The University of Dubrovnik (, ) is a public university located in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It has its roots in various successive institutions dedicated to the teaching of maritime engineering and naval architecture. In 1996, in recognition of the city's maritime traditions, the Polytechnic was established and was later given full university status in 2003. The University has since diversified its courses but the maritime sciences remains its traditional strength. History High education and scientific work have their roots in the distant past. This is particularly true of the maritime, the social and the natural sciences. For example, Beno Kotruljević, of Dubrovnik, wrote four books in 1458 About Commerce and a Perfect merchant, published in Venice in 1573, which was the first work of its kind. There is also Nikola Sorgojević, a citizen of the Dubrovnik Republic (Respublica Ragusii, 1358–1816), the first Croat who wrote a book about navigation (published in 1574). Jesuits founded the Collegium Ragusinum in 1658, which was promulgated into a public institution of high learning where art and natural sciences were studied. That institution provided education for Ruđer Bošković, the most eminent Croatian scientist and the founder of the dynamic theory of atoms, who continued his doctorate studies in Rome. The Dubrovnik Republic Senate allowed young aristocrats to study navigation and commerce and apply their professional knowledge when sailing out of the Adriatic Sea. The Collegium Ragusinum is the real predecessor of the modern higher education in Dubrovnik functioning successfully from the middle of the last century, through to the nineties of the last century. It had its basis in over forty years of high education of seafarers at the Maritime Faculty of Dubrovnik and more than thirty years of education Business economics (tourism, marketing and foreign trade). The higher education in Dubrovnik has gone through various phases, with their ups and downs. However, there always remained a strong wish to preserve the identity of the City in this field as well. When the Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski sabor) adopted the new Higher Education Act in 1994, introducing two separate systems in higher education: one scientific, i.e. university, and the other professional i.e. polytechnic, it was clear that the Act would not be easy to implement in practice. As always, novelties were met with opposition. However, the new challenge was accepted at the Maritime Faculty of Dubrovnik at the time and the new activities were initiated leading to