Dalibor Greganić, CEO Profil Klett, Knowledge is the most valuable currency and we must fight for knowledge

Profil Klett is the awarded publisher of the best textbook in Europe

CEO of the company Dalibor Greganić says for Diplomacy&Commerce that in the future, creative and visionary change management will be paramount. In addition to the skills of careful and precise planning, in the future, the most important thing will be precisely the creative and visionary change management. In such circumstances, knowledge becomes the most valuable currency and we must fight for knowledge, says Greganić.

1. Your Croatian language textbook recently won the award as the best textbook in Europe. What does such an award mean for Croatia, and what does it mean for you as a publisher?

This is primarily a reward for Croatian teachers, both those who created it as authors, and those who chose it for everyday work with students. This is an important award for both Croatia and the Croatian education system because it proves that international experts in the field of education recognize the quality of work in Croatian education. Such recognitions raise the level of self-confidence and motivation of all of us involved in our children’s education. For us, as the publisher of an award-winning textbook, it is also an obligation to continue with the same level of commitment and aspiration of excellence that both our teachers and our students deserve.

2. How has the pandemic affected you and were you forced to change your own business ethics in this “new normal”?

The pandemic brought dramatic changes in the market and in technology. However, it brought another novelty – people’s everyday life has become extremely complex, changeable and insecure. In addition to the skills of careful and precise planning, in the future, the most important thing will be creative and visionary change management. In such circumstances, knowledge becomes the most valuable currency and we must fight for knowledge. To know how to overcome fear and resistance to change and initiate positive and new trends, motivate people to explore, be creative and give their best. By launching and developing the educational IZZI platform for creating digital textbooks, which proved extremely valuable for online teaching, we have prepared for this scenario, although we could not have known that a pandemic would occur. With Izzi, we have proven our orientation towards the mentioned change management and we will certainly continue in that direction.

3. You mentioned fight for knowledge, is knowledge jeopardised today?

We live in a time when fake news has become available even in places where only a decade ago we could not have even imagined it. On the other hand, in very similar, practically the same places it is possible to find both valuable relevant knowledge based on the latest scientific knowledge and trivial false news bordering with nonsense and evil. In these circumstances, for the good of the society as a whole, I find it more important than ever to fight for knowledge.

4. What role do you as a publisher play in this?

We are primarily an ally of teachers in the struggle for knowledge, because they are the ones who pass the knowledge on to students every day. Our role is to go one step further in the search for the best way to transfer knowledge to our children, both in terms of technological capabilities and in terms of quality of content, and to justify with our results the trust that is the key to what we do. We believe that with a well-designed education, together we can all change the world that needs change more than ever.

5. Then, as the teachers’ ally, are you satisfied with the current reform of education and what is needed for further modernization of education?

The adopted curriculum reform determined and directed the development of new educational materials. Accordingly, in the last two years, Profil Klett has offered new textbook sets to Croatian teachers. These sets are creative and innovatively designed, with new methodologies and concepts, and teachers have supported our approach based on quality and innovation.

6. You are a market leader in digital publishing, and your educational platform for creating digital textbooks, IZZI, is even more prominent at a time when teaching in schools was conducted online. Is digital publishing the future?

Digital publishing is certainly an important part of the future of education, but we must never rule out traditional forms that carry some other advantages and values. At Profil Klett, we see ourselves primarily as a service provider in the field of educational content, with an emphasis on the quality of content. The modes of transmission of this content adapt to the time we are living in. IZZI, as our own educational platform for creating digital textbooks, is the best example of this successful adaptation. We are very proud that as of this year our digital educational platform is used by companies in Germany, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania, but also by other Croatian publishers such as Naklada Ljevak. We are especially proud of the partnership project with the Government of Montenegro in the digitalization of their education system, with an emphasis on the first grade of primary school.

7. What world awaits us in 2021 and what can we expect Profil Klett in this year?

A world full of challenges awaits us, I am certain of that, and we are giving it our best to be ready for these challenges. You can expect plenty of quality educational content in various forms from us, with lots of passion, creativity and innovations, as well as full commitment to alliance with teachers in the fight for knowledge.

Glosa 1: By launching and developing the educational IZZI platform for the production of digital textbooks, which proved extremely valuable for online teaching, we have prepared for the scenario of “new normal”, although we could not have known that a pandemic would occur.

BELMA Award for the best European textbook

The 6th grade Croatian language textbook, “Šestica”, published by Profil Klett, won the award as the best textbook in Europe at the big international competition BELMA − Best European Learning Materials Award, organized by EEPG (European Educational Publishers’ Group), the Frankfurt Book Fair and IARTEM (Int. Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media). A three-member jury, composed of international experts in the field of education, awarded this textbook a prestigious award for its innovative concept, modern approach and outstanding quality of materials that promote reading in the digital age and develop critical thinking, analytical thinking and creativity.