izv. prof. dr. sc. Sara Essert

Title:	Associate Professor
Public phone number:	+385(0)1 4895 567
E-mail:	E-mail
Department:	Division of Botany
Graduation year:	2002
PhD graduation year:	2013
Employed in this institution since:	2003

Teaching

graduate

• Biodiversity, Endangerment and Protection of Croatian Flora and Fauna (240263) - Lecturer in charge
• Protected Species and Habitats in Croatia (44538) - Lecturer in charge
• Protected Species and Habitats in Croatia (60251) - Lecturer in charge

integrated undergraduate and graduate

• Field Course in Ecology (210187) - Lecturer in charge
• Fundamentals of Ecology (196119) - Lecturer in charge
• Vegetation of Croatia (240552) - Lecturer in charge

Biography

I was born on August 1, 1979, in Zagreb, where I completed my elementary and secondary education. In 1997, I enrolled in the biology-ecology program at the Faculty of Science, Department of Biology. I graduated in October 2002 with a thesis titled "The Flora of Snježnik." During my final year, I completed additional methodological and didactic courses, qualifying me to teach biology in primary and secondary schools. In February 2003, I started working at the Department of Botany as a research assistant under Professor Hršak on the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education project titled "Ecological Relationships of Vegetation and Habitats in Croatia." I earned my Ph.D. in 2013 with a dissertation titled "Charred Plant Remains from the Late Bronze Age Site Kalnik-Igrišče."

My research focuses on the following fields: archaeobotany, material sciences/subfossil wood, and botany (floristics, taxonomy, and nature conservation). To date, I have published more than 20 scientific papers indexed in the Scopus database. I have participated in more than 20 scientific conferences. My professional development includes visits lasting 1-2 weeks to the following international institutions:

• Institute of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Basel (Switzerland) – Plant Macrofossil Analysis Course (2010)
• Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) – Erasmus+ scholarship, Wood Anatomy Course (2015)
• George Pitt-Rivers Laboratory for Bioarchaeology, Cambridge University (UK) – Introduction to Charcoal Identification (2016)

I have participated in several national and international projects, most notably the EU H2020 project MendTheGap (2016–2019). In 2020, I worked as a collaborator on the Croatian Science Foundation project IP-CORONA-2020-12-3798, and I am currently involved in the CULPUS project (IP-2022-10-9489). As an external collaborator and archaeobotanist, I have contributed to the research of numerous archaeological sites, including Kalnik-Igrišče, Flacius Street in Pula, Zaton, Osijek Ciglana, Banski dvori, the Barbir harbor in Sukošan, and others.

Since 2003, I have been actively involved in teaching (lectures, practicals, seminars, and fieldwork) in over 10 courses at the Department of Biology. Currently, I am a lecturer or co-lecturer for six courses, consistently receiving excellent evaluations in student surveys. I have (co-)mentored more than 15 master's theses and three undergraduate theses.

In addition to my scientific and teaching work, I am actively engaged in professional and science-popularization activities. I have organized and led numerous workshops for children and adults, participated in educational television programs, coordinated the University Fair, and conducted professional training sessions for biology teachers. From 2021 to 2025, I served as the Assistant Head for Teaching at the Department of Biology.

I am a member of the Croatian Botanical Society and the Eastern Alpine and Dinaric Society for Vegetation Ecology. I am proficient in English and German.

I am the mother of two teenage sons. In my free time, I engage in volunteering and dog training.

Scientific publications (CroRIS)

Show publications in CRORIS