Work and Wellbeing – Reimagining Labour, Care, and the Common Good

What does “good work” mean today?

Burnout, inequality, digital overload, and climate precarity are reshaping how we live and work. Work and Wellbeing is a 30 ECTS UNIRI & YUFE Minor that brings together international and local students, researchers, and professionals to explore how labour and care can be reimagined for fairer, more sustainable futures. This interdisciplinary semester programme blends critical theory, creative practice, and hands-on inquiry. Delivered in a hybrid format combining online learning with in-person sessions in Rijeka, Croatia, it connects academic study with real-world challenges and portfolio-ready outputs.

 

The Challenge: From Insight to Action

The Challenge is the centrepiece of Work and Wellbeing. It is a mentored, student-led project where each participant chooses a concrete issue related to work and wellbeing and investigates its context, stories, and actors.

Your goal is to develop a short, research-based, reflective, and practice-oriented output—for example, a written article, a podcast, handbook, zine, policy proposal, toolkit, workplace intervention, fictional narrative, or visual essay—that helps others think or act differently about the problem you’ve chosen.

Some concrete examples might look like:

Student Type                                                                                      Example Challenge

BA student
(humanities)                                     “How do my peers imagine life after university and why does it stress us out?” (Output: podcast series interviewing fellow                                                                           students)

Grad student (law)                         “How are burnout claims framed in recent labour court cases in Croatia?” (Output: short analysis + infographic for                                                                         worker’s rights organisations)

NGO employee                                “What models of care exist inside activist networks?” (Output: zine or peer-support toolkit)

HR worker                                        “What does ‘wellbeing at work’ mean in a multilingual team?” (Output: reflective policy draft or handbook)

Artist-educator                                 “What makes unpaid creative labour feel meaningful – or not?” (Output: visual essay + self-ethnography)

 

Real-World Partnerships

Challenge projects are enriched through collaboration with institutions such as the University of Ljubljana (Centre for the Study of Organisations and Human Resources), the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (Belgrade), and the University of Rijeka Counselling Centre, ensuring that the outputs are grounded in real-world concerns and professional contexts.


Who Is It For?

  • Erasmus & YUFE Students

Take Work and Wellbeing as your semester abroad Minor (30 ECTS). All modules are taught in English and designed for interdisciplinary, international cohorts.

  • UniRi Students

Enrol in the full Mikroqualification for free (with full-semester commitment for certification) or integrate selected Communis courses into your degree. Our team can help ensure electives are recognised in your study plan.

  • Professionals

For those working in NGOs, unions, the third sector, or public/private organisations, participation offers tailored mentoring and Challenge project outputs directly aligned with your context.
Participation fee: €500.
(Contact us directly for guidance on how this format can support your goals.)

*UNIRI and YUFE students are exempt from tuition fees.

 

Why Study in Rijeka?

CAS SEE has over a decade of experience welcoming international students and researchers, offering personalised support and a lively campus community. Rijeka is a vibrant Adriatic city with a thriving cultural scene, perfect for both study and inspiration.

 

Programme Highlights

  • 2 Core Modules: Discursive Theories and Research Methods
  • 2 Electives: Choose from themes like feminist approaches to care, anthropology of work, post-work imaginaries, youth and generational change, or labour economics
  • Hybrid Format: Flexible online components supported by mentoring and peer groups
  • Challenge Project: A final output that builds both skills and a portfolio piece 

More Details Coming Soon

Details about individual courses, assessments, tutors, and the final schedule will be available from September 2025.

 

Contact Us

Interested in joining or need advice?

cas@cas.uniri.h