Founding of Algebra Ltd. – company for adult education

Algebra Ltd. was founded in April 1998as a company for adult education. In June 1998, Algebra trained the first attendants of its seminar for the use of computers and computer applications. June 1998 was marked by the first significant increase in the number of users of Algebra’s services and in 1999 and 2000 Algebra experienced multi-digit growth and established itself on the market of adult education in the field of consumer application of information technologies (IT).

Microsoft Authorized Training Center (ATC)

In the year 2000, after much effort and hard work we convinced the local Croatian Microsoft office that we were able to meet their requirements and become an authorized educational center for their technology. This authorization, which was the first among many, distanced us from other educational providers of that time and gave us access to official teaching materials and more favorable terms for software licensing. This status was later significantly improved in order to achieve the “Gold” label.

Adobe, Macromedia and Autodesk training center

Encouraged by the success of obtaining Microsoft’s accreditation, in the year 2001, we invested all our strengths in the fulfillment of conditions required for the establishment of the official training center for other manufacturers and in the same year we became Macromedia Authorized Training Center, Adobe Authorized Training Provider, Autodesk Authorized Training Center and IBM Business Partner.

Founding of Algebra College

In the beginning of the year 2002, Algebra Ltd. founded Algebra College and during the same year moved to significantly larger and better premises in Maksimirska 58a, Zagreb, with six classrooms and 800 square meters of educational space for our attendants. According to the assessments made by Microsoft Croatia during that year, Algebra’s share in the Croatian market of educational services for Microsoft tools experienced a growth of 30 – 35%.

Algebra College became the leading provider of education in the field of IT

By introducing a number of new adult education programs accredited by the Ministry in charge of education during the past few years, in 2003, Algebra managed to jump from the 5th to the 1st place in the field of IT education providers (measured by revenues and number of attendants), thus achieving a growth of 91.8% in only one year. Today, we still hold the position of the leading educational system in adult education.

ALGEBRA expands outside Zagreb – Opening of the regional center in Zadar

With the opening of the regional center in Zadar in 2005, Algebra started to spread throughout the region and today there are dozens of Algebra’s highly equipped IT classrooms in thirty Croatian cities. In the same year, Algebra successfully implemented ATES project – development of sophisticated software for testing computer skills, which was at the time one of only 7 systems in the world approved by the ECDL Foundation. Today, this system represents the national testing infrastructure used by all ECDL test centers in Croatia and Slovenia that test computer knowledge through the use of automated systems.

Algebra University College receives its accreditation

After more than 2 years of intensive preparations, the University College for Applied Computer Engineering was founded in the end of 2007 and received its license from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports in June 2008. This event set new guidelines for the development of Algebra education group and, in a certain way, successfully rounded off its efforts to establish a higher education program which were initiated back in 2002 through the implementation of IBM ACE educational program. The implementation of the curriculum started at the premises of FER and at the Algebra’s building in Maksimirska Street.

New location on the University campus

After a year of operating on two locations and a long search for permanent residence, in September 2009, the University College acquired its premises within the University campus in Zagreb, Ilica 242, where we have started with a little over 800 square meters and doubled our premises until today.

The largest private educational system in Croatia

With the enrolment of the third generation of students in 2010, the University College completed the three-year cycle of education and engaged in intense preparations for the launch of specialized study programs. Algebra Group is a prominent market leader in IT education and exceeds 70% of market shares in the segment of specialized education. With our presence in twenty Croatian cities and our number of enrolled attendants and students we became the largest private education system in the country. We intensively developed a quality assurance system in higher education and realized a project with one of the leading foreign accreditation agencies – Dutch-Flemish NVAO.

Top rated professional study program in Croatia

The University College went through processes of regular periodic re-accreditations of higher education institutions and periodic external independent assessments of the internal quality assurance system and according to the results achieved became the best rated professional study program in the Republic of Croatia and the proud owner of the certificate issued for its quality assurance system by the Agency for Science and Higher Education. In the spring of 2012, the first generation of bachelor students completed its studies at the University College. Despite the financial crisis, more than 90% of graduates were employed at the time they received their diploma. In September 2012, a year after the initial accreditation, the University College received its license for the undergraduate study program in multimedia computing and the specialized graduate study program in applied computer engineering. The college became Algebra University College.

Excellent results in European projects, quality still in focus

We additionally expanded our capacities by adding new classrooms at our premises in Ilica Street and successfully passed the quality assessment of program implementation organized by FER and extended the certificate “Approved by FER” until 2016. The whole Algebra education group was evaluated as the leading ECDL center in Croatia and we have been singled out as an example of the implementation of EU projects, which was confirmed by the visit of the EU Commissioner, Mr. Andor. This year, the Algebra University College received its new logo and visual identity.

Study program in digital marketing – pushing the limits again

After two years of intensive preparations and initial accreditation, in January 2015, the Algebra University College received its license for the new undergraduate and graduate study programs in digital marketing, the first of its kind in this part of Europe.

We are the best in the world – Microsoft Learning Partner of the Year 2014

In the competition of 3,200 organizations, the Algebra education group was selected as the world’s best learning partner according to Microsoft! This is the first time that this prestigious title was awarded to a Croatian organization.

Study program in digital marketing – pushing the limits again

After two years of intensive preparations and initial accreditation, in January 2015, the Algebra University College received its license for the new undergraduate and graduate study programs in digital marketing, the first of its kind in this part of Europe.

We are launching four new sub-specializations of graduate study program in Applied Computer Engineering

After four years of conducting the graduate program in Applied Computer Engineering, based on the research needs of employers and the experience of our graduates, we launched a new accreditation (significantly modified) of graduate study program in Applied Computer Engineering in 2016. As a result of this process we have prepared a study program which has four very attractive and specific sub-specializations: System Engineering, which has significantly increased in the areas of operating systems, network and server technology in relation to the previous study program of the same name, Software Engineering, which is also enriched in areas such as robotics, the development of computer games or Internet of Things, Data Science, a study program that is entirely directed towards the future of computing and data processing and Game development which is the first comprehensive study of this topic in the Republic of Croatia. A record number of students enrolled in the first year of graduate study in March 2017 shows the value of these changes.

2018.

Algebra LAB launched

We celebrated our 20^th birthday, launched Algebra LAB and the Institute for the Quality of Education, signed an agreement on the strategic integration of Agora College into the educational system of the Algebra University College, and launched the Digital Summer Camp.

We opened Algebra LAB, a unique innovation centre that aids companies, public offices, and start-up projects in developing innovative business solutions designed to boost the competitiveness of the economy. With a 390-thousand-euro investment, we are the only company in Croatia to united three key elements – a department of applied research and development in the digital sphere, a start-up incubator with a co-working space, and an innovative educational platform intended for the dissemination of the most advanced technological and business knowledge. Algebra LAB is a new hub for innovations, creation, ideas, and dreams about the future.

We launched the Algebra Institute for the Quality of Education, a body intended for school principals, teachers, professional associates and students of primary and secondary schools, conceived as an avenue for providing information on education innovation, global trends and professional training. Its mission and role is to offer free workshops and training for the personal and professional development of principals, teachers and associates in primary and secondary schools.

With the strategic integration of Agora College into Algebra University College, Algebra’s offer of study programmes has been expanded into the field of design. This has further strengthened our offer of higher education programmes in the direction of digital creativity, introducing an enhanced and upgraded design programme that embraces digital knowledge, which is essential in any job in the sphere of design today.

Starting next year, Agora’s current undergraduate and graduate study programmes will be offered as part of Algebra University College programmes, employing state of the art infrastructure and presented by an enhanced team of teachers and lecturers.

After two very successful years of running the Digital Academy in school classrooms, we launched a Digital Summer Camp on the Adriatic Coast. Our digital ninjas acquire digital skills by applying the latest technology and spending an unforgettable summer filled with play and fun at the seaside.

2019.

Hosting .debug

Inspired by the traditional collegiate style of major world universities, we launched our own clothing line, ALGEBRA APPAREL. The first collection, titled the ‘First Spark’, was created in collaboration with leading domestic fashion editor and stylist Saša Joka.

We signed a cooperation agreement with the Ruđer Bošković Institute – the most prominent scientific institution in Croatia. The agreement includes cooperation on improving of education, activities for boosting the competitiveness of economic entities, and joint work on developing technology and infrastructure in science and education.

Organized by Bug and partner companies, we hosted the biggest developer conference in Croatia – .debug.

2020.

Green light for steps to become a university, 160 virtual classrooms, once again awarded Microsoft Learning Partner recognition…

Having successfully organized educational programmes, specialist training, undergraduate and graduate courses in online format for years, at the height of the pandemic, Algebra’s team of experts increased the institution’s capacities to as many as 160 virtual classrooms in just one week. Thus, we were one of the rare few educational institutions able to implement their programmes during the lockdown completely uninterrupted and without delay.

In late July, we receive the positive recommendation from the Accreditation Council of the Agency for Science and Higher Education (AZVO) for taking steps to launch Algebra University in Zagreb.

We were named Microsoft’s Learning Partner for the second time! This time, as member and co-founding organisation of the LLPA – the Leading Learning Partners Association.

Algebra’s co-founders Hrvoje Josip Balen, Tomislav Dominković and Mislav Balković won the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award for 2020.

2021.

Cooperation with MIT and EPITECH

MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Algebra University College agreed a cooperation involving the recognition of the successfully completed MITx MicroMasters programme in which our students have the opportunity to attend a portion of their classes in a hybrid model that includes courses from the MITx MicroMasters programme.

In cooperation with the French education institution, EPITECH, we received permission to launch a joint graduate programme in computing – the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence – the first dual-degree study programme in Croatia, established according to the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes.

2022.

Partner agreement with Goldsmiths, University of London

We signed an Academic Partnership Agreement with Goldsmiths, University of London, which enables students to study in English at Algebra and obtain both Croatian and UK degrees.

Our 24^th anniversary was marked by the ceremonial opening of our new college campus in Zagreb, located at Gradišćanska no. 24. In almost a quarter century of activity, Algebra’s programmes have been completed by more than 150,000 individuals, while the new modernly equipped and furbished multidisciplinary space, encompassing over 12,000 square metres, provides future generations of students with the most up-to-date educational environment in line with international standards.

2023.

We are only 25!

We celebrated our 25^th birthday and opened Spark Space – a new coworking and event space located within the stimulating academic setting of Algebra’s campus.

The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, accompanied by the Croatian Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Marin Piletić, and the Director of the Croatian Employment Service, Ante Lončar, visited Algebra University College highlighting it as an example of best practices when it comes to utilising funds from the European Social Fund and having a significant impact on the Croatian labour market. The successful implementation of the Voucher – a financial instrument for the allocation of public funds for adult education in the field of green and digital occupations – has also been a contributing factor in earning this recognition.

We have launched the Professional Bachelor Study Programme in Multimedia Production.