A specific strategic orientation from the very beginning, and an increasingly strong advantage of UP IAM, which is particularly important in the development of young researchers, is its strong international presence and visibility, which fosters guest lectures abroad, visits of international researchers, and participation in international projects and prestigious events. UP IAM is strengthening this by:

• ecruiting international staff, both established researchers and young researchers,
• successfully applying for bilateral cooperation projects with researchers from abroad,
• organising and attending international conferences, summer schools and other scientific meetings,
• participation in international associations in various scientific fields,
• mobility of staff, both research and professional,
• applying for and carrying out international research projects.

As of 1 January 2022, 20 international researchers are employed at UP IAM (four have acquired Slovenian citizenship), including six young researchers. Our international employees come from Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Hungary, India, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

In 2022, 8 bilateral projects with the following countries are continuing: Bosnia and Herzegovina (3), Croatia (1), Japan (1), Denmark (1), and Austria (2).  In 2022, we plan to submit 8 bilateral project applications to calls for proposals that will be published or are planned to be published. Measures and constraints related to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 are a barrier to international cooperation only in terms of the inability to organise a live itinerary, while project collaboration and joint research are carried out without distance constraints.

Key achievements in the field of international engagement in the last 5 years include:

• The organisation of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics - 8ECM (20-26 June 2021 in Portorož and simultaneously online) is a great success for Slovenian mathematics and science in general, as Slovenia has never hosted such an important event before. The European Congress is organised every 4 years under the auspices of the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and in 2021 it was the largest mathematics event in the world. The Congress was also honoured by the patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Borut Pahor.
• Development of the Teaming project in collaboration with the renowned Fraunhofer Institute. In 2016, the Centre of Excellence for Research and Innovation in Renewable Materials and Healthy Living Environments (InnoRenew CoE) was established: seven Slovenian partners were brought together by UP IAM in a consortium with a mentoring institution, the German Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research - Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, a world-class institution for R&D and transfer of innovations into industrial practice. As of 2022, the Centre is completing the construction of a building in Izola where key research will take place, thus increasing the international competitiveness of the Slovenian timber industry and related economy.
• Organisation of the World Congress of IASP (International Association for Suicide Prevention) in 2023 in Piran. The World Congress is organised every two years and is a gathering of the world's most eminent experts in the field of suicide prevention. The Slovenian Centre for Suicide Research.