Monday, 30 December 2019 Erasmus+ open call for academic year 2020/2021 published

Erasmus+ open call for students is published. Applications are now open for exchanges for studies or traineeships in the period from1 June 2020 to 30 September 2021.

The application deadline is 23 January 2020.

The Open call and all necessary documentation (forms, instructions) are available on this link.

You are invited to apply!

Wednesday, 18 December 2019 BASIS Foundation offers grants for participation at the 8ECM

We are happy to announce that BASIS Foundation for the Advancement of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics is offering travel grants to students (BA/MA and PhD) and young mathematicians from the Russian Federation to participate at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics.

The Foundation was established in 2016 with the main goal to support theoretical physics and mathematics in Russia. Their wide-ranging programme includes individual grants to support Russian scientists at every stage of their career, and financial support for international cooperation in scientific fields, including participation of researchers in the best programmes, conferences and schools.

The deadline for application is March 15, 2020 and it must be submitted through the online application.

The 8ECM travel grant can cover travel expenses, accommodation, daily allowance (meals, local transport etc.), congress participation, consular and visa fees. Those who require an invitation letter for the purpose of applying for the BASIS grant can contact the Office of the 8ECM Organizing Committee at 8ecm.registration@famnit.upr.si

To find out more about the open call and to apply for the grant, visit https://basis-foundation.ru/general-competitions/math/travel-grants/congress

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The Organizers of the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics would like to thank BASIS for their generous support!  

This is an excellent way to support young mathematicians. We hope that similar organizations in other countries will follow suit and enable the best young mathematicians to participate at the 8ECM.

Wednesday, 18 December 2019 New research project in cooperation with Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)

We are glad to announce that UP FAMNIT Department of Mathematics has obtained another project co-funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS). Prof. István Kovács, PhD has been successful on the Call for Proposals for co-financing the Slovenian part of joint Hungarian-Slovenian projects, where NKFIH (National Research, Development and Innovation Office) acts as the lead agency. The new project Geometries, Graphs, Groups and their links will be implemented in cooperation with Eötvös Loránd University.

The project will enable the continuation and strengthening of the cooperation between the Slovenian research group, which operates mainly at the University of Primorska, and the Hungarian researchers from the Eötvös Loránd University.

The three-year long research project, which will include also doctoral students, will focus on the use of algebraic, geometric, and combinatorial techniques for problems about graphs, groups, configurations and geometries

The complete list of research projects and programs implemented at UP FAMNIT is available on this link.

Congratulations to Prof. Kovács, and we wish to the Department a successful research work!

Prof. István Kovács, PhD

Wednesday, 11 December 2019 NEW: International Joint Doctoral Programme in Computer Science with University of St. Andrews

It is our great pleasure to announce that we have been granted accreditation for the Joint PhD Programme in Computer Science, which will be implemented at UP FAMNIT and the University of St. Andrews (School of Computer Science).

Assist. Prof. Klen Čopič Pucihar, PhD from the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies explains the specific features of the new international study program: »The study programme will give Slovenian students access to one of the best universities in the Anglo-Saxon world. Students will have at their disposal everything the University of St Andrew offers to its home students. At the same time the programme will give students from St Andrews a chance to work with a young, promising institution on the sunny seaside. Upon successful completion of the study, students will receive a joint doctorate, bearing the name of the two universities, which experts consider to be a distinct advantage.«

This is a four-year study programme, in which the student will have to spend at least one year at each of the institutions. »Each candidate will have a minimum of two mentors, one from the University of Primorska and one from the University of St. Andrews. Both mentors will have to be selected before the start of their studies,« explains Assist. Prof. Matjaž Kljun, PhD.

In the past, we have hosted professors from the University of St. Andrews at UP FAMNIT, who delivered parts of the subjects, whereas our professors were invited to visit their University. Assist. Prof. Matjaž Kljun, PhD continues: »We have been involved with researchers at the University of St. Andrews for several years. For example, we applied for research projects and published research papers. We are currently collaborating on a large scale virtual reality study and look forward to the continuation of such cooperation in the future. The faculty plans to implement a similar programme in the field of mathematics.«

(On the picture, from right to left: Prof. Aaron Quigley, PhD, Assist. Prof. Matjaž Kljun, PhD
and Assist. Prof. Klen Čopič Pucihar, PhD)

»Myself and my colleague in St Andrews have been looking forward to the approval of this joint programme. This programme represents an excellent opportunity for students to have a distinctive European experience during their PhD studies which combines the best of both worlds. The collaboration begins with excellent human computer interaction researchers in both institutions to bring together different strengths along with distinctive research and study environments to create a shared crucible of learning. Students, when they join us here in St Andrews, join both the local community of scholars and also the wider Scottish Informatics and Computer Science alliance (SICSA). Across Computer Science we look forward to building on this programme and creating new opportunities for strengthening our connections.« says Prof. Aaron Quigley, Chair of Human Computer Interaction, Director of SICSA and general co-chair for CHI 2021.

Compared to existing doctoral programme in Computer Science the programme features several upgrades. Assist. Prof. Klen Čopič Pucihar, PhD explains: »Compared to the existing programme we introduced structural changes and extended the programme to 4 years. We increased the number of elective courses giving the candidates greater flexibility in the design of their studies and extended the study programme for one year to  give the student extra time to make the most of the opportunities the combined programme will bring.«

The decision to enrol in the study programme is encouraged by the increasing global demand for human resources in the field of computer science, making it easy to find employment after finishing the studies.

For more detailed information click here.

Our researchers during a visit at the University of St. Andrews

Tuesday, 10 December 2019 We are looking for volunteers for the 8th European Congress of Mathematics!

We invite you to co-create the biggest scientific event in Slovenia and join us for a week of long days, funny moments and memorable times!

Volunteers are the face of the congress! Nothing happens without you and the success of the event depends on your smiley can-do attitude.

You will receive:

• Full board accommodation;
• Free access to lectures and other events;
• Support and mentorship;
• Reference and certification;
• Welcome package;
• Numerous stories and anecdotes that can only happen when there are 2,000 mathematicians at one place.

You are right for us:

• Regardless of your profile;
• If you consider yourself resourceful;
• If you can keep agreements;
• If you speak English, maybe even other languages.

Visit https://8ecm.eu/volunteers to find out more about the “Task Forces” application deadlines and where to apply!

Tuesday, 3 December 2019 Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon visits UP FAMNIT in the run-up to the 8ECM

Wednesday, 27 November 2019 New rector of UP, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar sworn in and assumed rector's honors and duties

On Monday, 25th of November 2019, the new rector of University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar solemnly sworn in and assumed rector's honors and duties.

Monday, 25 November 2019 FREE & ANONYMOUS TESTING FOR HIV & HEPATITIS C

On the World AIDS Day we invite you to participate in the anonymous and free HIV and Hepatitis C testing.

Testing will take place on Monday, December 2, 2019, between 8:30 and 10:30 in the vaccination clinic at the NIJZ OE (National Institute of Public Health) Koper (Vojkovo nabrežje 4a, Koper).

Friday, 22 November 2019 Mathematical Advent Calendar 2019

Elementary School students (8th and 9th year) and High School students are invited to compete in solving problems as part of the  Mathematical Advent Calendar. The competitors are divided into three categories: 1st level (Elementary School, 2nd level (High School, first and second year) and 3rd level (High School, third and fourth year).

You will have fun with the Mathematical Advent Calendar from December 2nd to December 20th 2019.

There is one day (24 hours) available for solving each of the problems (from midnight till midnight).

In each category  three awards will be given, each award will be  a USB together with a T-shirt.

Only High School students and Elementary School students  (8th and 9th year)  are allowed to compete; they have to create an account here.

Others can join here.

The rules of the quiz are available here.

Wednesday, 20 November 2019 Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD awarded with the Zois Award for outstanding scientific achievements

We are happy and honoured to announce that our professor and researcher Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD received the Zois Award for outstanding scientific achievements in the field of cryptography. Zois Awards and Recognitions are the most prestigious awards for exceptional achievements in scientific research and development activities, awarded to researchers in the Republic of Slovenia.

Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD, has been recognized as one of the world's leading researchers in the area of design and analysis of symmetric ciphers and cryptographically interesting discrete combinatorial structures, especially the Boolean functions. He was part of the research team that developed the new S-box used in the 3G mobile network protocol and in the stream cipher SNOW for use in the 3GPP standard. Between 2012 and 2018, he published 41 scientific articles in high quality journals such as IEEE and Finite Fields and their Applications. Since 2018, he is also leading  the UP FAMNIT Center for Cryptography at the University of Primorska.

 
(Foto: rtvslo.si)

One of his main research contributions is the use of Boolean functions in finding sets of orthogonal sequences for the use in mobile networks. With the use of these results the number of users per cell in CDMA networks can be doubled. Other research areas are connected to new cryptoanalysis methods, the use of Boolean functions in testing machine circuits, effective probabilistic algorithms for discovering properties of cryptographic primitives, and to theoretical development of new cryptographic primitives possessing optimal resistance to certain cryptoanalytic attacks.

(Foto: rtvslo.si)

Recall that last year UP FAMNIT and UP IAM recieved a research program  entitled "Mathematical Modelling and Encryption: From Theoretical Concepts to Everyday Applications", led by Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD. Until 2025 they will develop innovative opportunities for thorough research in the field of mathematics. Concrete results will ensure secure communication with blockchain technology in modelling to generate preliminary results in different domains. The emphasis will be on the themes regarding sustainable built environments.

Last year, Prof. Enes Pasalic,PhD was awarded as a professor and researcher at UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, with the 2017 Scientific Excellence Award in Natural Sciences and Engineering.

We congratulate Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD for this excellent achievement and important award!

(Group picture with the Dr. Jernej Pikalo,
Minister for Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Slovenia)

Tuesday, 19 November 2019 Assoc. Prof. Ademir Hujdurović, PhD is the new Dean of UP FAMNIT

The Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dragan Marušič, PhD confirmed Assoc. prof. Admiral Hujdurović as the new Dean of UP FAMNIT, who was elected in the early elections held on November 14, 2019.

The former vice-dean for International and inter-university cooperation at UP FAMNIT began his academic career nine years ago as a young researcher at UP IAM under the mentorship of Prof. Dragan Marušič, PhD. Then, in 2013, he completed his doctoral studies with the thesis “Algebraic Aspects of Graph Theory” and received the PhD title. A year ago he became the editor of the international scientific journal “Ars Mathematica Contemporanea”, which is the fifth most prestigious Slovenian scientific journal on the SCImago Journal & Country Rank for the fifth consecutive year. He also became the vice dean for international and inter-university cooperation of UP FAMNIT. Earlier this year, as a professor and researcher at UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, he received the 2018 Scientific Excellence Award in Natural Sciences and Engineering, and in May became an Associate Professor in Mathematics and a Senior Associate at UP.

In his application program, he wrote, "We will continue the development of our faculty in the direction set by my predecessors through excellent professional support from support services, hard work by members of Famnit's academic community, and proactive co-creation of the faculty by Famnit students."

An important place in his program of work is taken by research activity and student involvement in research projects, as well as the global involvement of the faculty and the spatial solutions at the faculty, which has greatly increased the number of students in recent years.

We sincerely congratulate the dean on his appointment and wish him a successful mandate!

Monday, 18 November 2019 Dr. Marko Tkalcic guest of the International Artificial Intelligence Journey Forum

On November 8-9, 2019, Assoc. Prof. Marko Tkalčič attended Artificial Intelligence Journey, the largest forum in Eastern Europe that is aimed to become one of the important international platform in the field of AI.

The conference in the field of data analysis and artificial intelligence was organized in Moscow by Sberbank in collaboration with leading Russian universities, as well as Russian and international companies.

It was attended by over 5,000 participants, including leading international and Russian experts in AI and data analysis, as well representatives of over 1,000 companies – leaders in developing and applying AI technologies in business processes.

The first day of the conference was dedicated to science and applied research, while the second day focused on the challenges faced by businesses, as well as national strategies for AI development. On Friday, the 8^th of November, Assoc. prof. Marko Tkalčič, PhD gave a lecture with the title From Behavioural to Cognitive Modeling in Recommender Systems. In his lecture he explains two of the cognitive models; personality and emotions, and sets some examples on how they can be used in recommender systems. Click here to watch his lecture.

After the conference he also gave out three interviews, one for Forbes Magazine and two for the famous Russian broadcaster RBK.

Source: AI Journey - https://ai-journey.ru/en/conference-moscow/photo

Saturday, 16 November 2019 UP FAMNIT Dean Election – ELECTION RESULTS

Distinguished colleagues,

We would like to inform you that the Election Commission has concluded its work and in its report notes that the electoral turnout rate was different for each group of voters, so:

• for higher education teachers, scientific workers and higher education staff a turnout of 73 % has been recorded,
• for students there was a turnout of 9 % and
• for other employees a turnout of 86 % has been reached.

A total of 162 voters turned out to vote in the elections.

For the election of Assoc. Prof. Ademir Hujdurović, PhD votes in favor 152 of voters that represents 57 out of a total of 100 points.

As Assoc. Prof. Ademir Hujdurović, PhD was the only candidate for the position, he has achieved more than 50% of total 57 valid points and so he won the UP FAMNIT Dean election.

The formal decision concerning the election result and the proposal for the appointment of Assoc. Prof. Ademir Hujdurović, PhD to the position of Dean UP FAMNIT for a four-year mandate (23 November 2019 – 22 November 2023) to present to the Rector UP will be adopted by the Senate UP FAMNIT on Monday, 18 November 2019.

CONGRATULATION to the new Dean on the appointment and we wish him a successful leadership and a lot of positive and stimulating challenges at work!

Election Commission

Friday, 15 November 2019 Fruitful Core Group meeting of the COST Action

The two-day opening meeting of the COST Action CA18201 "An Integrated Approach to Conservation of Threatened Plants for the 21st Century", signed by Assist. Prof. Živa Fišer, PhD from the Biodiversity Department, concluded today. UP FAMNIT hosted partners from Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland and Portugal. They have discussed the first steps, goals and results and planned activities for the next 4 years.

The next meeting will be in February 2020 in Prague, and in the meantime you can follow the action on the ConservePlants Facebook page.  

Even though plants represent an essential part of our lives offering exploitational, supporting and cultural services, we know very little about the biology of the rarest and most threatened plant species, and even less about their conservation status. The main aim of this Action is to improve plant conservation in Europe through the establishment of a network of scientists and other stakeholders who deal with different aspects of plant conservation, from plant taxonomy, ecology, conservation genetics, conservation physiology and reproductive biology to protected area's managers, not forgetting social scientists, who are crucial when dealing with the general public.

More on COST Action here.

Thursday, 14 November 2019 Giovanna Aronne: Reproductive ecology and conservation of the endangered Primula palinuri

We invite you to the lecture
»Reproductive ecology and conservation of the endangered Primula palinuri«,
by Giovanna Aronne.

The lecture will take place today, 
on Thursday, November 14th, at 18:00
in classroom FAMNIT-VP2 (Glagoljaška 8).

Abstract

Primula palinuri is a narrowly endemic species that thrives in only a few locations along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in southern Italy. The species is endangered by various factors, such as the destruction of its habitat by the construction of facilities, mainly for tourism purposes, by the specimen collection in the most accessible sites. As for other Primula species, Primula palinuri is heterostylous so it has a complex reproductive cycle. The lecture will present the reproductive ecology and conservation of this rare and interesting species.

About Giovanna Aronne

Prof. Giovanna Aronne is a full professor at the Department of Agronomy at the University of Naples Federico II. Her area of interest is the influence of ecological factors on plant morphology and physiology. Currently, most of her research is being devoted to environmental factors that affect plant reproduction, to the protection of endangered plant species, and to the effects of space factors on plant growth.

Wednesday, 6 November 2019 Another successful collaboration with the Mississippi State University

On Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27, 2019, the 7^th  Mississippi Discrete Mathematics Workshop, traditionally organized by Mississippi State University and the University of Primorska, was held at Mississippi State University in Starkville, USA. UP FAMNIT professors Ted Dobson and Russ Woodroofe were also present at the workshop. Of the 40 participants, 17 also gave a talk. The lectures were from various fields of discrete mathematics and combinatorics with many connections to topology and algebra.

You can read more here.

Wednesday, 30 October 2019 Michael Chirillo: »Remembering where you left your tiger: synaptic remodelling in the mammalian brain during learning and memory«

We kindly invite you to the lecture

»Remembering where you left your tiger: synaptic remodelling in the mammalian brain during learning and memory«,

by Michael Chirillo, MD, PhD

(U.S. Fulbright Scholar 2018-2019, University of Belgrade, Kristen Harris Lab, The University of Texas at Austin).

The lecture will take place on Monday, November 11th 2019, at 12:30

in classroom FAMNIT VP1 (Glagoljaška 8).

Abstract:

Our brains are shaped by trillions of synaptic junctions that link central neurons into large neural circuits. Synapses are not static structures. They can be remodeled both structurally and functionally, a phenomenon termed synaptic plasticity. Understanding how changes to the structure of the synapse influence its function has been a central goal of the field of cellular neuroscience since its infancy. In this talk, we will discuss using electron microscopy (EM) to create three-dimensional reconstructions of central synapses in the mammalian hippocampus. We will also discuss long-term potentiation (LTP) and how neuroscientists use LTP to explore learning and memory at the cellular level. LTP induces dramatic structural plasticity at synapses and EM provides the necessary resolution to capture and investigate those changes.

About Michael Chirillo:

After finishing a combined MD/PhD at the University of Texas in 2017 he completed an internship in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He worked with Kristen Harris at the Center for Learning and Memory in Austin, Texas on using 3-dimensional reconstructions from electron micrographs to understand how synaptic structure is altered with learning and memory.
While in Austin, Chirillo taught general human and animal physiology courses to undergraduate students. During that time, he was mentored by Dee Silverthorn, author of 'Human Physiology', the most popular undergraduate physiology text in the United States. The most recent edition of her text includes several additions by Chirillo. After internship in the summer of 2018, he was awarded a year-long Fulbright scholar grant from the U.S. State Department to work at the University of Belgrade on the introduction of novel teaching techniques in their general physiology courses. He also works with the medical school in Sarajevo and they were recently awarded a group grant to investigate several biochemical markers that might signal dysfunctional aging in elderly adults.

Monday, 28 October 2019 UP FAMNIT students won the first round of NASA Space Apps Challenge

From 18^th to 20^th of October, Inkubator Sežana held for the first time the NASA Space Apps Challenge, which has become the world’s largest global hackathon. It inspires local communities to come together, think intensely, and create solutions to important problems. Each year, Space Apps engages thousands of individuals in cities around the world to work with NASA’s open source data in a 48-hour sprint, in which participants hack solutions to challenges that NASA proposes, creating games, smartphone and computer apps, videos, teaching tools, and much more.

31 creative competitors participated the challenge in Sežana, while globally, 29.000 participants attended 230 events in more than 80 countries.

Among the six teams, one was composed by three students from UP Famnit: Maheshya Weerasinghe, Nina Klobas and Cuauhtlli Campos and two from UP FM: Nikola Nakov and Łukasz Popowicz. Within this year's challenge, they created a game and entered into the 2nd round.

Nina Klobas, student of Mathematical Sciences, comments the decision for participating in such a diverse team: »The decision to participate was really spontaneous. A friend of ours (Lukasz) was telling a story about his competition last year and he got me thinking that maybe it is worth trying. The team was set up a bit randomly. Maheysha and Campos are always open to do something more and new, so convincing them to participate was not hard. Lukasz and Nikola took part of the competition last year and they were planning to repeat the experience anyway. We are from different backgrounds (two from management, a mathematician and two computer scientists), which turned out to be our great advantage.« »We like to participate in this kind of activities where you put in practice what you have learned in your academic life. It was also a good opportunity to work with student from other backgrounds,« added Cuauhtlli Campos, PhD student of Computer Science.

After choosing the inspirational name of team Wind of change, they came up with the original idea, equipped with the knowledge of actually producing it and having the capabilities of selling it. Nina continues: »Our goal was just to have fun and see how good we work as a team. We also wanted to think of something new and unique, which could be used in some educational purposes.«

In the frame of this year’s topic they were able to decide between six categories: Living in our World, Earth’s oceans, Our moon, Planets near and far, To the stars, and “Invent your own challenge”. The Wind of change team chose the first one with the challenge 1UP for NASA Earth. They have created a game Ure planet with the slogan »Explore it. Save it.« Cuauhtlli Campos: »We believe that the proposed solution has a potential, but it is still in an earlier stage and it can be improved for a better version.«

Congratulations to our students! Fingers crossed for round two.

Monday, 21 October 2019 Three new Full Professors at UP FAMNIT

Distinguished colleagues,

we would like to inform you that

on Friday, 25 October 2019 in the classroom Famnit-VP2, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper

will be taking place Inaugural Lectures:

at 11:30 a.m.
Elena Bužan, PhD Full Professor in research area Biochemistry,
with the title: »SECRETS, ARCHIVED IN DNA, OPEN NEW ROUTES TO MORE EFFECTIVE NATURE CONSERVATION«,

at 12:50 p.m.
Martin Milanič, PhD Full Professor in research area Mathematics,
with the title: »DOMINATION PROBLEMS IN GRAPHS« and

at 14:10 p.m.
István Kovács, PhD Full Professor in research area Mathematics,
with the title »SOME APPLICATIONS OF SCHUR RINGS IN ALGEBRAIC GRAPH THEORY«.

We are kindly inviting you to join us at the lectures!

Monday, 21 October 2019 8ECM: Fields medallist Sir Martin Hairer to deliver the Hirzebruch Lecture

We are pleased to announce that Sir Martin Hairer KBE FRS will deliver the Hirzebruch lecture at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics.

Hairer is a professor of Pure Mathematics and Chair in Probability and Stochastic Analysis in the Department of Mathematics, Imperial College, London. His main area of research is the study of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs); other research interests include nonequlibrium statistical mechanics, stochastic differential equations, stochastic processes with memory, and the general theory of Markov processes.

The work that led to his Fields medal concerns the mathematical understanding of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs), and in particular, his “breakthrough approach” to resolving the nonlinear KPZ equation proposed by physicists Kardar, Parisi and Zhang in 1986. This, and Prof. Hairer’s subsequent work, develops a general theory of regularity structures that can be applied to a broad class of nonlinear stochastic PDEs, and goes a long way towards removing an obstacle in understanding nonlinear stochastic PDEs. Furthermore, the class of equations to which the theory applies contains several that are of central interest in mathematics and science and potentially opens the way to understanding the phenomenon of universality. His citation for the 2014 Fields medal award notes “his outstanding contributions to the theory of stochastic partial differential equations, and in particular … the creation of a theory of regularity structures for such equations.”

Prof. Hairer’s work in SPDEs has also been recognised with the award of the Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse’s Fermat Prize (2013) and the London Mathematical Society’s Fröhlich prize (2014) “for his work on the interface between probability theory and partial differential equations; a body of work that is widely recognised as revolutionizing an entire field of research.”

In addition to his mathematical research, Hairer’s interest in music and computer programming led to the creation of Amadeus, an award-winning sound-editing program for Mac, and a popular tool among DJs, music producers and gaming companies.

In the course of his career, Prof. Hairer has received numerous other prizes and honours, including the Whitehead prize and the Philip Leverhulme Prize (2008). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014, and of the American Mathematical Society in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

We look forward to welcoming Professor Hairer at the 8ECM!

Please follow us on 8ecm.eu for more news and updates.

Sources

http://www.hairer.org/index.html

https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal/fields-medals-2014

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Hairer

https://royalsociety.org/people/martin-hairer-11561/

https://www.quantamagazine.org/hearing-music-in-noise-martin-hairer-wins-the-fields-medal-20140812/

https://www.lms.ac.uk/prizes/lms-prizes-2014

Wednesday, 16 October 2019 First steps of multicultural and multilingual project LanGuide

The 8th and 9th of October, UP FAMNIT hosted the kick-off meeting of the Erasmus+ project LanGuide.

Partners from Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden gathered to discuss the first steps of the multicultural and multilingual project that will last until 2022. During the two days together they established a strong cooperation and discussed the project timeframe, which includes the following meetings. Project partners had the chance to visit the University and some faculties, as well as the cities of Koper and Piran.

More about the project “Language guidance tool for improving language knowledge –LanGuide”

The objectives of the project LanGuide are to build an open access students/teachers/administrative staff centered guidance tool for improving language knowledge and supporting the acquisition of language knowledge through the language guidance tool. The developed methodology will be implemented in the preparation of language resources, covering 3 levels of difficulty, for preselected LSP fields for English. The resources will be included in the language guidance tool software and mobile app. 

Wednesday, 16 October 2019 8ECM: Kathryn Hess to deliver a public lecture

We are pleased to announce that Professor Kathryn Hess will deliver a public lecture at the 8ECM, to be supported by European Women in Mathematics (EWM)

Hess is a professor of mathematics and life sciences at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. She received her PhD from MIT. Her research focuses on algebraic topology and its applications, primarily in the life sciences, but also in materials science.  She has published extensively on topics in pure algebraic topology including homotopy theory, operad theory, and algebraic K-theory, and has co-authored the monograph String Topology and Cyclic Homology (Birkhäuser Basel, 2006). Current collaborations include the Blue Brain Project, which, as described by Hess, involves “applying algebraic topology to analyzing how the structure of the brain shapes its function, which is one of the central mysteries of neuroscience.”

In 2016, Prof. Hess was named a fellow of the American Mathematical Society for her "contributions to homotopy theory, applications of topology to the analysis of biological data, and service to the mathematical community", and was elected to the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences. She has also been recognised as a distinguished speaker of the European Mathematical Society (2017). Among her numerous teaching awards are the “Polysphère d’Or” and best teacher in the Faculty of Life Sciences from EPFL. In addition, she has served as a member of several international organizations, including at present the Standing Committee for European Women in Mathematics, and the International Advisory Committee for the International Congress of Mathematicians -  ICM 2022.

Prof. Hess has made significant contributions in outreach and development within the mathematical community, including co-founding the network “Women in Topology” in 2011, and creating the Euler course at EPFL, an accelerated maths programme for children with exceptional mathematical potential.

We look forward to welcoming Professor Hess at the 8ECM!

Please follow us on our website 8ecm.eu for updates and further news.

Wednesday, 16 October 2019 Theoretical computing for solving practical problems

UP FAMNIT hosted two international conferences: MATCOS-19 and StuCoSReC 2019

Last week, two conferences were held at UP FAMNIT at the same time: on Thursday morning we started with StuCoSReC 2019 (Student Computer Science Research Conference) and continued with MATCOS-19 (Middle-European Conference on Applied Theoretical Computer Science).

The two-day conference MATCOS, which takes place every three years, was organized by UP IAM, UP FAMNIT and InnoRenew CoE. This year, we had two goals: first, to present ideas and solutions in the field of theoretical computing that have been directly used in real-world applications. And second: to gather theoretical results based on ideas that can be used to solve practical problems. Topics have covered the following areas: algorithms and data structures, computational complexity, optimization, artificial intelligence, machine learning to graph theory and computer geometry.

Short introductions were this year’s novelty. “This turned out to be a great idea, as we enabled higher number of participants at the conference and an exchange of ideas between them," said the chair of the organizing committee, Assist. Prof. Rok Požar, PhD. A total number of 21 regular and 16 short contributions were held in two parallel sections. "This allowed more time for discussion among more than 50 participants, who came from Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Romania and Hungary," added Rok Požar.

Before MATCOS-19, over 40 students together with their mentors from more than 10 Slovenian and foreign institutions attended StuCoSReC 2019. The conference was organized by University of Primorska, University of Ljubljana, University of Maribor, and Jozef Stefan Institute with the support of ACM Slovenia (Association for Computing Machinery) and it was held in conjuction with the 22th International Multiconference Information Society.

The purpose of the student conference was to encourage both doctoral and master's students of computer studies to active research work. The main goal was to create a space where students can present their research work and this year they delivered 19 research projects and two posters. Among 22 accepted contributions for conference proceedings, 4 were written in Slovenian language.

Topics were quite different: from classical theoretical computing (optimization problems, automata etc.) and artificial intelligence to other innovative and applied projects (game strategies, word marking, stock trading tools, analysis of bat behavior, football forecasting winner etc.).

Another important purpose of the conference was to create an environment where students from different institutions meet, get to know each other, exchange ideas, and start new research collaborations. StuCoSReC is open for foreign students as well, and this year around half of the participants came from abroad. Of course, socializing and networking was very important and useful part of the meeting, since young researchers had the chance to exchange good practices and shared valuable advices.

Tuesday, 15 October 2019 8ECM: Professor Robin Wilson to give a public lecture and curate postage stamp exhibition!

We are pleased to announce that mathematician and philatelist Professor Robin Wilson will present a special public lecture and mathematical-themed postage stamp exhibition at the 8ECM.

Robin Wilson is an Emeritus Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University, Emeritus Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, and a former Fellow of Keble College, Oxford University. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. A former President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, he has written and edited over 40 books on a variety of subjects, including Lewis Carroll in Numberland and Stamping Through Mathematics on the history of mathematics, Introduction to Graph Theory and Four Colours Suffice on graph theory, and How to Solve Sudoku. He is a regular contributor to the Mathematical Intelligencer.

Long involved with the popularization of mathematics and its history, Prof. Wilson has been awarded the Mathematical Association of America’s Lester Ford award for his ‘outstanding expository writing’, and the Stanton Medal for outreach activities in combinatorics by the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications.

Professor Wilson will be bringing his popular, illustrated lecture on the development of mathematics as portrayed through stamps to the 8ECM. The accompanying exhibition will feature more than 200 stamps from around the world. All are from Prof. Wilson’s private collection and are included in Stamping Through Mathematics. The exhibition will be on display in the near vicinity of the 8ECM venue and, as with the lecture, will be open to the general public.

In more philatelic news, a special postage stamp will also be issued by Post of Slovenia for the occasion of the 8ECM. Further details will be available on the 8ECM website.

(Photo: Gersham College)

We look forward to welcoming Prof. Wilson at the 8ECM in July!

For more information on this and other topics, please follow us on our website.

Thursday, 10 October 2019 Our younger generation of mathematicians closer to US researchers

UP FAMNIT and UP IAM Departments of Mathematics have recently obtained new funds through a public tender for co-financing scientific research cooperation between Slovenia and the USA, this time from 2019 to 2021. Out of 99 approved projects, nine are signed by our researchers.

This means that in the next two years we will strengthen the existing cooperation by hosting in the following US Universities and Research Institutions: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Mississippi State University, College of William & Mary, University of Delaware, Troy University, The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), Rutgers University in National Institutes of Health.

Leaders of the nine approved projects are: Dr. Nina Chiarelli, Dr. Nino Bašič, Dr. Slobodan Filipovski, Dr. Matjaž Krnc, Dr. Safet Penjić, Dr. Graham Luke Morgan, Dr. Dušanka Janežič, Dr. István Kovács and Dr. Karla Ferjančič.

In the past, our mathematicians have already acquired a number of bilateral projects to collaborate with the US, but this year’s novelty is that project leaders are mostly part of the younger generation of our mathematicians. With this new success we continue connecting with the whole world.

Other researchers from our university were also successful, new bilateral projects will be implemented by dr. Martina Blečić Kavur (UP FHŠ), dr. Matjaž Nahtigal (UP FM), dr. David BrianDeVallance and dr. Iztok Šušteršič (UP and InnoRenew CoE).

Congratulations to our mathematicians on the new important achievement!

(On the picture - from left: dr. Graham Luke Morgan, dr. Dušanka Janežič, dr. Nino Bašič, dr. Safet Penjić,
dr. Nina Chiarelli, dr. Matjaž Krnc and dr. Karla Ferjančič)

The list of all approved projects is available here.

More about the projects:

• István Kovács: Graphs, polytopes and configurations, UP IAM & University of Alaska Fairbanks,
• Slobodan Filipovski: The cage problem, UP IAM & Mississippi State University,
• Graham Luke Morgan: Distinguishing number of graphs, UP IAM & College of William & Mary,
• Safet Penjić: Algebraic characterizations and combinatorial properties of (non)regular graphs with thin module of endpoint zero, UP IAM & University of Delaware,
• Karla Ferjančič: Rational spline motions of a low degree, UP IAM & Mississippi State University,
• Nina Chiarelli: F-WORM colorings in hereditary graph classes, UP IAM & Troy University,
• Nino Bašić: Chemical graphs on steroids, UP IAM & The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA),
• Matjaž Krnc: Certain problems in hypergraphs, graphs, and games, UP FAMNIT & Rutgers University,
• Dušanka Janežič: Computer Algorithm Development for Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Macromolecules, UP FAMNIT & National Institutes of Health.

Wednesday, 9 October 2019 8ECM: Mehrmann, Esteban and Bridson guests at UP FAMNIT

On Tuesday 8th October we had the great honour to host three distinguished mathematicians who are also involved in the organisation of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics.

Martin R Bridson FRS, Maria J. Esteban and Volker Mehrmann started their visit in Slovenia with the reception at the Presidential Palace hosted by the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, who is also 8ECM honorary patron.
The day after, a visit at UP FAMNIT was of course obligatory. Our guests delivered three lectures to our students and professors who had also the chance to interact with them.

On Wednesday they stayed in Portorož, where the congress will take place, working on the preparation of the biggest scientific meeting in Slovenia so far.

As said, our guests are not only distinguished mathematicians but they are also involved in the organisation of 8ECM. Professor Volker Mehrmann (Technische Universität Berlin) is President of the European Mathematical Society, Professor Maria J. Esteban (Université Paris-Dauphine) is chair of the 8ECM Scientific Committee, and Professor Martin R. Bridson FRS (University of Oxford) is chair of the 8ECM Prize Committee.

We are happy to have had them as guests here.

Monday, 7 October 2019 Volker Mehrmann, Maria Esteban, and Martin Bridson to visit Slovenia in the run-up to the 8ECM

Today marks the beginning of a week-long visit to Slovenia by three distinguished mathematicians closely associated with the upcoming 8th European Congress of Mathematics (8ECM): Professor Volker Mehrmann (Technische Universität Berlin), President of the European Mathematical Society, Professor Maria J. Esteban (Université Paris-Dauphine), chair of the 8ECM Scientific Committee, and Professor Martin R. Bridson FRS (University of Oxford), chair of the 8ECM Prize Committee.

Today’s schedule in Ljubljana begins with a reception at the Presidential Palace hosted by the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, after which Professors Mehrmann, Esteban and Bridson will give lectures at a colloquium at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (UL FMF).

On the photo (from left): UP Rector, Professor Dragan Marušič, Professor Martin R. Bridson FRS, UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, Professor Maria J. Esteban, Professor Volker Mehrmann and Prof. Dr. Tomaž Pisanski

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, they will travel to Koper where they will attend a reception at the Rectorate of the University of Primorska hosted by UP rector Professor Dragan Marušič, before giving public lectures at a seminar at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT).

From Koper, the visit will proceed to the Congress Centre Bernadin in Portorož, venue for the 8ECM in July 2020, for further meetings.

On the photo (from left): Professor Martin R. Bridson FRS, Prof. Dr. Tomaž Pisanski, Professor Volker Mehrmann, UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar and Professor Maria J. Esteban

We extend our thanks and a warm welcome to Professors Mehrmann, Esteban, and Bridson on the occasion of their visit to Slovenia. 

For more information on the day-long talks at UL FMF and UP FAMNIT, please see https://www.fmf.uni-lj.si/en/news/52573/ and https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/news/guest-lecture-marti.

For more information and updates on the 8ECM, please follow us on our website 8ecm.eu.

Friday, 4 October 2019 8ECM and ESOF 2020 will connect Piran and Trieste

This collaboration will come to life in July 2020, when Portorož and Trieste will host the two biggest scientific events in the region.

From left: Mayor of Piran, Đenio Zadković, UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar and Mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza

The 8th European Congress of Mathematics will be held from 5 to 11 July 2020 at the Congress Centre Bernardin in Portorož. The organizers expect about 2000 participants from all over the world, making it the largest mathematical event of the year. The 8ECM is hosted by the University of Primorska, in cooperation with all active institutions in Slovenia in the field of mathematics.

The congress will feature an extensive scientific program, including minisymposia, satellite conferences, public lectures by world-renowned mathematicians, round tables, workshops, exhibitions and meetings of mathematical societies. The organizers have paid additional attention to the accompanying activities and popularization of mathematics. The congress will include, among other things, a mathematical-historical exhibition of stamps, set up by philatelist and eminent mathematician, Prof. Robin Wilson. There will also be a large contingent of business representatives who will be recruiting young mathematicians as part of a career day. A variety of educational math workshops and summer camps for children will be offered during the congress, as a way to both entertain and bring math closer to the younger generation.

The importance of the 8ECM has been recognized with the honorable patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor.

At the same time, the EuroScience Open Forum Trieste will be held in Trieste from 5-9 July 2020. This is the largest European meeting in the field of research and innovation, attended by scientists, innovators and representatives of the business and public communities.

The EuroScience Open Forum brings together more than 4,000 researchers, educators, industrialists and journalists from around the world, the number expected by organizers in Trieste next year. Trieste's candidacy has received positive attention from the professional sector, as the concept of the forum emphasizes the openness of the city to a wider region, including Slovenia. This is a key opportunity for Trieste to further establish itself in the European area through its internationally recognized scientific and research centers.

As part of ESOF2020 a Science Festival will take place in the city, which will host various music, cultural, artistic and educational events from June 27 to July 11, 2020.

Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Prof. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organizing Committee Chair, Prof. Stefano Fantoni, president of ESOF 2020 Trieste, Mr. Genio Zadković, Mayor of Piran, Slovenia and Mr. Roberto Dipiazza, Mayor of Trieste, Italy.

Signatories of the agreement (from left to right): Prof. Dr. Tomaž Pisanski (for 8ECM), Prof. Dr. Stefano Fantoni (for ESOF2020), Mayor of Piran, Đenio Zadković and Mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza

The signatories of the agreement proudly emphasized the importance of a cross-border scientific connection, which is undoubtedly of great importance for the participants of both events, as well as for the research community and scientific institutions in Slovenia and Italy.

Thursday, 3 October 2019 UP Scholarship Fund - Call for applications

We would like to remind you that the deadline for submtting the requested documentation for the University of Primorska Scholarship is Thursday 10 October 2019.

The Scholarship Found of the University of Primorska is managed by the University, while it is supported by national, municipal, private and other financial sources. Special emphasis is given on linking students with prospective employers, who invest in the scholarship fund and also have an option to choose which students they will support with their funds.

You can read more about this year invitation here (find the documents in English), for more information please contact the Career Centre of the University of Primorska (05/61 17 636, kariernicenter@upr.si

Thursday, 3 October 2019 The most numerous generation of freshmen is here!

20 % more students – huge interest in Computer Science and Biopsychology.

On October 1st, we welcomed the 13th generation of freshmen, who started their studies on undergraduate level. The official opening of the new academic year 2019/20 took place at Tito Square in Koper, where freshmen from all faculties of the University of Primorska gathered at the traditional freshmen welcome.

Due to the very high number of enrolled international students, UP FAMNIT organized two receptions, in Slovenian and English language. New students have been welcomed by UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar and Vice-Dean for International Cooperation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ademir Hujdurović, tutors and representatives of the Student council.

    The biggest classroom Tramontana was full of freshmen - twice.

Faculties in Slovenia are currently dealing with smaller generations of students, while the number of enrolled students at UP FAMNIT has been increasing for several years. In fact, this year we have 672 students, 278 of them came from abroad. The number of freshmen is 235 (119 come from Slovenia and 116 from abroad) and we are proud to share the information that our students come from the following 30 countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United States of America, Uzbekistan. Additional 16 students will spend the first semester at our faculty in the frame of various mobility programs – they are from Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain

Tutors at UP FAMNIT take care of solving students' daily problems.

We are extremely pleased that we have exceeded the number of enrolled students for almost 20 %, compared to last year. As in previous years, the biggest interest is for the study program Computer Science, followed by Biopsychology and Conservation Biology. In October we are also starting two new study programmes: Data Science (Master’s study) and Mediterranean Agriculture (higher education professional study programme), which is among the most popular this year.

We wish to all new and “old” students a relaxed academic year, full of scientific curiosity and challenges, new friends and good grades! 

Monday, 30 September 2019 Guest lectures: Martin R Bridson FRS, Maria J. Esteban and Volker Mehrmann

We are pleased to invite you to the following public lectures

on Tuesday, 8th of October 2019
at FAMNIT-VP1 (Glagoljaška 8, Koper)

11:15–12:00: Hyperbolic geometry: where battered gems retain their full beauty
Martin R Bridson FRS, 8ECM Prize Committee Chair
(University of Oxford)

About the lecture:

Hyperbolic geometry provides a rich setting in which many rigidity phenomena emerge. In this talk for a general audience, Martin R Bridson FRS shall present several different types of rigidity phenomena, from Mostow’s classical rigidity theorem to generalizations involving the large-scale geometry of groups and spaces. He shall also explain why hyperbolicity is so ubiquitous and end the lecture by sketching how a newly discovered rigidity phenomenon in hyperbolic geometry can be used to settle an old question concerning the difficulty of identifying an infinite group by studying its actions on finite objects.

12:00–12:45: Best constants for functional inequalities and spectral estimates for Schrödinger operators
Maria J. Esteban, 8ECM Scientific Committee Chair
(CEREMADE (CNRS UMR n° 7534), PSL Research University, Université Paris-Dauphine)

13:30–14.15: The distance to stability and the distance to instability of dynamical systems
Volker Mehrmann, President European Mathematical Society
(TU Berlin)

About the lecture:

The analysis of the stability of a dynamical system is an essential question of mathematics. An important class of control systems is that of dissipative Hamiltonian systems that arise in all areas of science and engineering. When the system is linearized arround a stationary solution one gets a linear dissipative Hamiltonian system. Despite the fact that the system looks very unstructured at firstsight, it has remarkable properties. Stability and passivity are automatic, Jordan structures forpurely imaginary eigenvalues, eigenvalues at infinity, and even singular blocks in the Kroneckercanonical form are very restricted and furthermore the structure leads to fast and efficientiterative solution methods for associated linear systems. We discuss the distance to instability under struture preserving perturbations and also the smallest distance to the nearest stable system. An even harder problem is the distance to the nearest singular or ill-posed problem. While this in gerenal open, for the class of dissipative Hamiltonian systems we present a simple classification.
This is joint work with Christian Mehl and Michal Wojtylak.

Wednesday, 25 September 2019 Registration for the 8ECM is now open!

We are happy to announce that registration for the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics (8ECM) is now open!

The congress will be held from 5 to 11 July next year at the Congress Centre Bernardin, which is located at the head of the Adriatic Sea, between the medieval town of Piran and modern Portorož, both within walking distance of the venue. With a Mediterranean climate and culinary delights, it offers an authentic experience and much to explore.

We are planning an extensive scientific program for the 8ECM, including many minisymposia, public lectures and other activities. Just before and after the 8ECM a large number of engaging satellite conferences will be held in various parts of Europe, as well as at the conference venue.

Many researchers and students, along with publishing houses and representatives from industry will be present at the 8ECM, which will provide plenty of opportunities for networking and collaboration on future projects.

We expect to host more than 1500 visitors from all over the world and we are confident this will be a spectacular mathematical event you will not want to miss!

To register for the Congress, please visit https://www.8ecm.eu/register.  You can find more information about accommodation on our website where you can make a direct reservation through the "Book your accommodation" link to obtain the event rate. Early Bird registration and accommodation rates are available until January 31, 2020.

Be sure to subscribe to our 8ECM Newsletter as well, so you won’t miss any updates and new content!

We look forward to seeing you at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics in 2020!

Tuesday, 24 September 2019 The last application term for undergraduate and postgraduate studies - until 26 September 2019 (until 12.00 o'clock)

Tomorrow will start the last application term for undergraduate and postgraduate studies at UP FAMNIT 2019/2020 and lasts until THURSDAY, 26th September 2019 until 12.00 o'clock.

The application is possible for all study programmes that are included in the call for enrolment, except for undergraduate study programme Biopsychology and for postgraduate study programmes Biopsychology and Data Science for parallel degree studies.

All information about the application procedure are available here.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Monday, 23 September 2019 UNDERGRADUATE STUDY: Course schedules for Autumn Semester 2019/2020

We would like to inform you that the course schedules for all undergraduate study programmes for the Autumn Semester 2019/2020 are published on our website. Lectures start on Tuesday, 1 October 2019 and last until Friday, 17 January 2020.

The schedule might change until Monday, 30 September. Please check the schedule again before the beginning of the academic year.

Please check the schedule regularly, because weekly schedules can differ.

Changes after that (from Tuesday, 1 October) will be published in the notices of Student Services (for each study programme separately). We advice all students to register for the news, as they will be immediately notified by email about any change.

In some undergraduate courses, students are divided into groups for laboratory work (Computer Science – Slovene (1^st and 2^nd year), Computer Science – English (1^st and 2^nd year) and Biopsychology (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year)). The list of students divided by groups will be published no later than Monday, 30 September 2019.

Notice for the 3rd year students of the Mathematics EN programme: lectures for the course Statistics will be added later to the course schedule. In case the guest lectures won’t arrive in time, the course will be moved to the second semester.

The University of Primorska reception of freshmen will take place on Tuesday, 1st October. All information about the program and meetings with study programme coordinators are published on our website. 1st year students start lectures on Wednesday, 2 October.

In the beginning of October, study programme coordinators will meet all 2nd and 3rd year students. Exact terms will be published in the notices of Student Services.

Student Services UP FAMNIT

Monday, 23 September 2019 POSTGRADUATE STUDY: Course schedules for the autumn semester 2019/2020

We would like to inform you that the course schedules for all undergraduate study programmes for the Autumn Semester 2019/2020 are published on our website. Lectures start on Tuesday, 1 October 2019 and last until Friday, 17 January 2020.

Please check the schedule every week, because weekly schedules can differ.

The schedule might change until Monday, 30 September. Please check the schedule again before the beginning of the academic year.

Changes after that (from Tuesday, 1 October) will be published in the notices of Student Services (for each study programme separately). We advice all students to register for the news, as they will be immediately notified by email about any change.

Notice for the 2nd year students of the Nature Conservation programme: laboratory work and tutorials for the course Marine Conservation Biology will be added later to the course schedule.

Terms for the meetings with the study programme coordinators with the 1^st year students:

• Mathematical Sciences – Slovene (PMA) and Mathematical Sciences – English (PMA-EN): on Tuesday, 1 October at 16.30 in Famnit-MP7 (during lectures for the course Probabilty);
• Computer Science (PRIN): on Monday, 7 October at 17.00 in Famnit-VP2 after the seminar;
• Nature Conservation (PBI):  on Thursday, 3 October at 16.30 in Famnit-Muzejski3 (during lectures for the course Advanced Topics in Conservation Biology);
• Biopsychology (PBP): on Monday, 1 October at 14.00 in Famnit-MP6;
• Applied Psychology (UPSI): on Monday, 1 October at 14.00 in Famnit-MP7,
• Mathematics with Financial Engineering (PMF): on Friday, 11 October at 13.00 in Famnit-Muzejski4;
• Data Science – Slovene (PZ) and Data Science – English (PZ-EN): on Monday, 1 October at 16.30 in Famnit-MP2.

In the beginning of October study programme coordinators will meet 2nd year students. Exact terms will be published in the notices of Student Services.

Student Services UP FAMNIT

Tuesday, 17 September 2019 University reception of freshmen – Tuesday, 1st OCTOBER

Dear freshmen!

Your first Academic year is about to start and we are warmly inviting you to take part of the activities and events of the first day!

• 10.00 – 11.00: University of Primorska reception of freshmen on Tito square
• 11.00 – 11.30: UP FAMNIT reception of freshmen – in Slovene, classroom Tramontana (UP FHŠ, Titov trg 5, ground floor)
• 12.00 – 12.30: UP FAMNIT reception of freshmen – in English, classroom Tramontana (UP FHŠ, Titov trg 5, ground floor)
• 11.30 – 13.00: informal socializing at the Faculty with Student council and students

Meetings with study programmes coordinators:

• 13.00–13.45: Computer Science (in Slovene), Famnit-VP2 (Glagoljaška 8, 1. floor)
• 13.45–14.30: Computer Science (in English), Famnit-VP2 (Glagoljaška 8, 1. floor)
• 13.00–13.45: Mathematics (in Slovene) & Mathematics in Economics and Finance (in Slovene), Famnit-Muzejski1 (Muzejski trg 7, ground floor)
• 13.45–14.30: Mathematics (in English), Famnit-Muzejski1 (Muzejski trg 7, ground floor)
• 13.00–13.45: Bioinformatics (in Slovene), Famnit-Muzejski4 (Muzejski trg 7, ground floor)
• 13.45–14.30: Bioinformatics (in English), Famnit-Muzejski4 (Muzejski trg 7, ground floor)
• 13.00–14.00: Mediterranean Agriculture, Famnit-MP6 (Glagoljaška 8, 2. floor)
• 13.00–14.00: Biopsychology (in Slovene), Fhš-Tramontana (Titov trg 5, ground floor)

Freshmen of Conservation Biology will have their meeting with study programme coordinator on Thursday, 3^rd October at 14.00–15.00 in Famnit-MP1 (Glagoljaška 8, 1. floor).

All courses will start on Wednesday, 2^nd October – please check the schedule that will be announced on Monday, 23^rd September here (https://www.famnit.upr.si//en/student-pages/timetables). Time and classroom changes will be regularly published on the website (https://www.famnit.upr.si/sl/obvestila), but we advise you to register for the news and notices for your programme, as you will be immediately notified of any change.

See you soon!

UP FAMNIT professors and staff

Thursday, 12 September 2019 Application term for postgraduate programmes 13-18 September 2019

From Friday 13^th until Wednesday 18^th September candidates from EU and outside EU can apply to our Master’s and doctoral study programmes.

All information about the application procedure are available here:

https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading1

For more information, please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Monday, 2 September 2019 Jean-Pierre Bourguignon to deliver a live interview at the 8ECM!

We are pleased to announce that outgoing President of the European Research Council, Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, will be giving a live interview at the 8ECM.

Professor Bourguignon has been President of the European Research Council since 2014. During his tenure, the ERC has been a flagship component of Horizon 2020, the EU’s current Research Framework Programme, which has brought the council a corresponding budget increase of 60%.

Bourguignon is a mathematician by profession, whose main area of research is differential geometry. His work has focused on the Ricci curvature and its relation to both differential geometry and general relativity. His co-authored monographs include A Spinorial Approach to Riemannian and Conformal Geometry (EMS, 2015) and Mathematics, a Beautiful Elsewhere (Thames and Hudson, 2012), a book on the intersection of mathematics and art, published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name.

Professor Bourguignon has been affiliated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) for most of his career, which, in his words, “has given me a great freedom to pursue my research”. Prior to his presidency of the ERC, Bourguignon was director of the international research institute, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS) until 2013.

During Bourguignon’s directorship, the IHÉS numbered three Fields medallists among their faculty. Concurrently with his time at both the CNRS and IHÉS, Bourguignon was supported in research and professorial positions by École polytechnique.

As president of the Société Mathématique de France (1990-92), Bourguignon was instrumental in shaping the European Mathematical Society, established in 1990, becoming its second president (1995-98). The achievements of his tenure include founding the Journal of the European Mathematical Society (JEMS), increasing the visibility of the EMS, and boosting support for young mathematicians.

Among Bourguignon’s awards are the Prix Paul Langevin (1987) and the Prix du Rayonnement Français in Mathematical Sciences and Physics from the Académie des Sciences de Paris (1997). In addition, he has been granted several honorary positions, including membership of the London Mathematical Society and the German Association of Mathematicians (DMV), and doctorates from Keio University, Japan, and Nankai University, China.

We look forward to welcoming Professor Bourguignon at the 8th European Congress of Mathematics in Portorož, Slovenia!

Further details will be posted on our website, please follow us here for more news.

(Photo: University of Primorska)

Sources

https://erc.europa.eu/erc_member/jean-pierre-bourguignon

https://www.ihes.fr/en/professeur/jean-pierre-bourguignon-2/

https://erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/facts-and-figures

https://euro-math-soc.eu/history-european-mathematical-society

Friday, 30 August 2019 Application term for the enrolment in subsequent year, study for graduates and parallel studies: undergraduate study

On Sunday, 1 September 2019 starts the application term for undergraduate studies (enrolment for the subsequent year, study for graduates and parallel studies) at UP FAMNIT and it lasts until Tuesday, 17 September 2019:

• for candidates from EU,
• for candidates from NON-EU CITIZENS AND SLOVENE NATIONALS WITHOUT SLOVENE CITIZENSHIP.

All information about the application procedure are available here.

For any further questions please contact Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, phone: +386 56 11 75 75).

Monday, 26 August 2019 Call for the 8ECM Scholarships is now open!

We are happy to announce that the Call for the 8ECM Scholarships is now open!

The organizers of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics have established a fund that will offer 8ECM Scholarships to support students and mathematicians who wish to participate in the Congress.

The 8ECM Scholarship covers a congress fee waiver and two-star accommodation in the near vicinity of the 8ECM, in student dormitories arranged by the 8ECM organizers.

The Fund’s aim is to encourage participation at the 8ECM for outstanding students and researchers who demonstrate potential and who come from developing countries as defined by the European Mathematical Society, and other countries as determined in the Open Call.

We invite all interested students, Postdoc researchers and Senior researchers to apply via the online registration form. Applicants are required to submit a CV and a motivation letter. Additionally, students should provide two recommendation letters from their professors and a transcript of records.

The deadline for applying and submitting all documents is September 30, 2019.

Please visit the 8ECM website for more information about the Congress and be sure to subscribe to our 8ECM Newsletter, so you won’t miss any updates and new content!

(Photo: University of Primorska)

Friday, 23 August 2019 New website for international students

We have created a new website for students, who will study with us and are moving to Koper from abroad!

Whether you are visiting us for a few months, a semester or full studies, you will be able to find information about our offer, necessary paperwork, offered services and some tips about your life in Slovenia.

Just following the link below: http://welcome.famnit.upr.si/en/ or click on the picture below!

Friday, 23 August 2019 Erasmus+: new projects with 16 universities

From acquiring linguistic skills to training highly specialized professionals

In addition to the mobility of students and professors, Erasmus+ programme supports also cooperation projects in the field of education. We are pleased to announce that UP FAMNIT has acquired two new projects, in which 16 universities from nine countries will participate.

Within the project Language guidance tool for improving language knowledge –LanGuide we will promote the internationalization of the higher education programmes and the usage of up-to-date IT technologies. The project partners gather 6 universities from five linguistic and geographical parts of Europe that are specialised in language acquisition and software development.

Within the project activities, UP FAMNIT, University of Zadar and University of Rijeka (Croatia), Transilvania University of Brasov (Romania), University of Castilla – La Mancha (Spain) and Mälardalen University (Sweden) will joint develop a common methodology for the preparation of guidelines focused on language for specific purposes (LSP).

The objectives of the project LanGuide are to build an open access students/teachers/administrative staff centered guidance tool for improving language knowledge and supporting the acquisition of language knowledge through the language guidance tool. The developed methodology will be implemented in the preparation of language resources, covering 3 levels of difficulty, for preselected LSP fields for English. The resources will be included in the language guidance tool software and mobile app. 

In the other project entitled Establishment of training and research centers and Courses development on Intelligent BigData Analysis in CA/ELBA, which starts in November and will also lasts three years, 10 universities from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic will participate.

The project is aimed at creating the opportunities in training of highly profiled specialists in the field of Intelligent Big Data Analysis (IBDA) with different multidisciplinary backgrounds and enabling the access to highly efficient modern IBDA instrumentation based on EU expertise and technologies which will contribute to sustainable development of educational institutions, local business enterprises and society at large.

Proposal aim in general is to improve academic capacity of professionals through developing and implementing multidisciplinary package of module based courses for bachelor, master students and professionals of engineering on Intelligent Big Data Analysis (IBDA) in Central Asia countries via collaboration with the industry.

Wednesday, 21 August 2019 EU citizens: second application term for undergraduate studies – 22-29 August 2019

EU citizens can apply to all undergraduate study programmes at UP FAMNIT during the second application from Thursday 22 August to Thursday 29 August.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Friday, 9 August 2019 Third application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship

On Monday, 12 August 2019 starts the third application term for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship for the enrolment in the undergraduate study programmes at UP FAMNIT and it lasts until 13 September 2019. There are available places for all study programmes, except for Biopsychology and Computer Science (Slovenian version).

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Monday, 5 August 2019 New medals for our Mathematicians

The 26th International mathematical competition for University Students – IMC 2019, which takes place every year in Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria, finished last Sunday. This year's edition was held between 28 July and 3 August.

FAMNIT and the University of Primorska were represented by Besfort Shala, Đorđe Mitrović and Roman Solodukhin. All three were very successfull and brought home three medals: two silvers (Shala in Solodukhin, both 37 points) and one bronze (Mitrović – 27 points).

Results, problems and their solutions will be soon found on the competition's website.

We congratulate to our first year students for their achievements and we wish them a lot of success also in their future endeavours!

Monday, 22 July 2019 Bojan Mohar to deliver a public lecture at the 8ECM

We are happy to announce that Professor Bojan Mohar will deliver a public lecture at the 8th European Congress of Mathematics!

Bojan Mohar is a Slovenian and Canadian mathematician whose areas of research include algebraic, structural and topological graph theory, and theory of computing. He received his PhD from the University of Ljubljana in 1986 under Tomaž Pisanski.

Mohar’s research studies the interconnections between graphs, topology, geometry, and algebra, as well as graph minors, colorings and nowhere-zero flows. His work in graph theory is extended with developments of algorithmic and computational tools in these areas.

He co-authored Graphs on Surfaces (2001) with Carsten Thomassen, an influential book on topological graph theory, and proved a remarkable theorem that the question whether a given graph embeds in a given closed surface can be answered in linear time. His work in spectral graph theory builds a bridge between graph theory and some other branches of mathematics such as theoretical computer science and operator theory.

In 2010, Mohar received the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications (ICA) Euler medal for contributions to combinatorial research. The citation reads: “Bojan Mohar’s outstanding research and leadership over a period of thirty years place him as one of today’s foremost discrete mathematicians worldwide. His deep and important contributions have dramatically improved our understanding of the structural properties of graphs.” In 2018 he received the Royal Society of Canada John L. Synge award for outstanding research and a SIAM fellowship for his “contributions to graph theory and algorithms, in particular structural, topological, and algebraic graph theory.” The Republic of Slovenia has also recognized Professor Mohar with two awards for scientific excellence: the Boris Kidrič prize (1990), and, for his work in Canada, he was recognized as the Ambassador of Science of the Republic of Slovenia (2009).

Professor Mohar holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Graph Theory at Simon Fraser University, Canada, and is also a professor of Mathematics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a member of the Institute of Mathematics, Physics, and Mechanics, Ljubljana.

We look forward to welcoming professor Mohar at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics in Portorož, Slovenia!

Further details will be posted on our website, please follow us here for more news.

(Photo: Simon Fraser University)

Sources

https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/siam-announces-class-of-2018-fellows

http://the-ica.org/

http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=1734

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Synge_Award

Wednesday, 17 July 2019 Erasmus+ project Da.Re update

On 11th July, Assist. Prof. Branko Kavšek, PhD (principal investigator on UP FAMNIT) attended a fruitful meeting in Braganca (Portugal), which was the last one in the frame of the Erasmus+ project Da.Re (Data Science Pathways to re-imagine education). Partners from Italy, Portugal, Serbia and United Kingdom discussed about present activities, they analyzed those made in the past and presented final activities. In fact, the project will end in August, when a more detailed report on successfully implemented activities will be published.

The project's general objective is to build, improve and maintain industry-university networking in the field of data science as a means to strengthen Europe's knowledge triangle of research, education and business and to raise awareness of Big Data's potential as a bridge between these worlds.

Maintaining this link is key due to the dynamic nature of Data Science. Continuous improvement and a constant loop between industry and academia for sharing requirements and findings is also fundamental.

More details about the work we have done is available on the project website, where you can find also the Online Training Course and access to the innovative educational and training material prepared for the next generation of data scientists.

Monday, 15 July 2019 Second application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Friday, 19 July 2019

Second application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Friday, 19 July 2019.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1819#heading1.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Monday, 15 July 2019 Second application term for Master’s studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship

On Wednesday, 17 July 2019 starts the second application term for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship for the enrolment in the Master’s study programmes at UP FAMNIT and it lasts until 29 August 2019. There are available places for all study programmes.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Monday, 8 July 2019 Record attendance at the 9th PhD Summer School in discrete mathematics at Rogla

In the first week of July, 77 mathematicians from 19 countries took part in 9^th PhD Summer School in discrete mathematics which is traditionally organized by UP FAMNIT and UP IAM. In a relaxing and stimulating work environment at 1500 meters above sea level, they talked about their research work and attended various lectures.

As in previous years, mathematicians from all over the world applied. Two mini-courses were lectured by:

·Daniel Kráľ (Masaryk University, Czech Republik and University of Warwick, UK): »Combinatorial limits and their applications in extremal combinatorics«, and

·Marston Conder (University of Auckland, New Zealand): »Combinatorial methods in group theory (and group-theoretical methods in combinatorics)«.

While invited speakers were:

·Vida Dujmović (University of Ottawa, Canada): »LayeredH-partitions with applications«;

· Miguel Angel Pizaña (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico): »The awesome diversity of the clique graph operator dynamics«;

·Jeroen Schillewaert (University of Auckland, New Zealand): »Small maximal independent sets«;

· Klara Stokes (Maynooth University, Ireland): »Graphs as curves and special points on them«.

Participants were both researchers and students, which represents an important opportunity for integration between young and more experienced mathematicians. Meetings like this are very important to the scientific community, explained Prof. Colva Roney-Dougal, last year's lecturer: “I think that they are a great way to encourage communication within the community, and to expose both your own students and those from nearby countries to mathematics and mathematicians with different points of view, from around the world. They are also excellent for building links between the more senior mathematicians who were present. And I’m sure that they are also helpful for students when looking for jobs after their PhD.”

During the past nine years, PhD Summer School in Rogla has attracted over 600 researchers and students from all around the world. Many of them keep returning year after year, which clearly shows both the popularity and the quality of this scientific mathematical meeting. Assoc. Prof. Ademir Hujdurović, PhD, member of the scientific and organizational committee, says: “We carefully choose our lecturers, so the classes are always interesting enough for everyone. In the previous years, we have hosted lecturers from all over the world, and many have returned to UP FAMNIT – either for a research visit or to deliver lectures to our students. Everyone loves to come back to Rogla and to Slovenia. «

A special pleasure was also given by the fact that this year's summer school was attended by record number of students. 47 of them came from Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republik (4), Germany, Italy (6), Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia (16), Spain, United Kingdom and USA.

For the Best Student Talk Award, 18 students from 9 countries were competing. Recipient was decided by the committee members: Martin Milanič (University of Primorska, Slovenia), Jeroen Schillewaert (The University of Auckland, New Zeland) and Klara Stokes (Maynooth University, Ireland) and the award was given to Peter Zeman from Charles University in Prague for the talk entitled Testing isomorphism of circular-arc graphs in polynomial time. He received free participation at the next year’s 10th PhD Summer School in Discrete Mathematics.

Read more about this year's program and participants here.

9th PhD Summer School in Discrete Mathematics was organized with financial support by European Mathematical Society – EMS. The generous contribution to the organization of the Summer School is also a symbolic confirmation of the qualitative research work of our mathematicians in the field of discrete mathematics.

Tuesday, 2 July 2019 More than 320 mathematicians from 41 countries gathered in Bled

Between 23rd and 29th June, "9th Slovenian International Conference on Graph Theory" took place in Bled (Bled ’19). The conference is organised every four years and is one of the biggest events in the world in the field of graph theory. From the very beginning, conference organizers have been the most prominent Slovenian researchers in the field of graph theory: prof. Tomaž Pisanski, PhD, prof. Dragan Marušič, PhD, prof. Bojan Mohar, PhD, and prof. Sandi Klavar, PhD. 

The main organizer of this year's conference was the IMFM (Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics) and the organising committee was chaired by prof. Bojan Mohar, PhD. Other institutions cooperated in organisation: DMFA (Society of Mathematicians, Physicists and Astronomers of Slovenia), SDAMS (Slovenian Society for Discrete and Applied Mathematics), UL FMF (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics), UM FNM (University of Maribor, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics), UP FAMNIT (University of Primorska, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies), UP IAM (University of Primorska, Andrej Marušič Institute) and company Abelium d. o. o.

Over 320 mathematicians from 41 different countries participated at the conference. Majority of them came from  Slovenia (64), USA (30) and Italy (23). Increasing number of participants is the proof that the Slovene international conference has become one of the most important global conferences in the field of graph theory, which has repeatedly attracted established researchers and prospective young doctoral and postdoctoral students from around the world. It is offering a platform, where they can exchange the most important findings and insight into the most current problems in the field of graph theory.

During the conference, more than 270 lectures were offered, of which 11 were plenary lectures delivered by top mathematicians from all over the world. Among them were also recipients of the most prestigious mathematical awards.

Plenary speakers:

• Noga Alon (Princeton University, USA and Tel Aviv University, Israel)

• Marco Buratti (University of Perugia, Italy)

• Gareth Jones (University of Southampton, UK)

• Daniel Král' (Warwick University, UK and Masaryk University, Czech Republic)

• Daniela Kühn (University of Birmingham, UK)

• Gábor Korchmáros (University of Basilicata, Italy)

• Sergei Lando (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia)

• János Pach (EPFL, Lausanne and Rényi Institute, Hungary)

• Cheryl E. Praeger (University of Western Australia, Australia)

• Zsolt Tuza (Rényi Institute and University of Pannonia, Hungary)

• Xuding Zhu (Zhejiang Normal University, China)

The next conference will take place in 2023, and the next organizer in line is prof. Tomaž Pisanski, PhD, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year. He announced that the organization on his behalf will be succeeded by prof. Primož Potočnik, PhD.

Immediately after the conference, another important event followed. Last weekend, the traditional International Doctoral Summer School from Discrete Mathematics started at Rogla. The 9^th edition attracted 77 mathematicians from 19 countries, including university professors, researchers and doctoral students. The summers school offers another important platform for connecting young people and experienced mathematicians. 

We wish them a lot of new insights and interesting findings!

Friday, 28 June 2019 First application term for Master’s studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Monday, 1 July 2019

First application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Monday, 1 July 2019.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading1.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 University od Primorska became a grant holder of another COST action

We are glad to announce that the University of Primorska acquired a new COST action. At the beginning of June, the COST’s governing board, Commitee of Senior Officials approved another COST action, entitled »An integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century« (CA18201), signed by dr. Živa Fišer Pečnikar, from the Department of Biodiversity UP FAMNIT. Her COST action was confirmed among 40 new COST actions. In the applications, collected by last November, were included 29 institutions from 32 countries.

SUMMARY

Even though plants represent an essential part of our lives offering exploitational, supporting and cultural services, we know very little about the biology of the rarest and most threatened plant species, and even less about their conservation status. Rapid changes in the environment and climate, today more pronounced than ever, affect their fitness and distribution causing rapid species declines, sometimes even before they had been discovered.

Despite the high goals set by conservationists to protect native plants from further degradation and extinction, the initiatives for the conservation of threatened species in Europe are scattered and have not yielded the desired results.

The main aim of this Action is to improve plant conservation in Europe through the establishment of a network of scientists and other stakeholders who deal with different aspects of plant conservation, from plant taxonomy, ecology, conservation genetics, conservation physiology and reproductive biology to protected area's managers, not forgetting social scientists, who are crucial when dealing with the general public.

The main instigator is Slovenia with the network of participating countries: Austria, Finland, France, Greece, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

About COST 

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding organisation for research and innovation networks. Their Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable researchers and innovators to grow their ideas in any science and technology field by sharing them with their peers. COST Actions are bottom-up networks with a duration of four years that boost research, innovation and careers.

Click here for more information about COST programme, mission and strategy.

Friday, 21 June 2019 Dr. Hirokazu Kato: What is the next stage of Augmented Reality

The Department of Information Sciences and Technologies
is pleased to invite you to the Seminar

»What is the next stage of Augmented Reality«

by dr. Hirokazu Kato (Japan)
on Monday, 24th of June 2019 at 16.00 (FAMNIT-VP2, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper).

SUMMARY

Augmented Reality (AR) has been studied for more than 20 years. Nowadays we can see a lot of AR applications such as PokemonGO. Some people think that AR technologies are almost completed and it has moved to a practical phase. But it is not true because current AR applications are not ideal style of AR. AR researchers still have to make the next breakthrough. In this talk, I would like to introduce my past works on AR and then explain my idea about what AR researchers have to do for the next breakthrough. After that I will briefly talk about my current research works which I am expecting to make the next breakthrough for AR.

SHORT BIO

Dr. Hirokazu Kato received Dr. Eng. degrees from Osaka University, Japan in 1996.
He has worked for Osaka University and Hiroshima City University and since 2007 he has been working for Nara Institute of Science and Technology.
Dr. Kato has studied about Augmented Reality for more than 15 years.
He developed a vision-based tracking library called the ARToolKit in 1999 which has had a significant impact on the growth of Augmented Reality research.
Dr. Kato received Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award from IEEE VGTC in 2009 and Lasting Impact Award at the 11th IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality in 2012.

Friday, 21 June 2019 Fields medalist Stanislav Smirnov to deliver a public lecture at the 8ECM

We are happy to announce that Fields medalist Stanislav Smirnov will deliver a public lecture at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics!

Stanislav Smirnov is a Russian mathematician whose research involves complex and geometric analysis, dynamical systems and probability theory. He received his doctorate at Caltech in 1996 under the supervision of Nikolai G. Makarov.

Smirnov has worked on percolation theory, where, in 2001, he proved the formula for the critical percolation crossings, suggested by the physicist John Cardy in 1992. Smirnov's theorem has led to a fairly complete theory for percolation on the triangular lattice, including conformal invariance of its scaling limit, as well as derivation of various dimensions and exponents via its relationship to the Schramm–Loewner evolution introduced by Oded Schramm. Smirnov applied these techniques to other problems, in 2006 establishing conformal invariance of the critical Ising model in two dimensions, a well-known problem related to ferromagnetism.

He has been recognized many times throughout his career. In 1997 he was awarded the Saint Petersburg Mathematical Society Young Mathematician Prize. In 2001 he received the Clay Research Award, the Göran Gustafsson Prize and the Salem Prize (joint with Oded Schramm) for his work in percolation theory. He also received the Rollo Davidson Prize for young probabilists in 2002.

In 2004, Smirnov was awarded the European Mathematical Society Prize for, amongst other results, "the proof of existence and conformal invariance of the scaling limit of crossing probabilities for critical percolation on the triangular lattice. This gives a formula for the limiting values of crossing probabilities, breakthrough in the field, which has allowed for the verification of many conjectures of physicists, concerning power laws and critical values of exponents". In 2010, at the 26^th International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, India, he received a Fields Medal for his work on the mathematical foundations of statistical physics, particularly finite lattice models. His citation read, "for the proof of conformal invariance of percolation and the planar Ising model in statistical physics".

From 1998-2003, Smirnov held a professorship at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Since 2003, he is a professor at the University of Geneva, and also the Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research “Mathematics of Physics” (SwissMAP). Since 2010, he is also directing the Chebyshev Laboratory at the St. Petersburg State University, and is taking active part in the organization of the ICM2022 in St. Petersburg, which will directly follow our ECM.

We look forward to welcoming professor Smirnov at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics in Portorož, Slovenia!

Further details will be posted on our website, please follow us here for more news.

(Photo: Caltech Alumni Association)

Wednesday, 19 June 2019 Ars Mathematica Contemporanea for the fifth time the most prestigious Slovenian scientific journal according to SCImago Journal & Country Rank

We are proud to share a new important achievement: the SCImago Journal & Country Rank portal has classified all fields covered by Ars Mathematica Contemporanea – AMC in the quarter of journals with the highest values, making it the most prestigious Slovenian scientific journal for the fifth time consecutively.

The SJR indicator provides an alternative to the impact factor, as it measures the scientific influence of scholarly journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from. Cites in the most prestigious leading journals therefore have a higher value than cites in lesser-known publications with little impact on a global scale. AMC fields with the best evaluations are: Algebra and Number Theory, Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics, Geometry and Topology, Theoretical Computer Science.

Thanks to AMC, Slovene science recorded another important achievement in the past years. Science Citation Index for 2015 placed the journal in the first quarter of scientific journals in the field of mathematics according to the journal's impact factor, making AMC the first Slovene journal, that managed to get into the top quarter of scientific magazines with its impact factor.

The AMC journal was established in 2008 by Prof. Dragan Marušič and Prof. Tomaž Pisanski. Together with an enthusiastic team of international editors, they are still managing the journal today.

AMC is published by University of Primorska in collaboration with the Slovenian Society of Discrete and Applied Mathematics, Society of Mathematicians, Physicists and Astronomers of Slovenia and the Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics. The journal publishes top scientific articles in modern mathematics, especially in the field of discrete mathematics. Articles from algebra, geometry, topology, theoretical computer sciences and combinatorics can also be found in the journal. 

Constant improvement of journal's influence demands also increase in quality of published articles. To assure high standard of articles, the editorial board accepts less than a third of received manuscripts and with this success, the submission rate increased and acceptance rate further decreased.

Tuesday, 18 June 2019 16 international students will study innovation in the circular economy in Slovenia and northern Italy

Last Monday, the third edition of Alpine Europe Summer School, which is organized every two years by the University of Primorska and the Oregon State University (USA), has started. In the next two weeks, 16 students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, India, Kazakhstan and the USA will study the sustainability and creation of the built environment, starting in the forest itself and following the value chain all the way through design, manufacturing and construction. Their goal is to provide not only concept and content, but to also facilitate interactions between, and learning among students coming from different countries. 

The international group of participants will visit numerous companies and institutions in Slovenia and northern Italy that are focusing on sustainable products from natural materials in their production and design. From 22nd to 24th June they will also enjoy the sea breeze on the Slovenian Littoral.

After first day staying in Ljubljana, their next stops are Gozd Martuljek and Bled, where they will visit the eco-tourist green resort Garden Village. The following day they will continue their tour to the company Riko hiše in Ribnica, which produces ecological wooden prefabricated buildings. On the fourth day, they will go to M Sora in Žiri, where windows exclusively from domestic wood are produced, and in the afternoon they will reach the seaside. 

On Friday, the day will start in Korte with a visit to the Logotowood family company, which manually manufactures wooden washbasins and unique furniture. After that it will be time to stop at the University of Primorska, more precisely at UP FAMNIT for a more relaxed meeting with students and the visit to InnoRenew CoE. 

After Saturday’s visit to the Olive oil Factory Krožera Franca Marzi in Srgaši and to the Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve, they will move to the north-west of Slovenia, where they will learn about the characteristics of Bovec and Kobarid. They will also visit the Kobarid Museum, which is dedicated to the events during the First World War on the Isonzo Front. In the mountain region there will be time for discovering the local cheese and have some active time along and in the Soča river.

Next Tuesday, it will be time to jump across the border to Italy. Cortina, Bressanone and Bolzano will be the next stops, while the summer school will end in Venice.

Last year, the University of Primorska, in cooperation with the Oregon State University, have organized the isMCS summer school (which can be found here), which will be hopefully organized also next year.

We wish to all participants a lot of curiosity, interesting discoveries and especially beautiful moments in our country. 

Friday, 14 June 2019 Our mathematicians among the top students of the Open International Internet-Olympiad

Our Mathematics students continue achieving great results in international mathematical competitions. As last year, they have been very successful at the Open International Internet Olympiad.

This time, Famnit was represented by Mirza Krbezlija and Narmina Baghirova (1^st year Mathematical Sciences MSc), Daniil Baldouski (3^rd year Mathematics BSc), Đorđe Mitrović in Aleksandar Avdalović (2^nd year Mathematics BSc), Besfort Shala and Filip Pramenković (1^st year Mathematics BSc).
In March, the first round was attended by 6215 students from 157 different universities, in the category »specialized faculty«, where Famnit competes, 719 students were competing.

Đorđe Mitrović, Besfort Shala, Daniil Baldouski and Filip Pramenković have achieved above average results and entered into the 2^nd round of the competition, while only Mitrović and Shala moved forward the 3^rd round. Both won the silver medal.
In May, the last round was attended by 94 students, of which 27 were in the »specialized faculty« category, where Shala won the 4^th place and Mitrović the 6^th place.

Besfort Shala explains: »The preparation for competitions is so much different than studying for exams. Contents are different and the way of thinking needs to go in other directions. I made treasure of my experience in high school, where I used to participate to various competitions and therefore I can say that all tasks were above average, but not too difficult – actually it was in line with expectations. For example, the competition in Czech Republic in April was a bigger challenge. «

Đorđe Mitrović added: »This competition was different, but very interesting, because we were solving mathematical problems online. It was crucial to think quickly, using a lot of creativity. This is not a standard competition and therefore is hard to prepare for it. You just need some experience. It was really fun! «

We congratulate our students for their success!

Thursday, 13 June 2019 UP Scholarship Fund - Call for applications

The call for scholarship applications of the Scholarship Fund of the University of Primorska has been published.

Students who would like to apply must submit the requested documentation by Thursday 10 October 2019.

The Scholarship Found of the University of Primorska is managed by the University, while it is supported by national, municipal, private and other financial sources. Special emphasis is given on linking students with prospective employers, who invest in the scholarship fund and also have an option to choose which students they will support with their funds.

You can read more about this year invitation here (find the documents in English), for more information please contact the Career Centre of the University of Primorska (05/61 17 636, kariernicenter@upr.si).

Monday, 10 June 2019 Dr. Samir Hodžić on postdoctoral studies in Danmark

UP FAMNIT Center for Cryptography continues to expand its international network of cooperation with institutions and individual researchers. Dr. Samir Hodžić, an active member of the group of mathematicians dealing with cryptography at our faculty, recently started his postdoctoral studies at the Technical University of Denmark. In the next one and half year, he will be doing research in the area of symmetric cryptology for the post-quantum era, with the main focus on the analysis and design of block ciphers that will be resistant to quantum cryptanalytic algorithms.
This is another step towards a successful cooperation between universities, which leads to positive changes in industry and in wider society.

In modern world, intense research activity in the field of cryptography is extremely important, since cryptographic codes protect information from unauthorized access, alterations and other abuses, making the use of cryptography in economy and industry essential on the national and international levels.

Researchers from the University of Primorska have been working for many years and last December they successfully obtained funds for a new research program from the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS). In the next six years, within the program “Mathematical modelling and encryption: from theoretical concepts to real-life applications”, new and innovative methods of research in the field of mathematics will be developed under the direction of Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD, expert in symmetric-key cryptography and Head of the UP FAMNIT Center of Cryptography, who will work with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers, doctoral and postdoctoral students working at our University and at the Institute InnoRenew CoE.

We wish dr. Samir Hodžić a successful research experience in Denmark!

Thursday, 6 June 2019 University of Primorska among the U-Multirank Top 25 performers in the area of International Orientation of Programmes

The University of Primorska received another important acknowledgment: the last results of the international university ranking programme U-Multirank 2019, brought to our university the title Global Top 25 performers in the field of international orientation of study programs. The excellent performance was achieved thanks to UP FAMNIT's study and research areas of mathematics, computer science and biology.

»U-Multirank« is a multidimensional independent university ranking prepared with seed funding from the European Commission's Erasmus+ programme. It compares the performances of higher education institutions in the following areas: teaching and learning, research, international orientation, regional engagement and knowledge transfer.

As mentioned, U-Multirank assessed three areas that are intensively developed by UP FAMNIT: mathematics, computer science and biology, which are also implemented in our study programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. On the mentioned programmes we register the highest presence of foreign students (from 20 different countries) and researchers from abroad (currently around 20% of our staff).

This year, U-Multirank evaluated 1.711 universities from 96 countries. In the press release, it was pointed out that “open border” universities perform better than universities with low international exchange in the areas of knowledge transfer, research impact and education. They are more successful in engaging and transferring knowledge to industry (39% higher share of publications together with industrial partners), in establishing spinoff companies (80% higher) and in patenting their ideas (2.5 times more), and their research shows higher outreach (36% higher number of top cited publications). Additionally, students of open border universities are more satisfied with their overall learning experience.

One of the proofs that internationalisation of universities increases their quality is shown by the fact that it is precisely the most international area of FAMNIT – mathematics – who helped the University of Primorska to enter famous Shanghai Ranking in the field of Mathematics. In addition, this year our Mathematics was placed on 15th place among 185 evaluated universities in the same field.

European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, said: »I am pleased to see the latest U-Multirank results which show that EU universities perform very well when education, research and student satisfaction are looked at together. As we work towards creating a European Education Area where everyone gets the best education and can study freely across borders, as well as developing our flagship European Universities initiative, I am sure that U-Multirank will continue to provide valuable information for applicants.«

U-Multirank’s latest results not only give insights on the effects of open borders, but make transparent the detailed performance of universities, so students can make better informed choices about what, or where to study based on what matters most to them. Universities could use U-Multirank data to assess their strengths and weaknesses and find ways to improve. This is made possible by providing users with the world’s largest customisable online rankings that not only focus on research, but the full diversity of the higher education system.

Tuesday, 4 June 2019 Position of Young Researchers at UP FAMNIT and UP IAM for the year 2019

The University of Primorska has published a public tender for Young Researcher candidates in 2019.
The position of Young Researchers will to be trained at University of Primorska Andrej Marušič Institute (UP IAM) and University of Primorska Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information technologies (UP FAMNIT) for obtaining a doctorate of science. The research fields are: Mathematics, Psychiatry and Public health (occupational safety).

Candidates must submit their applications till 4 July 2019 by 2 p.m.

Presentations of the mentors and the programs of all positions of Young Researchers at the University of Primorska are available in the table below:

Documentation of the tender:

• 1_Public tender UP for YR for year 2019
• 2_Instructions for application to the Public tender UP for YR for year 2019
• 1.1_UP-MR-Application2019
• 1.2_UP-MR-Statement2019
• 1.3_Confirmation_evaluation sheet2019_informative

Monday, 3 June 2019 Guest lecture: Iva Tomić, PhD: »Youth unemployment in EU: trends and policy measures«

The Department of Mathematics UP FAMNIT
kindly invites You to the guest lecture held by

IVA TOMIĆ, PhD

(The Institute of Economics, Zagreb)

on the topic

»Youth unemployment in EU: trends and policy measures«

The lecture will take place on Monday June 10^th 2019, at 12:00

in classroom FAMNIT MP2 (Glagoljaška 8), 2^nd floor.

This lecture is part of the Jean Monnet Module project “European Union Economic Trends”, Financed by the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.

Kindly invited!

Monday, 27 May 2019 Second application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship

Today, 27 May 2019 starts the second application term for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship for the enrolment in the undergraduate study programmes at UP FAMNIT and it lasts until 19 July 2019. There are available places for all study programmes, except for Biopsychology and Computer Science (English version).

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Friday, 24 May 2019 Our Dean, Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, PhD, will be the 4th rector of the University of Primorska

We are happy and proud to announce that UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, PhD, will be the next rector of the University of Primorska.

At the elections for the rector of the University of Primorska, which took place on 20th and 23rd May, 2019, she has been the only candidate with the support of the majority of the university member faculties and institutes.

Congratulations and many great wishes from all Famnit's students and employees.

Friday, 24 May 2019 Students of Psychology from Augsburg (USA) visited us again

This week, we had the pleasure to host a group of Psychology students and professors from the University of Augsburg (Minnesota, USA), who have already been our guests two years ago. This time, they were visiting various health institutions around Slovenia with the purpose of getting to know the diverse approaches to the study of mental health. Since at Famnit we are dealing with health topics as interdisciplinary as possible, our activities and research projects were presented by our professors and students from different departments.

Assist. Prof. Peter Rogelj, PhD presented the electroencephalography – EEG, which measures the brain electrical activity with electrodes on the surface of the head. The second lecture was given by Assist. Prof. Mike Burnard, PhD, who talked about the connection between mental health and living environment. He exposed the problem of the amount of time we spent indoors (80–90 % per day) and emphasized the importance of natural materials inside our living areas (which is also one of the research fields at InnoRenew CoE ). Assist. Urša Mars Bitenc, PhD presented the work of our researchers in the field of suicide prevention, which is carried out within the framework of the Slovenian Center for Suicide Research at UP IAM, and Assist. Vesna Jug, PhD presented the Biopsychology study program at Famnit. At the end of the meeting, Biopsyhology student Sara Brglez answered the question of what our students do in their free time with some examples of the activities of the Society of Biopsychology students.

Our guests were very enthusiastic about the presented topics and about the number of activities that are carried out at Famnit.

Friday, 24 May 2019 FAMNIT PhD students at the Latin American and Caribbean Days International Conference

This week, we have been invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia to attend the Latin American and Caribbean Days international conference, which was held in Ljubljana and Piran within the framework of Bled Strategic Forum.

On Thursday, 22nd May, the event in Piran was attended by representatives of enterprises, scientific and educational institutions. Assist. Prof. Andreja Kutnar, PhD, presented the University of Primorska and the research institute InnoRenew CoE. Both institutions have a rich history of collaborations with institutions and partners from Latin American, especially in the research area.

The meeting was attended also by Famnit's PhD students from Latin America. In fact, we have currently four PhD students from Mexico, one from Argentina, one from Colombia, and one post-doctoral researcher from Mexico. They are all mathematicians, with the exception of one that studies Computer Science. Although the discussion was focused mainly on further cooperation between Slovenia and Latin America, many participants were very interested in the experiences of our students. Even though they come from different countries and territories, they all agreed that the Slovenian coast is a very friendly environment for living, and that UP FAMNIT is an exciting meeting point of scientists from all around the world and an ideal place for study and research at the same time.

Wednesday, 22 May 2019 First application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Friday, 24 May 2019

First application term for undergraduate studies for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship ends on Friday, 24 May 2019.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1819#heading1.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Thursday, 16 May 2019 Fields medalist Andrei Okounkov to deliver a public lecture at the 8ECM

We are happy to announce that Fields medalist Andrei Okounkov will deliver a public lecture at the 8th European Congress of Mathematics!

Andrei Okounkov is a Russian mathematician who works in mathematical physics and neighboring areas of representation theory and algebraic geometry.

Enumerative geometry lies at the crossroads of all these fields of mathematics, and a lot of Okounkov's recent work focuses on K-theoretic generalizations of classical questions in enumerative geometry. In particular, a K-theoretic generalization of the Donaldson-Thomas-style counting of curves in algebraic threefolds is an exciting area at the forefront of current research with a conjectural relation to counting membranes of M-theory put forward by Nekrasov and Okounkov, and a geometric representation theory description of it basic building blocks obtained by Okounkov and A.Smirnov. Earlier conjectures of Maulik-Nekrasov-Okounkov-Pandharipande connecting cohomological DT counts with Gromov-Witten theory of algebraic threefolds in many ways shaped the developments of both fields. The proof of the MNOP conjectures for toric varieties by Maulik-Oblomkov-Okounkov-Pandharipande, and the work that followed, extends, among other things, the representation-theoretic understanding of the Gromov-Witten theory of curves (and also of the point) obtained in the early 2000s by Okounkov and Pandharipande.

In 2004, Okounkov was awarded an EMS prize for work that “contributed greatly to the field of asymptotic combinatorics.” In 2006, at the 25th International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid, Spain, he received the Fields Medal "for his contributions to bridging probability, representation theory and algebraic geometry."

Andrei Okounkov is a professor at Columbia University in the city of New York and at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, he also serves as the academic supervisor of HSE International Laboratory of Representation Theory and Mathematical Physics. His previous positions include the University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley, and Princeton University.

We look forward to welcoming Professor Okounkov at the 8th European Congress of Mathematics in Portorož, Slovenia!

Further details will be posted on the 8ECM website, please follow us here for more news.

(Photo: Higher School of Economics, National Research University) 

Wednesday, 15 May 2019 3rd University of Primorska International Mathematics Competition 2019

On Thursday, 2nd May 2019, the 3rd edition of the University of Primorska International Mathematics Competition in Kosovo took place in Prishtina and it was attended by 16 pupils from three high schools in Prishtina: »Sami Frashëri«, »Xhevdet Doda« and »Specialized Mathematics Gymnasium«.

After the competition, the participants agreed that the tasks were very difficult, which was expected, as one of the aims of the competition was to offer students the opportunity to cope with more challenging tasks that are similar to the ones present on other international competitions.

The purpose of the competition was also to encourage pupils to study mathematics and challenge mathematically gifted who will consider the possibility to study at UP FAMNIT. With such activities, the activities of popularization of science and of integration between educational institutions at the international level continue.

The competition was organized by UP FAMNIT professors with help from Mathematics students that two years ago proposed to organize the competition.

UP FAMNIT would like to thank everyone who has contributed in making the competition happen. Special thanks go to: Mr. Fatos Osmani – Chief of the Directorate of Education in municipality of Prishtina, Mr. Shemso Berisha – Director of Specialized Mathematics Gymnasium, and all the teachers that prepared the pupils for the competition. And of course, thanks to UP FAMNIT students Eda Kaja, Besfort Shala, and Lisi Qarkaxhija (on the picture bellow).

Monday, 13 May 2019 Criptography linked Slovenian and Croatian mathematicians

Slovenian and Croatian mathematicians met again – this time on Friday, 10th May 2019, at the University of Rijeka. Researchers at the UP FAMNIT Cryptography Center attended the bilateral workshop »Designs, Codes, Graphs and Cryptography - an interdisciplinary approach in the analysis of certain discrete structures«, which main purpose was to find links between Boolean functions and the code theory – research topic of the mathematicians in Rijeka.

The program was designed also by Nastja Cepak, PhD, and Samir Hodžić, PhD, while the work was carried out under the direction of Assoc. Prof. Sanja Rukavina (University of Rijeka) and Prof. Enes Pasalic, PhD, Head of the Cryptography Center UP FAMNIT and Head of the ARRS new Research Program P1-0404 »Mathematical modelling and encryption: from theoretical concepts to real-life applications«. The core of this program is mathematics at its purest with cryptology as a bridge to applied mathematics.

The cooperation with Croatian researchers will, of course, continue in the near future. Some students and researchers will attend the 9th Slovenian International Conference on Graph Theory, which will take place next June in Bled, and the 9th PhD Summer School in Discrete Mathematics, which will be organized as usual at Rogla, this year with financial support from the European Mathematical Society.

The workshop program is available on this link.

About Center for Cryptography UP FAMNIT

Researching in the field of cryptography is extremely important, since cryptographic codes protect information from unauthorized access, alterations and other abuses, making the use of cryptography in economy and industry essential on the national and international levels. Researchers from the University of Primorska are working on that at UP FAMNIT Cryptography Center which aims is to significantly increase the possibilities of cooperation between the university, industry and the wider society, as in the modern society, the exchange and storage of information in an efficient, reliable and safe way is essential.

Saturday, 11 May 2019 Data Science – Da.Re. project presented to students and companies

On Friday, 10th May, Famnit's doors opened to the broader community for the presentation of all our Master's programmes and projects our researchers are active into.

Among the novelties planned for the Academic year 2019/20, the MSc study programme Data Science is definitely the one that is arousing students’ interest. But researchers and professors at UP FAMNIT have a rich history of experience in this interdisciplinary field that leverages knowledge in three key areas: computer science, mathematics, and domain knowledge. And consequently, the Open day was the perfect occasion for presenting the Erasmus+ project Da.Re, in which our researchers are involved since September 2016.

Students, candidates, and also representatives of different business companies that are dealing with data have joined the presentation of the project which was provided by Assist. Prof. Branko Kavšek, PhD, who offered an elaborate explanation of the project goals and activities that have been organized in the past years by project partners – companies and educational organisations from Italy, Serbia, Portugal, Great Britain and Slovenia.

The meeting was intended to start a discussion about the state of arts in the field, therefore after the presentation of the new study programme, students and other participants had the chance to learn not only about the pillar contents of the programme which offers the knowledge for the education of any future scientists, since the most interesting part was when representatives of companies and our data scientists started to share their experiences which evolved in a deep discussion about current trends and the high demand of data science practitioners. In fact, start-ups and well-established companies, along with researchers and policy makers, increasingly rely on data to drive and support decision making. As a consequence, data scientists are valued in various employment environments such as research institutions, IT companies, banks, insurance companies, transport organizations, and other businesses which produce data in increasing quantities.

This is why it is crucial that companies and educational institutions run strong cooperation in order to design new trends and provide results as the ones offered by Da.Re.

Read more about Da.Re. project here.

Tuesday, 7 May 2019 Info day for Master's and PhD studies

If you are interested in studying at UP FAMNIT or you are still undecided about your postgraduate studies, come to our Info day  for Master's and PhD studies, which will take place on Friday, 10 May at UP FAMNIT!

This year teaching staff and students will not only present you our the postgraduate programs – you will have the chance to taste how it really is studying at UP FAMNIT.

PROGRAMME

From 15:30: Meetings with professors and programme coordinators, info-point for application and enrollment procedure.

At 16:00: presentation of the following programmes:

• Biopsychology / Applied Psychology
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Mathematical Sciences / Mathematics with Financial Engineering
• Nature Conservation
• Sustainable Built Environments

For more information: referat@famnit.upr.si

The CALL FOR ENROLMENT into UP FAMNIT postgraduate study programmes in 2019/20 is available HERE.

See you!

Tuesday, 30 April 2019 Guest lecture: Dr. Andreas Tsopanakis (University of Cardiff): "Brexit and its influence on financial markets"

The Department of Mathematics UP FAMNIT
kindly invites You to the guest lecture held by

ANDREAS TSOPANAKIS, PhD
(University of Cardiff)

on the topic
»Brexit and its influence on financial markets«

The lecture will take place on Monday May 6^th, 2019, from 12:30 to 14:30
in classroom FAMNIT-MP2 (Glagoljaška 8), 2^nd floor.

This lecture is part of the Jean Monnet Module project “European Union Economic Trends”, Financed by the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.

Kindly invited!

Tuesday, 30 April 2019 Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, UP FAMNIT Dean, candidate to Rector of the University of Primorska

We are pleased to inform that UP FAMNIT Dean, Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, PhD, has been confirmed as the only candidate to the Rector of the University of Primorska.

On 29 April 2019, the election committee examined all the received complete candidate proposals and confirmed the official list of candidates. Three members of the University of Primorska (Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, Institute Andrej Marušič and Faculty of Education) nominated Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, while Senates of the Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Tourism Studies and Faculty of Heath Sciences voted to support Prof. Kutnar candidacy.

All eligible voters (University professors, researchers, assistants and associates, students and other employees) will be able to vote during early elections on 20th May or on regular elections on 23rd May.

Congratulations to our Dean for the hard work and for having the support of UP members.

Wednesday, 10 April 2019 Regular Elections for Members of the Management Board Announced

Rector of the University of Primorska, prof. Dragan Marušič, PhD, made a decision to call the election for the members of the Management Board of the University of Primorska (representatives of the University of Primorska).

Elections will be implemented in line with the provisions set in the University Statutes and Rules on Electing Bodies of the University of Primorska.

Regular elections for the members of the Management Board (representatives of the University of Primorska) will take place on Wednesday, 12 June 2019 between 9 am and 4 pm, while early voting will be possible on 7 June 2019 from 9 am until noon.

Friday, 5 April 2019 Monday, 8 April 2019 first application term for postgraduate study starts

Monday, 8 April 2019 starts the first application term for Master’s and doctoral study programmes (enrolment in the 1^st year, for the subsequent year and parallel studies) at UP FAMNIT:

• lasts until 29 August 2019 for Slovene citizens and EU citizens,
• lasts until 1 July 2019 for Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship and non-EU citizens.

All information about the application procedure are available here:
https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading1

Candidates are invited to check our programme’s presentation and visit us on 10 May 2019 at 16.00 during the Open day! The exact Open day’s programme will be published later in the section Education/ Enrolment.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Wednesday, 3 April 2019 Regular Elections for the Rector of the University of Primorska Announced

At its 39^th regular meeting, the Senate of the University of Primorska made a decision to announce regular elections for the rector of the University of Primorska for the next mandate, which will last from 23 November 2019 until 22 November 2023.

Simultaneously with the decision, the Senate also announced the electoral calendar. Regular elections will take place on Thursday, 23 May 2019. The elections will be managed and implemented by the voting and election committee and electoral boards (returning officers/tellers). In line with the decision, eligible candidates must be full professors, who are employed at the University of Primorska full-time and who fulfil all of the conditions defined in the Statutes base of the University of Primorska.

Candidates can submit their application between 27 March and 26 April 2019 by 12 noon.

All candidates will make public presentations by 15 May 2019. Early voting will be possible on 20 May, and regular elections will be implemented three days later. Results and a potential call for a second round of elections will be announced on 24 May. In the case of a second round of elections, early voting will be on 3 June, regular elections will be on 6 June and results will be announced 13 days later, i.e. 19 June.

Sunday, 31 March 2019 Our mathematicians at the traditional Vojtěch Jarník International Math Competition

Also this year, our math students participated at the oldest mathematics competition for students within EU: the 29th Vojtěch Jarník International Mathematical Competition, which was held in Ostrava (Czech Republic) on Friday, March 29th.

At this year's event, 145 students from 35 European universities competed. In the first category (for 1st and 2nd year students or under 22 years of age), Famnit was represented by Đorđe Mitrović (2nd year of Mathematics), Eva Siladji and Besfort Shala (both 1st year of Mathematics), in the second category our Faculty was represented by Roman Solodukhin (2nd year of Mathematical Sciences).

Mitrović, Shala and Solodukhin received the certificate of a successful participant.

Congratulations to our students and we wish them many successful performances!

Thursday, 28 March 2019 Call for enrolment into postgraduate study programmes in 2019/20 academic year

In 2019/20 academic year UP FAMNIT offers the following postgraduate study programmes:

• doctoral (3^rd cycle) study programmes: Mathematical Science (available also in English), Computer Science (available also in English);
• master (2^nd cycle) study programmes: Mathematical Sciences (available also in English), Data Science (available also in English), Mathematics with Financial Engineering, Computer Science, Nature Conservation, Biopsychology, Applied Psychology, Sustainable Built Environments (available also in English).

More information about the Call for enrolment 2019/20 and the application procedure is available on our website in the section Education/ Enrolment.

Candidates (SLOVENE CITIZENS AND EU CITIZENS) can apply in three terms:

• first application term: from 8 April to 29 August 2019,
• second application term: from 13 to 18 September 2019,
• third application term: from 25 to 26 September 2019 until 12:00.

Candidates (NON-EU CITIZENS AND SLOVENE NATIONALS WITHOUT SLOVENE CITIZENSHIP) can apply in four terms:

• first application term: from 8 April to 1 July 2019,
• second application term: from 17 July to 29 August 2019,
• third application term: from 13 to 18 September 2019,
• fourth application term: from 25 to 26 September 2019 until 12:00.

Candidates are invited to check our programme’s presentation and visit us on 10 May 2019 during the Open day! The exact Open day’s programme will be published later in the section Education/ Enrolment.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Tuesday, 26 March 2019 Updates on progress for the 8ECM at the EMS Meeting of Presidents in Berlin

The 2019 Meeting of Presidents of the European Mathematical Society was held on March 23 - 24, 2019 in TU Berlin, following a kind invitation from the German Mathematical Society (DMV) and the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (GAMM).

EMS Meetings of Presidents is an annual event, held for presidents of more than 100 national organizations and mathematical research institutions, in order to advance the networking and research in mathematics.

As part of the meeting, prof. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organising Committee Chair and prof. Klavdija Kutnar, dean UP FAMNIT and 8ECM Organising Committee Deputy-Chair, presented updates on the progress for the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics, held July 5 – 11, 2020 in Portorož, Slovenia.

They also met with prof. Volker Mehrmann, EMS President, to discuss the upcoming activities for the 8ECM.

Prof. Mehrmann is a professor at the Institute of Mathematics at TU Berlin since 2000, his research is in the area of numerical mathematics, particularly numerical linear algebra and control theory. He assumed his duties as the EMS President in January this year and is appointed to the position of president for four years.

(Photo: prof. Volker Mehrmann, EMS President, prof. Klavdija Kutnar, dean UP FAMNIT and 8ECM Organising Committee Deputy-Chair and prof. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organising Committee Chair)

Monday, 25 March 2019 8ECM Scientific Committee Meeting held in Portorož, Slovenia

A Scientific Committee (SC) meeting was held 6 – 7 February, 2019 in Hotel St. Bernardin, Portorož, Slovenia with the presence of all SC members and presided by Maria J. Esteban (CNRS and Université Paris-Dauphine).

The Science Committee was appointed by the EMS (European Mathematical Society) to select speakers for the plenary and invited lectures at the upcoming 8^th European Congress of Mathematics. On Wednesday, February 6, 2019, prof. dr. Dragan Marušič, Rector of the University of Primorska and prof. dr. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organizing Committee Chair, welcomed the SC with some introductory remarks.

(Photo: Prof. dr. Maria J. Esteban, 8ECM Scientific Committee Chair, Prof. dr. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organising Committee Chair and Prof. dr. Dragan Marušič, Rector UP)

Following introductions, the participants decided on the final list of speakers for the 8ECM Plenary and Invited lectures, while they also had the opportunity to see the 8ECM venue at the Congress Centre and the Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica, where some of the programme sessions will be held.

Scientific Committee Chair:

Maria J. Esteban - CNRS and Université Paris-Dauphine

Scientific Committee Members:

Luigi Ambrosio - Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa

Tadeusz Januszkiewicz - Polish Academy of Science

Barbara Kaltenbacher - University of Klagenfurt

Alexander Kuznetsov - Steklov Mathematical Institute

Halil Mete Soner - ETH Zürich

Péter Pál Pálfy - Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Tomaž Pisanski - University of Primorska

Pavel Pudlák - Institute of Mathematics, Czech Academy of Sciences

Tudor Stefan Ratiu - Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Oliver Riordan - University of Oxford

Zeev Rudnick - Tel-Aviv University

Valeria Simoncini - Università di Bologna

Stefaan Vaes - K.U.Leuven

Aad van der Vaart - Leiden University

Joachim Weickert - Saarland University

For the first time in the history of European mathematical congresses, Slovene mathematicians will be among the invited lecturers, namely three: academician prof. dr. Franc Forstnerič as a plenary speaker and dr. Andrej Bauer and dr. Špenka Špenko as invited speakers.

A full list of  speakers is published at https://www.8ecm.eu/programme.

We would again like to thank all members of the 8ECM Scientific Committee for their contribution to the selection of plenary and invited speakers!

Monday, 25 March 2019 A postdoctoral research position at the University of Primorska (Koper, Slovenia)

The Departments of Mathematics of Andrej Marusic Institute (IAM) and Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska, are seeking a top early-career researcher for a postdoctoral position within the project Topics in Structural Graph Theory: Invariants,
Separators, and Intersection Representations funded by the Slovenian Research Agency.

The project will investigate several key problems within pure and algorithmic graph theory, with a focus on graph invariants and graph classes. It will be developed along three interconnected research lines:

• conditions for the existence of a function bounding one invariant in terms of another one,
• algorithmic aspects of selected graph optimization problems on various graph classes,
• and the development of a unifying framework for generalizations of chordality.

Progress on these problems is expected to be obtained using an effective combination of various complementary concepts and techniques suitable for the study of graph classes such as: graph decompositions, graph width parameters, minimal separators, graph minors, extremal graph theory.

Applicants must possess a PhD in a relevant area and should show evidence of excellence in mathematics or theoretical computer science.
Expertise in structural and algorithmic graph theory is required, including a good knowledge of various aspects of graph theory, algorithms, and complexity theory. The successful candidate will be part of the Departments of Mathematics at IAM and FAMNIT, University of Primorska, and will work under the guidance of Associate Professor Martin Milanic.

Terms and conditions:

- The position is for two years, with the possibility of renewal for one additional year. By default, the starting date is September 1, 2019.
- The position comes with a teaching load of one course per semester at bachelor and/or master level programs (on topics related to Discrete Mathematics, Graph Theory, Mathematical Programming etc.) offered by FAMNIT.
- There will be a possibility of co-supervision of a PhD student starting October 2019 and a possibility of collaboration within bilateral research projects.
- The salary and the length of the contract depend on the academic title into which the candidate can be elected following the university rules, https://www.upr.si/sl/resources/files//univerza/interni-akti/merila-za-izvolitve-v-nazive.pdf (in Slovene). For example, for election into academic title Assistant Professor and Research Associate, one of the key necessary conditions is that the total number of papers published by the candidate in SCI journals, each paper divided by the number of authors, is at least 2.5.

Deadline & Application process:

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until June 30, 2019, or until the position is filled. Priority will be given to applications received by April 30, 2019.
Starting date: negotiable but preferably not later than October 1, 2019.

To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Martin Milanic (martin.milanic@upr.si) with the subject line "Koper Postdoc 2019" in the Subject field:

• Curriculum Vitae,
• Publication List,
• Research Statement,
• Copies of three recent papers of preprints,
• Names and e-mail addresses of at least three persons who can be contacted for reference (and have agreed to be contacted).

Informal inquiries should be addressed to Martin Milanic
(martin.milanic@upr.si).

Friday, 22 March 2019 Main sponsor for the 8th Congress of Mathematics is the Slovenian Insurance Association!

It is with great pleasure that we announce a sponsorship contract was signed between the Slovenian Insurance Association, GIZ and the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Science and Information Technology on Friday, March 22, 2019. The Slovenian Insurance Association thus became the head sponsor of the 8ECM, which will be hosted by the University of Primorska, in collaboration with all active mathematical institutions in Slovenia, from 5 to 11 July 2020 in Portorož.

The Slovenian Insurance Association will have a chance to participate on Career Day at the 8ECM, where they will have access to the best international staff in the field of actuarial and financial mathematics. These certainly will not be lacking, since we expect up to 2,000 scientists, researchers and students from the field of mathematics in Portorož next year.

(Photo: Mag. Maja Krumberger, Director of Slovenian Insurance Association in Prof. dr. Klavdija Kutnar, Dean UP FAMNIT)

The 8ECM will host great names in mathematics, including a Fields medalist, Sir Vaughan Jones. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the ERC - European Research Council has also confirmed his participation.

European congresses of mathematics are held every four years and so far have been hosted by European capitals like Paris, Budapest, Barcelona, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Krakow and Berlin. This is why hosting the next European Congress of Mathematics in Slovenia is undoubtedly a great honor and opportunity, both for Slovenian mathematics, as well as for the University of Primorska and all participating institutions.

The importance of this event was also recognized by His Excellency Mr. Borut Pahor, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, with his honorary patronage.

We look forward to cooperation with the Slovenian Insurance Association and would like to thank them for their sponsorship for the 8th European Congress of Mathematics!

(Photo: Prof. dr. Dragan Marušič, Rector UP, mag. Maja Krumberger, Director of Slovenian Insurance Association, Prof. dr. Klavdija Kutnar, Dean UP FAMNIT, Prof. dr. Tomaž Pisanski, 8ECM Organising Committee Chair)

Thursday, 14 March 2019 First application term for undergraduate studies - until 18 March 2019

First application term for EU citizens for undergraduate studies at UP FAMNIT 2019/2020 lasts until 18 March 2019.

All information about the application procedure are available here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0.

For more information please contact the Student Services (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, tel. + 386 5 611 75 75).

Tuesday, 12 March 2019 New research project obtained in the field of Mathematics

We are very pleased to inform you that UP IAM research group P1-0285 Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Probability and Game Theory has been once again successful in obtaining new research projects.

Assoc. Prof. Martin Milanič, PhD acquired funds from the Slovenian Research Agency to implement the adapted project N1-0102 Topics in Structural Graph Theory: Invariants, Separators, and Intersection Representations, because he received a score of B by the European Research Council for the research proposal for the ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG).

In the next 3 years, the project will investigate several key problems within pure and algorithmic graph theory, with a focus on graph invariants and graph classes. In fact, despite a number of recent breakthrough developments in the area, many deep and challenging questions remain. The final goal of the project is the development of new tools for a deep and algorithmically useful mathematical analysis of the structure of graphs in hereditary classes. Its impact will be an improved fundamental understanding of the boundaries of tractability for several practically relevant graph optimization problems.

The Slovenian Research Agency co-finances the so called adapted projects which were positively evaluated in ERC calls for proposals but not selected for funding, with the purpose of providing the applicants with the conditions to improve their own scientific excellence and the original idea of the research project. ERC Consolidator Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Applicant Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

All information about the project and about our researchers are available on this website.

Monday, 25 February 2019 Cooperation between the 8ECM and the Open Forum of European Science began

In July 2020, scientific events will bring together scientists from all over Europe to our region

In July 2020, two scientific events will be happening at the same time in our region. We will host the 8th European Congress of Mathematics with up to 2,000 researchers and students from various fields of mathematics, while close-by Trieste will host ESOF 2020 – Euroscience Open Forum, where over 5,000 researchers, educators, entrepeneurs, policy makers and journalists and from all over Europe are expected to attend.

Organizing committees of both events recognized this overlap as a unique opportunity for cooperation and organized a meeting on Friday, 22 February. Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Dragan Marušič and rector of the University of Trieste, Prof. Dr. Maurizio Fermeglia agreed that cooperation will benefit both events and enrich the scientific beat in the region. 

Prof. Dr. Tomaž Pisanski, chair of the 8ECM organising committee, and Prof. Dr. Stefano Fantoni and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bruno Della Vedova from the Fondazione Internazionale Trieste – FIT, which is organising the ESOF 2020, attended the meeting as well. They highlighted some of the advantages of joint cooperation between events and agreed that they will undoubtedly strengthen cross border cooperation and leave a great impact in the region in the upcoming year.

ESOF will bring together scientists from various fields such as computing, sustainable development, science and humanities. As part of the event, a Festival of Science will take place from June 27 to July 11, 2020, hosting various theatre performances, concerts, street events, exhibitions and much more. A varied accompanying program can also be expected from 5 to 11 July 2020 in Portorož, when the University of Primorska will host the 8ECM.

We can expect coordination of joint initiatives will continue as early as April 16 2019 in Vipava, where the Slovene-Italian Research Day will be held. Organisers of both events will also participate and present in more detail joint steps in cooperation and a vision for the realization of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics and the Open Forum of European Science.

                         

Wednesday, 6 February 2019 Additional Erasmus+ open call for practical training

We would like to inform all interested students that an additional Erasmus+ open call for practical training for students was published for the current academic year 2018/2019 (contract year 2017).

The deadline for applications is open until there are available funds but until 4 March 2019 at the latest. Students submit their application for the exchange through the SIS system in the "Apply for Exchange" menu.

The application must include:

• online application form (in the SIS system),
• form Learning Agreement for Traineeship signed by the student, the coordinator of the study program at the home faculty and the responsible persons at the visiting institution,
• short CV in Slovenian OR English (in the Europass CV template).

All additional information are available in the Open Call or on the website of the University of Primorska.

You are invited to apply!

Friday, 1 February 2019 Call for enrollment into undergraduate study programmes in 2019/20 academic year

In 2019/20 Academic Year UP FAMNIT offers the following study programmes: Conservation Biology, Bioinformatics (available also in English), Biopsychology, Computer Science (available also in English), Mathematics (available also in English), Mathematics in Economics and Finance, Mediterranean Agriculture.

All information about the application procedure are available here.

EU CITIZENS

Candidates can apply in three terms:

• first application term: from 12 February to 18 March 2019,
• second application term: from 22 to 29 August 2019 (available places will be published on 21 August 2019 on this website),
• third application term: from 25 to 26 September 2019 (available places will be published on 24 September 2019 on this website).

NON-EU CITIZENS AND SLOVENE NATIONALS WITHOUT SLOVENE CITIZENSHIP

Candidates can apply in four terms:

• first application term: from 18 February to 24 May 2019,
• second application term: from 27 May to 19 July 2019 (available places will be published on 26 May 2018 on this website),
• third application term: from 12 August to 13 September 2019 (available places will be published on 11 August 2018 on this website).
• fourth application term: from 25 to 26 September 2019 until 12:00 (available places will be published on 24 September 2019 on this website).