Nikola Horvat was born in 1992 in Virovitica. He obtained his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb (UNIZAG-FSB). During his studies, he was an intern at several companies (Bosch, Hilti, Rimac Automobili), an exchange student at Luleå University of Technology, and a teaching assistant at UNIZAG-FSB (Design and Product Development, Structural Elements, Mathematics). Throughout his career, Nikola has received various awards, such as the Hilti Spontaneous Bonus, Rector's Award, Summa cum laude, Faculty Medal, 1st and 2nd place in Croatia for engineering mechanics, EIT Health 1st place in Croatia and 5th place in Europe, two awards for favorite reviewers' work, etc. He defended his doctoral thesis in 2023.
From 2017 to 2024, Nikola was an assistant and senior assistant at the Department of Design and Product Development at UNIZAG-FSB. His research interests include understanding team-based product development and how technology (e.g., VR, cloud-based tools) supports teams in this process. He is a co-author of six journal papers, 15 conference papers, and six professional articles. He reviewed 15 scientific papers and two textbooks. Nikola has also worked on scientific (HrZZ), educational (Erasmus+), and industrial (B&O Gruppe) projects. He is a member of the Design Society community. From 2018 to 2022, he participated in organizing the DESIGN conference.
Nikola has been involved in teaching related to the design process (e.g., Product Development, Design Theory, and Computer-Aided Design). Besides these courses, he is also involved in organizing a competitive-oriented course that includes four European universities. The team he led won the challenges in 2021 and 2022. In addition, he has given two guest lectures.
