news - Archive

Thursday, 13 August 2020 Ad futura scholarships available for postgraduates from the Western Balkans

The Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia has published Ad futura scholarships for postgraduate students who are citizens of one of the Western Balkans countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of Kosovo, the Republic of Northern Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia). This scholarship is available for master's or doctoral studies in Slovenia in the fields of natural sciences, technology and medicine.

The prerequisite for application is the completion of an undergraduate degree at one of the higher education institutions in the above-mentioned countries. In addition, it is required that candidates obtain a temporary residence in Slovenia prior to the application deadline (or alternatively, grant power of attorney to a Slovenian resident to represent their interests in administrative proceedings).

The scholarship can be granted for living expenses during the studies and/or for tuition fees.

The application deadline is 31 August 2020.

Further information, conditions and the application form can be found on the website https://www.srips-rs.si/vsi-razpisi/razpis/stipendije-za-podiplomski-studij-drzavljanov-drzav-zahodnega-balkana-v-sloveniji- for-summer-2019-2-1

Tuesday, 11 August 2020 The second deadline for applications for undergraduate studies for Slovenian and EU citizens is 20-28 August 2020

Slovenian and EU citizens can apply for all undergraduate study programmes at UP FAMNIT during the second application period, which is open from Thursday, August 20 to Friday, August 28, 2020.

These are the vacancies in the second deadline for applications in study programmes:

- Computer Science (programme in Slovene): 20 places available;

- Computer Science (programme in English): 17 places available;

- Mathematics (programme in Slovene): 19 places available;

- Mathematics (programme in English): 24 places available;

- Conservation Biology (programme in Slovene): 24 places available;

- Mediterranean Agriculture (programme in Slovene): 14 places available;;

- Mathematics in Economy and Finance (programme in Slovene): 20 places available;

- Bioinformatics (programme in Slovene): 15 places available;

- Bioinformatics (programme in English): 15 places available.

All information on the application procedures can be found here: https://www.famnit.upr.si/en/education/enrolment1920#heading0

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

Thursday, 6 August 2020 IMC 2020 - UP FAMNIT students successful at the International Mathematics Competition for University Students 2020

The 27th IMC - International Mathematical Student Competition) took place this year from 25 to 30 July. The IMC is one of the most renowned competitions of its kind worldwide.

As the IMC was held online due to pandemic COVID -19, the participation was extremely high, with more than 560 students from all over the world taking part. The University of Primorska is the only institution in Slovenia that organised the preparations for its students well in advance and registered them for the competition.

The UP FAMNIT team was represented by Arbër Avdullahu (1st year, Mathematical Sciences), Besfort Shala (2nd year, Mathematics), Ajla Šehović (1st year, Mathematics), Milan Milivojčević (1st year, Computer Science), Jana Ristovska (1st year, Computer Science) and team leader Assoc. Prof. Marko Orel.

The opening ceremony took place on Sunday 25 July, followed by two days of competitions, during which the students had four hours a day to solve four problems. After the second day, the team leaders evaluated the students' tasks 24 hours a day, as the competition took place simultaneously all over the world. The results were announced on the last day at the closing ceremony. Among the UP FAMNIT students, Arbër Avdullahu and Besfort Shala were the best participants, both received an Honourable Mention certificate.

To learn more about the competition, visit the IMC website, the IMC 2020 math problems are available here.

We congratulate our FAMNIT students and their team leader, Assoc. Prof. Marko Orel!

(UP FAMNIT students just before the start of the 2nd day of competition)

Wednesday, 5 August 2020 UP FAMNIT MSc & PhD programmes at glance

Why choose UP FAMNIT?

First and foremost because we offer a unique educational opportunity for some of the most sought-after professional profiles in Europe and the world, such as mathematics, computer science, the natural sciences and psychology. Furthermore, we offer:

• attractive future-oriented study courses with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity,
• modern teaching methods supported by informational technology,
• award-winning and internationally renowned lecturers with a personal approach to students,
• the opportunity for research work during your studies in cooperation with the Andrej Marušič Institute of the University of Primorska,
• cooperation with industry in the framework of practical trainings and projects,
• a pleasant Mediterranean environment at the Slovenian seaside,
• a rich offer of extracurricular activities in cooperation with the Student Council and other student associations.

Find more about the advantages of studying at our MSc and PhD programmes in our brochure – simply click the picture below.

Application terms for EU citizens:

• first application term: from 8 April to 27 August 2020,
• second application term: from 11 to 16 September 2020,
• third application term: from 24 to 25 September 2020 until 12:00.

Application terms for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship:

• first application term: from 8 April to 1 July 2020 (COMPLETED),
• second application term: from 20 July to 27 August 2020 (there are free enrollment places for all the study programs),
• third application term: from 11 to 16 September 2020,
• fourth application term: from 24 to 25 September 2020 until 12:00.

Tuesday, 4 August 2020 Prof. Tomaž Pisanski becomes a member of the EMS Press Advisory Board

The renowned Berlin-based mathematics publisher EMS Press has announced the new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), a member of which is Prof. Tomaž Pisanski.

EMS Press is an imprint of EMS Publishing House GmbH (formerly based in Switzerland), and a subsidiary of the European Mathematical Society. Their program includes 20 journals, 15 new books per year and a backlist of 200 titles. EMS Press is the mathematics community publisher and its mission has remained the same since its founding in 2001 - "to serve the mathematics community by publishing high-quality, accessible, and open research". EMS Press has recently moved to Berlin and has gained a new Managing Director in Dr. André Gaul.

The Scientific Advisory Board is consulted in order to maintain the high scientific standards of the publisher's portfolio - and improve them where possible. The Scientific Advisory Board consists of 8 members, who hold a two-year term of office from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2022. In line with the publisher's mission, the board will focus on the quality of all publications. They will be consulted on new journals, book series and proceedings series that are planned to be created or acquired from other publishers.

Prof. Pisanki was already a member of Scientific Advisory Board EMS Publishing House, Switzerland before holding the position with the EMS Press.

We sincerely congratulate Prof. Pisanski and wish him every success in his mandate!

Prof. Tomaž Pisanski is an internationally known researcher working in the field of discrete and computational mathematics, with applications in natural sciences, engineering and social sciences. He is one of the pioneers of topological graph theory in the world and the founder of the world-renowned Slovenian school of graph theory. His most important contribution to the global scientific community is based on the use of discrete mathematics methods in natural sciences and technology. His contribution to the development of the representations of graphs, which is used in mathematics as well as in chemistry, biology and other sciences, is also remarkable. Thanks to him, Slovenian science in these fields is recognized and appreciated globally, and his intensive cooperation with researchers and research institutions from all over the world, as well as his membership in numerous scientific organizations and associations abroad, has had a strong influence on the development of Slovenian science for decades.

He is one of the two founding members and editor-in-chief of the international mathematical journal Ars Mathematica Contemporanea – AMC, President of the Slovenian Society for Discrete and Applied Mathematics, the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics - 8ECM, and Chair of Department of Information Sciences and Technologies at UP Famnit. In 2015 he received the prestigious Zois Award for outstanding achievements in scientific research work in the field of discrete mathematics and its applications, and in 2020 he was awarded with the recognition of »Prometeus of science for excellence in communication« for life achievements.

Monday, 3 August 2020 New E+ project about growth mindset

This week, the University of Primorska successfully obtained a new international projects in the field of education with the title Growthminds. The project, whose lead partner is UP FAMNIT, will include various activities with which pedagogical staff at the university level will be able to develop new competencies for the use of the so called concept of growth mindset in their work. The project aims to increase the quality of the learning process through the use of new learning techniques and is co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus+ KA203 programme.

The two-year project will be led by the Head of the Center for Positive Psychology, Assist. Prof. Kristijan Musek Lešnik, PhD and it will start ob 1 November. The developed materials will be disseminated for free in five languages, while the activities will directly include university educators and university students as main target groups. With a co-financed part of 171,459 EUR, the project will bring together the following partners: STEP Inštitut, zavod za psihologijo dela in podjetništvo (Slovenia), Balıkesir University (Turkey), University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureş (Romania) in University of Klagenfurt (Austria).

(Assist. Prof. Kristijan Musek Lešnik, PhD)

More about growth mindset

In 1988 Dr. Dweck sparked interest in researching mindsets by showing that those who believe their abilities are malleable (i.e. have a “growth mindset”) are more likely to embrace challenges and persist despite failure than those who view their abilities as non-changeable (i.e. “fixed mindset”). Growth mindset (GM) students seek out better feedback, persist for longer, cope better with transitions and develop better self-regulation. GM reduces stress in students, promotes wellbeing and emotional functioning, improves self-esteem, learning orientation, reduces helplessness and is linked with grit and pro-social behaviours. Research supports the idea that educator mindsets may influence the way they respond to students, which in turn has an impact on the students’ outcomes.