Austria's participation was made possible by the Austrian Foreign Trade Office Advantage Austria.
Austrian Ambassador Andreas Wiedenhoff said about 1,000 students from Croatia studied in his country last year. Noting that the Vienna and Zagreb universities were old European universities, he said there was a long tradition of Croatians studying in Austria, including Nikola Tesla, who studied in Graz, where he began his researches. He called on students to follow Tesla's example but to study all over Austria, not just in Graz.
He said eight Austrian institutions of higher education and eight companies were participating in the fair, including eminent IT companies where Croatian university students can specialise in STEM areas.
According to UNESCO, Austria is the third most popular destination among Croatian students.
Croatian Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak said the scholarships on offer expanded the approach to higher education because of their number and because some were targeted at lower socioeconomic status students.
She said the scholarships were also intended to encourage excellence and the development of generic as well as skills important for working and living in the 21st century. She underlined the importance of targeted scholarships, saying students were guided towards studies that were important for economic and social development.
Divjak said her ministry offered nearly 15,000 scholarships a year in cooperation with various partners. She highlighted those in cooperation with the labour ministry for lower socioeconomic status students, with 10,000 to be given this year, half from the state budget and the rest from the European Social Fund (ESF). She also highlighted 3,400 STEM scholarships for students to be chosen via the e-government system.
Labour Minister Marko Pavic invited young people to go and study abroad but to come back with what they had learned. "We often underestimate Croatia but... there is a lot foreigners can learn from us."
He said his ministry had EUR 1.85 billion at its disposal from the ESF, of which EUR 530 million for education and lifelong learning, which he said was "a historic opportunity for reforms in Croatia, including for various higher education scholarships."
Pavic said it was important for Croatia to have a good and educated workforce and that STEM was a fundamental area in that context.
On Thursday, the Scholarship Fair will be held in Rijeka. Exhibitors come from Austria, the US, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK.