Back in 1962, the Higher School of Economics was founded, which was the foundation for today's Faculty of Organization and Informatics. Located in a beautiful historic building of the former Jesuit College from the 17th century in the center of Varaždin, FOI enrolled the first students in the first semester of the school year 1962/'63 for those who wanted to become experts in organizing and managing more complex economic affairs in the economy and public administration. First teachers and students paved the way for today's higher education institution, enriched with advanced teaching methods on modern computer equipment.
The same year 1962 is marked as the beginning of the library activity of the FOI, which today has an enviable library material and represents a significant part of Varaždin's history of educational development.
In the 1960s, FOI continued its journey with economic trends, connecting with the most important companies on the market, such as Varteks (Varaždin) and Birostroj (Maribor), through which the first machines for student education were procured. From the very beginning, FOI recognized the importance of connecting with the business sector, which will later play a major role in conducting undergraduate and graduate study programs, enriched with new methods of learning and teaching. The end result of such cooperation today is represented by highly qualified ICT and economic experts, who after studying at FOI achieve exceptional careers in high corporate positions.
The year 1974 marks an important milestone in the history of FOI. Namely, that year the College of Economics, by the decision of the Scientific-Teaching Council, grew into the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, and a year later FOI became part of the largest Croatian university - the University of Zagreb. Until 1986, the FOI exclusively ran education programs in the field of economics, and in 1983 FOI began running IT programs also. The first computer at FOI arrived five years later, which was a precedent in the teaching of higher education at the time.
In the 1990s, additional levels of focus were introduced at FOI, and since 1992 the postgraduate scientific study and the Graduate study "Information Systems", as a unique combination of specific scientific and productive disciplines in the field of information sciences, in Croatia and beyond. Since the 2000s, the professional level of studies and postgraduate scientific studies have been introduced, which are still frequently audited with the aim of making them as attractive and up-to-date as possible.
The process of digitization at FOI has always been very fast, so in the early 90's the first international connections were created on scientific and professional projects. Today, FOI is actively implementing 34 international projects in partnership with 152 institutions from 31 countries, with a total value of more than 200 million euros. It is important to mention the process of international mobility, which today includes about 30 partner universities and colleges around the world. FOI has made a significant step forward in the field of e-learning, introducing more than 400 e-subjects in the teaching process, as well as comprehensive support for online teaching from 2020 based on it's own servers, developed at FOI.
Today, FOI is an internationally recognized higher education institution, based on the Bologna Program, which annually attends about 2,800 students at three levels of studies. FOI studies are performed not only in Varaždin, but also in Sisak, Zabok and Križevci, thus covering a significant part of Central and Northwestern Croatia. It is an institution that seeks to open modern infrastructure to students and teachers, through continuous expansion of its own capacity, so next year FOI will present the newly renovated Villa Oršić in Varaždin, with many laboratories and research centers and rooms for performing modern and advanced forms of teaching. Also, the implementation of the 'University Campus Varaždin - Phase 2' project is a priority for FOI, included as such in the list of projects in the Development Agreement for Northern Croatia, confirmed by the Croatian Government. All of these represent challenges that FOI will face in its future.
