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All members of the University of Primorska joined the charity campaign Hladilnik toplega srca (The Fridge of a Warm Heart), organized by the regional Radio Capris, aimed at helping families in need from the Coastal-Karst region. This year also the children of university's employees generously gifted their peers in need, while visting Grandfather Frost, thus demonstrating solidarity from an early age.

Last year, the visit of Grandfather Frost became an event that unites and brings together all UP employees in a joint event, while at the same time creating bonds among the children of employees. As last year, the event was marked by charity, as the children left gifts under the tree for the Radio Capris charity campaign (Fridge of a Warm Heart), which our university has traditionally supported.

The European Commission has officially announced the pan-European consortium of the New European Bauhaus Academy (NEBA), led by the University of Primorska and composed of 14 partners from Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, as the sole winner of the call for the establishment of the New European Bauhaus Academy. NEBA represents a leading initiative within the European Year of Skills, emphasizing the importance of training and lifelong learning for the development of key skills, including a focus on the green and digital transition.

The Department of Mathematics at UP IAM and the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies at UP Famnit have once again succeeded in the public call for (co)financing adapted research projects under the complementary scheme for applications to the European Research Council (ERC) calls, announced by the Public Agency for Research and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia (ARIS).

Assoc. Prof. Matjaž Kljun and Assoc. Prof. Klen Čopič Pucihar, UP FAMNIT and UP IAM researcher from the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies, visited the University of Malaga as part of the ERASMUS+ KA220 project FTDCHE - Fostering the Transversal Digital Competences in Higher Education.

The inauguration of the rector of the University of Primorska took place on November 23, 2023, at the Regional Museum of Koper. The new four-year term, will be led by the current rector, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, elected in the May 2023 elections.

On November 23, 2023, the new four-year term of the dean of UP FAMNIT, Prof. Dr. Ademir Hujdurović, begins, who started his first term as the dean of UP FAMNIT four years ago. In the May 2023 elections, he was re-elected for a new four-year term until November 23, 2027.

Prof Ivan Luković from the University of Belgrade visited us as part of the Erasmus+ exchange and delivered a lecture at the UP IAM and UP Famnit Monday seminar on computer science and informatics.

After a year and a half of associate membership, the University of Primorska is a full member of the European university Transform4Europe (T4EU) as of November 2023. T4EU is a European university that brings together institutions from the border regions of 10 European countries, jointly supporting and promoting green and digital transitions and fostering an inclusive society.

According to the Rules on recognitions and awards of the University of Primorska for the year 2023, which are granted to employees, students and individuals, the deadline for submission of proposals is Thursday, November 30, 2023, while proposals for the award for scientific excellence are expected to be submitted by Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

On Thursday, November 2, 2023, Maheshya Weerasinghe, a student of the International Joint Doctoral Programme in Computer Science and Informatics at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) aquired her doctoral degree.

Maheshya Weerasinghe, student of the international joint doctoral study programe Computer Science at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) will defend her doctoral thesis Adaptive Guidance in Extended Reality Learning Environments under the mentorship of Associate Professor Matjaž Kljun and Dr Alice Toniolo, and the co-mentorship of Associate Professor Klen Čopič Pucihar, Professor Aaron Quigley, and Dr Angela Miguel.

The defence will take place on Thurdsay, 2 November 2023 at 15:00 on Zoom. The link is available here.

The doctoral disertation will be available in the University library in the following days.

Welcome to join us!

Today, October 19, 2023, a prestigious doctoral promotion ceremony was held in the Armeria Hall. The Vice-Rector of the University of Primorska Prof. Štefko Miklavič conferred doctoral degrees upon thirteen accomplished scholars, marking their completion of doctoral studies between March and October 2023. With this, the University of Primorska proudly boasts a total of 328 Doctors of Science.

On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Rector's Day 2023 unfolded, offering a rich program of lectures and social activities to UP employees and students. For the students, the University Sports Association of Primorska and the Student Organization of the University of Primorska (ŠOUP) organized the traditional sports and entertainment event Čistka 10, where students represented their faculties.

Dr. Andrej Brodnik, employed at UP IAM and UP FAMNIT Department of Information Sciences and Technologies, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Information Society Multi-Conference. The conference, held at the Jozef Stefan Institute from 10-13 October, concluded with the award ceremony.

This year's Rector's Day will take place on Wednesday, 18 October 2023, once again in the spirit of socialising and getting to know each other. It will be accompanied by several festive and special events. We invite you to take a day off from your everyday commitments on Rector's Day and add your own little piece to the mosaic of team spirit.

The Mathematical Research Seminar at UP FAMNIT, in partnership with UP Andrej Marušič Institute, hosted a workshop on algebraic combinatorics. This collaborative event brought together researchers and enthusiasts, creating a space for the exchange of ideas and expertise within the field.

On Thursday, 12 October 2023, the opening of the UP Clinic took place in the premises of the Koper Health Centre - after the speeches, the ribbon was cut by the Rector of the UP, Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, and Igor Hrvatin, the Director of the Koper Health Centre, where the clinic was set up.

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the third edition of ŠtartUP, a social and sporting event designed to welcome all University of Primorska students, unfolded in the scenic Žusterna Seaside Park.

Associate Professors Matjaž Kljun and Klen Čopič Pucihar, researchers from UP FAMNIT and UP IAM's Department of Information Sciences and Technologies, visited the Department of Information Science at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, as part of the Erasmus+ project KA 171. This initiative falls under the mobility program involving partner countries, also known as third countries, not included in the standard program.

The Student Computing Research Symposium SCORES took place on the 5th of October at UP FAMNIT.

Since 2014, the computer science departments of UP, UL, and UM have collaborated to organize this conference. Each year, one of the universities is chosen as the primary organizer. For the 9th edition, UP FAMNIT has taken the lead, partnering with UP IAM and SDAMS with ACM Slovenija as a co-organizer of this year's event. UP FAMNIT & UP IAM previously organized the event in 2016 and 2019.

On Monday, October 2, 2023, the University Library of the University of Primorska opened its doors to students, employees, and the wider public.

Yesterday marked a significant achievement as the University of Primorska and its partners celebrated the completion of Slovenia's largest European research and innovation project. Representatives from the European Commission attended the event, where they were presented with the main project outcomes and future plans for the InnoRenew CoE.

The Slovenian mathematicians' conference, hosting approximately 100 participants, took place on September 15 and 16, 2023, at the Bled Festival Hall. The event was co-organized by the Mathematics Committee of DMFA, UP FAMNIT, the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana, and Abelium, under the auspices of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU).

You are cordially invited to the presentation of Nevena Pivač's doctoral dissertation topic, titled Structure and Algorithms for Graph Classes: New Insights on Minimal Separators and Independent Sets. Nevena is a student enrolled in the doctoral study programme Mathematical Sciences at UP FAMNIT.

The presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 15:00 in classroom FAMNIT-VP1.

Your presence will be highly appreciated!

The University of Primorska in collaboration with InnoRenew CoE is seeking a dynamic and motivated PhD candidate to work on development of biobased multipurpose materials, aligned with ongoing projects conducted at University of Primorska. The researcher will be employed at the University of Primorska and collaborate with the InnoRenew CoE, Materials Group. They will become a doctoral candidate at the University of Primorska (doctoral study program Renewable Materials for Healthy Built Environments). The candidate will work in Izola and Koper, Slovenia.

We are informing you that the University of Primorska Library will be closed for users during the collective vacation from 24 July 2023 to 13 August 2023.

Both units will reopen on Monday 14 August. No late fees will be charged while the library is closed to users.

The University of Primorska has again extended the deadline for applications to the Call for Young Researchers who will be trained over the next four years in a research and study programme. 

The Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska is organizing two summer camps: Math is Cool, and ORADA computer workshop, intended for all students who finished elementary school (students who have finished the last year of elementary school) and high school students who have an interest in mathematics or computer science. This year's summer camps will take place from 20 August to 24 August 2023.

The last week of June is marked by the successful implementation of the 11th international Doctoral Summer School in Discrete Mathematics, jointly organized by UP FAMNIT, UP IAM, SDAMS and IMFM. A record number of 92 mathematicians registered for this scientific meeting, which had been held in Rogla in the previous years, but was organized at UP FAMNIT in Koper for the first time this year. So far, more than 700 professors, researchers and students from all over the world have attended the summer school.

Assoc. Prof. Andraž Legat from the Department of Applied Natural Sciences attended the Doctoral Examination of Lucas Michel at ETH Zürich (ETHZ) on 5th of June as a member of PhD Committee. 

The University of Primorska has extended the deadline for applications to the Call for Young Researchers who will be trained over the next four years in a research and study programme. Each young researcher will carry out a research project under supervision, which will be structured within the framework of the specific research programme.

Candidates can apply to the call for the following mentors, in the following research fields and within the framework of the institution's research programmes.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the University of Primorska, Andrej Marušič Institute, Slovenian Centre for Suicide Research are organising the 32nd IASP World Congress, which will take place at the Bernardin Congress Centre, Slovenia, 19-23 September 2023.

>>> Early bird registration is open until 30 June 2023 at the following link.

We are honoured that the event will be held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Nataša Pirc Musar.

On Monday, 22 May (preliminary) and today, 25 May (regular) 2023, the elections for the Rector of the University of Primorska were held at the UP.

The 14th edition of the TRIPLE i: Intuition, Imagination and Innovation in Suicidology conference is organised by Andrej Marušič Institute, Slovenian Centre for Suicide Research (UP IAM SCSR). The two-day event was held virtually from 23-24 May 2023, thus allowing the participation of listeners from a wide variety of backgrounds who might not have been able to attend a traditional conference format, due to financial or time constraints.

The Electoral Commission for the regular election of the Rector of the University of Primorska announces to the eligible voters of the University of Primorska that the election will be held according to the following schedule:

• regular elections for the Rector of the University of Primorska will be held on Thursday, 25 May 2023 from 9:00 until 16:00,
• early elections will be held on Monday, 22 May 2023 from 9:00 until 16:00.

The University of Primorska, University of Ljubljana and Institute “Jožef Stefan” come together in a joint organization of the first European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence -ESSAI 2023, under the auspices of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence - EurAI, which will be held from 24 to 28 July 2023 at the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana. 

»At the University of Primorska we believe that universities as scientific institutions have to be at the cutting-edge of change in today’s societies. The change is only possible through excellent individuals and excellent institutions.«
Prof. Dragan Marušič

The Erasmus+ project FTDCHE/Sollertia brings together 5 member univerities, in addition to University of Primorska, the University of Málaga, the University Politehnica of Bucharest, the University Colleges Leuven-Limburg, and the Šiauliai State University of Applied Sciences. Together, they are working towards the promotion of transversal digital competences in Higher Education.

At its second regular session on 24 April 2023, the Electoral Commission for the implementation of the regular election of the Rector of the University of Primorska opened the nominations received for the position of Rector of the UP.

At its first regular session held on 18 April 2023, the electoral commission for the implementation of the regular election of members of the University of Primorska Management Board received and opened the nominations for the appointment of members of the University of Primorska Management Board.

Yesterday's opening ceremony marked the start of the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad. This year, 214 competitors from 54 countries are taking part in the event, and we are delighted to see that more countries outside Europe are joining this prestigious competition.

Today, UP IAM and UP FAMNIT submitted the nomination of Prof. Klavdija Kutnar as Rector of UP for the term 2023-2027 to the Election Commission for the regular election of the Rector of the University of Primorska.

We welcome all students of the University of Primorska to the newly established Psychological Counselling Centre, operating within the UP under the direction of UP FAMNIT's Department of Psychology. The Counselling Centre offers psychological support in the form of individual meetings to all students of the University. The Counselling Centre is assisted by trained counsellors who are included in regular professional supervision.

The Rector of the University of Primorska Professor Klavdija Kutnar has adopted a Decision on the call for the regular election of members of the University of Primorska Management Board. The Decision includes the Schedule on the implementation of electoral procedures.

At the 37^th regular session, the Senate of the University of Primorska, has adopted the Decision on the call for regular elections of the Rector of the University of Primorska. An integral part of the Decision on Calling for Elections is the Schedule for the Implementation of Electoral Tasks.

Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE research group leader at InnoRenew, associate professor and research associate at the UP FAMNIT and UP IAM recently published a scientific article »Engineered living materials for sustainable and resilient architecture«, in Nature Reviews Materials.

17 March marks the birthday of the University of Primorska, since it was entered in the court register on that day in 2003, and this year marks its 20th anniversary. The celebrations culminate in a gala academy, which this year took place on Thursday, 16 March 2023, and which, along with the awarding of the University's prizes, was a special occasion with the presence of distinguished guests.

The keynote speaker was the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, she emphasised: »Strong links between your university and your innovation and a focus on interdisciplinary, challenge-based challenges in teaching and research have been and will continue to be continue to be the key to your success.«

The University of Primorska has published a Call for Young Researchers who will be trained over the next four years in a research and study programme. Each young researcher will carry out a research project under supervision, which will be structured within the framework of the specific research programme.

In 2023, five positions are open for young researchers, with a total of four open positions at UP IAM and UP Famnit.

Pi Day is a holiday celebrating the mathematical constant π (pi) on 14 March each year, and is also the International Day of Mathematics. In the American date notation, 14 March is written as 3/14, which are the first three digits of pi. On this day, events are held all over the world, mostly competitions to memorise the decimals of a number. PIphilology covers various mnemonic techniques that can help us to know the maximum possible number of decimals of PI. One way is PIpoetry - i.e. poetry in which the number of letters in the n^th word of a composition must equal the n^th decimal in the decimal notation of Pi. PIphilology is a technique that can help us to know the maximum number of decimals of Pi. PIpoetry is a form of poetry in which the number of letters in the n^th word of a composition must equal the n^th decimal in the decimal notation of Pi. The first Slovenian competition in PIetry was organised at UP, in 2014, within the Department of Mathematics of UP Famnit and UP IAM.

We are honoured to announce that the 32nd IASP World Congress will be held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Nataša Pirc Musar.