurial universities.

At the end of 2022, at the Women Economic Forum in New Delhi, she received the “Woman of the Decade” award and an honorary doctorate from one of the most prestigious Indian universities.