Friday, 26 November 2021 Slovenia has become a full member of the European biobank BBMRI-ERIC
At the BBMRI-ERIC Annual General Meeting in November this year, the Republic of Slovenia was unanimously accepted into the full membership of the European biobank BBMRI-ERIC. The Slovenian biobank consortium BBMRI.SI thus represents the first national hub of any European strategic research infrastructure (ESFRI) that is based in the East Slovenia cohesion region.
The leading consortium partner is the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Maribor, and the national coordinator is Prof. Urban Bren, PhD, Vice-Rector for Knowledge Transfer at the University of Maribor, and Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technology (UP FAMNIT).
(Photo credit: Tadej Regent, Večer)
The participating faculties of the University of Maribor, in partnership with the University of Ljubljana, the University of Primorska (UP FAMNIT in UP FVZ) and the University Medical Centre Maribor, will establish a sustainable biobanking infrastructure in Slovenia that will meet all European ethical, legal, social, security, quality, laboratory and bioinformation standards and guidelines. This will provide access to innovative research findings that will be effective in both improved, and completely new treatments, which is all the more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congratulations!
Source: http://www.tromba.si/
Friday, 26 November 2021 Mathematical Advent Calendar 2021
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 1st to December 20th 2021.
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.
Have fun!
Friday, 26 November 2021 Thousandth graduate at UP FAMNIT!
In addition to all the successes that we have proudly reported on in recent years, we have reached another beautiful milestone - Famnit already has a thousandth graduate!
Hana Čuček defended her final work titled »Family relationships, social support and relationship satisfaction after the birth of a child«.
197 individuals participated in the research presented by the student in her final work, and the findings showed that both social support and the quality of co-parenting and the relationship between parents and children are positively associated with satisfaction in a partnership. Hana Čuček pointed out that knowledge and understanding of the research field and variables related to satisfaction in a relationship after the birth of a child is very important for maintaining the mutual connection between the partners.
The Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies was established in 2006 and offers study programmes of all three levels and conducts research in the fields of mathematics, computer science and informatics, and in the field of natural sciences. The Faculty closely cooperates with the Andrej Marušič Institute of the University of Primorska (UP IAM), where most of the higher education teachers and associates of UP FAMNIT currently perform research activities.
In the period since its establishment, we have organized high-profile international conferences and other scientific meetings, and we have always been actively involved in the international higher education and research area; we have established a wide network of research links with reputable foreign universities. It should be noted that the UP FAMNIT Research Group is one of the four leading research groups in the field of algebraic graph theory on a global scale - the other three groups are in China, Australia and South Korea. With this, UP FAMNIT placed the University of Primorska on the world map of established research institutions.
Every year at UP FAMNIT we hold workshops, lectures and other activities for the general public, and in the summer months we organize summer schools and camps, which are intended primarily for high school and primary school students.
We are proud to welcome the 15th generation of students this year and co-create these success stories with them!
Wednesday, 24 November 2021 Dr. Vladimir Batagelj receives the Statistical Society of Slovenia award
Dr. Vladimir Batagelj, a professor at the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies (UP FAMNIT) received the Statistical Society of Slovenia award (Blejčevo priznanje 2020).
The 2021 Statistical Day, which was conducted in hybrid form for the first time this year, was attended by about 380 people from Slovenia and abroad.
At the beginning of the event, which was opened by Mr Tomaž Smrekar, Director-General of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, and Dr Matevž Bren, President of the Statistical Society of Slovenia, Zala Jakša from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia in her introductory presentation described the 30 years of independent Slovenia through data.
Besides the ceremony of presenting the Statistical Society of Slovenia awards, the first part of the event also included a discussion by the speakers at the round table, titled On the topic of data in an epidemic - new needs and new results. Janez Kušar (Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development), Maja Založnik (COVID-19 Tracker Slovenia), Andraž Zorko (Valicon) and Apolonija Oblak Flander (Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia) debated about the preparation of timely and high-quality data during the epidemic and the challenges that await us in the future.
In the second part of the event, which focused on the topic of challenges of data collection in the future, two renowned foreign experts, Arlen Hoebergen in Sillard Patrick, presented methodological solutions and challenges in the field of statistical surveys.
Congratulations to all awardees!
You are invited to see the viderecording of the event.
Tuesday, 16 November 2021 New paper reveals research gaps for next-generation conservation technologies to reduce biodiversity loss
A new study provides a practical guide for decision-makers and practitioners on the emerging new tools for protecting biodiversity, and the remaining research gaps.
November 11, 2021 – More investment and support for research into emerging genomic tools for conservation is needed to prevent further biodiversity loss, according to a new paper published in Conversation Genetics.
A new publication explores the field of genomic technologies, and how and in which circumstances they could be used as additional tools to prevent the extinction of endangered species.
Dr Pamela Burger from Vetmeduni Vienna highlighted that genome analysis has already helped conservation managers “to understand the diversity and connectivity of endangered populations. But the new genome technologies can help select the best individuals for translocation or reintroduction programmes.”
Beyond that, “Genomic regions responsible for disease resistance or adaptive fitness can be identified, and in the long-term we might even be able to increase the resilience in a population,” added Prof. Elena Bužan from the University of Primorska.
For practitioners, there is still a gap in understanding about how this can be used for new challenges. Andrej Arih, head of department for nature conservation in Triglav National Park, said: “We are happy that genetic monitoring has improved our understanding of population structure and dynamics, and we hope that genomics will go a step further and help us predict how our ecosystems may adapt to future climatic changes.”
The paper is the result of a workshop on novel genomic tools for conservation that was organised in March 2020 as part of the G-BIKE (Genomic Biodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems) project funding by the COST action programme of the European Union.
“It is fascinating to see that genomic tools are getting more and more advanced,” said Prof. Gernot Segelbacher from the University of Freiburg, and co-chair of the IUCN specialist group on conservation genetics. However, Prof. Segelbacher cautioned that there are still challenges for their use and “might be not readily applicable for many on the ground conservation problems”.
The G-BIKE workshop and paper aim to bring practitioners and researchers together to help bridge the gap between those studying genomic technologies and their potential, and those who are leading conservation programmes on the ground.
It comes after the Kunming Declaration was adopted during the high-level segment of the UN biodiversity conference 2020 that took place on October 12 and 13, 2021. It sets an objective “to develop, adopt and implement an ambitious and transformative post-2020 global biodiversity framework”.
Experts agree that new tools will be required to achieve the goals and targets of the new global biodiversity framework. Globally, the world is losing species and their habitats at an alarming rate, leaving many small and fragmented populations that are unable to recover on their own. Effective conservation is needed and genomic tools have the potential to revolutionize conservation management of small wild populations of endangered species and their captive counterparts, which serve as insurance populations for future reintroductions.
The new paper provides a practical guide about emerging technologies, how far advanced their development is and how they can be used. For Dr Mirte Bosse from Wageningen University, this was an “opportunity to connect to people outside [her] field of experience but with common goals” and she hopes that the paper can “inform, inspire and instruct conservation practitioners who want to use such tools for conservation”.
For Prof. Samantha Wisely from the University of Florida, the paper aims to “lessen the divide and increase communication between researchers using new genomic technologies and the conservation practitioners who must implement strategies to avert the current biodiversity crisis.”
"With a million species threatened with extinction, the world is currently discussing ambitious biodiversity targets for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity,” said Dr Elizabeth Bennett from WCS.
“These aim to prevent extinctions, and bend the curve towards recovery of the world's biodiversity. If we are to succeed, we have to consider all possible tools to support species recoveries, from conventional conservation techniques to novel ones emerging from genomics. The paper by Segelbacher and colleagues lays out some of these potential genomic options clearly and very accessibly to species conservation managers, and their potential value especially for small population management and genetic rescue."
Dr Thomas Brooks, IUCN Chief Scientist, further highlighted the timeliness of this paper. “This new paper makes an important contribution to the ongoing discussion as to the potential benefits, limitations, opportunities and risks of genomic technologies for biodiversity conservation and is highly timely, given the new Resolution from the 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille for development of an IUCN policy on synthetic biology in relation to nature conservation”.
Authors of the paper highlight some of the research gaps, and areas where support is needed for practitioners to use some of the genomics tools that have been available for many years but that often remain underused due to lack of capacity building or inadequate resources.
You can read more here.
About GBIKE
G-BiKE is a network of researchers and practitioners to assist scientists and practitioners across the EU and particularly in COST Inclusiveness Target Countries to integrate genetic and evolutionary knowledge into conservation planning policies, and to promote cross-border management and long term monitoring programs of evolutionary potential in order to ensure persistence of populations and species, and ultimately the continued supply of nature-based ecosystem services.
Monday, 15 November 2021 Additional two postdoctoral positions in the field of mathematics are now available
A postdoctoral position at the University of Primorska - mentor Prof. Bojan Kuzma
The Departments of Mathematics of Andrej Marusic Institute (UP IAM) and Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska seek a top early-career researcher for a postdoctoral position.
The project will mainly focus on Preserver Problems and the applications of graph theory in solving them.
The successful candidate will be part of the Departments of Mathematics at UP IAM and UP FAMNIT, and will work under the guidance of Professor Bojan Kuzma.
Terms and conditions:
- The position is for two years.
- Applicants must possess a PhD in mathematics upon taking up the position (but not necessary at the time of the application).
- The position comes with a teaching load of 1-2 courses per semester on the Mathematics study programs offered by UP FAMNIT.
- The starting salary is about 1550 EUR / month after tax (2286 EUR gross).
Deadline & Application process:
- Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until January 15, 2022, or until the position is filled.
- Starting date: negotiable but preferably not later than October 1, 2022.
To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Bojan Kuzma (bojan.kuzma@upr.si) with the subject line "UP Postdoc 2022" 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 Bojan Kuzma (bojan.kuzma@upr.si).
A postdoctoral position at the University of Primorska – mentor Prof. Štefko Miklavič
The Departments of Mathematics of Andrej Marusic Institute (UP IAM) and Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska, are seeking a top early-career researcher for a postdoctoral position.
The project will mainly focus on Terwilliger algebra of a graph. In algebraic graph theory the following situation occurs often. Let G be a graph and let H be a certain algebraic object, associated with G. In this case, one of the main motivations in our research is the following question: what could we say about the combinatorial properties of G, if we know that H has certain algebraic properties? And vice-versa: what could we say about the algebraic properties of H, if we know that G has certain combinatorial properties? Perhaps the most well-known example of this interplay between combinatorics and algebra is obtained if H is the automorphism group of G. There are many more examples of this interplay available in the literature. In this project the algebraic object, associated with G, will not be its automorphism group, but rather a certain matrix algebra, called a Terwilliger algebra of a graph G. The main motivation, however, remains the same: what could we say about the combinatorial properties of G, if we know that its Terwilliger algebra has certain algebraic properties? And vice-versa: what could we say about the algebraic properties of Terwilliger algebra of G, if we know that G has certain combinatorial properties?
The successful candidate will be part of the Departments of Mathematics at UP IAM and UP FAMNIT, and will work under the guidance of Professor Štefko Miklavič.
Terms and conditions:
- The position is for two years.
- Applicants must possess a PhD in mathematics upon taking up the position (but not necessary at the time of the application).
- The position comes with a teaching load of 1-2 courses per semester on the Mathematics study programs offered by UP FAMNIT.
- The starting salary is about 1550 EUR / month after tax (2286 EUR gross).
Deadline & Application process:
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until January 15, 2022, or until the position is filled.
Starting date: negotiable but preferably not later than October 1, 2022.
To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Štefko Miklavič (stefko.mikllavic@upr.si) with the subject line "UP Postdoc 2022" 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 Štefko Miklavič
(stefko.miklavic@upr.si).
Friday, 12 November 2021 The results of the elections to the UP FAMNIT 2021/22 Student Council are announced
The results of yesterday's elections to the UP FAMNIT Student Council are now available.
The elected candidates are:
- Nevena Stojnić, 2nd year Mathematics
- Ajla Šehović, 3rd year Mathematics
- Tilen Gimpelj, 2nd year Bioinformatics
- Mihail Filipovski, 2nd year Bioinformatics
- Mojca Pungerčar, 2nd year Conservation Biology
- Kristina Čuk, 3rd year Mediterranean Agriculture
- Gjore Janevski, 1st year Computer Science
- Elsa Morina, 1st year Computer Science
- Pavle Mihailovski, 2nd year Computer Science
- Milan Milivojčević, 3rd yearComputer Science
- Gabriela Laznik Zalaznik, 1st year Biopsychology
- Matija Zagoranski, 1st year Biopsychology (MSc)
- Lucia Nikolić, 1st year Nature Conservation (MSc)
- Karim Pribac, 2nd year Nature Conservation (MSc)
- Amar Bapić, 3rd year Mathematical Sciences (PhD)
More information (number of votes, voting turnout, ...) is available in the Minutes of the Electoral Commission of ŠS UP FAMNIT.
Congratulations to all electees, we wish them a successful mandate!
Thursday, 11 November 2021 Our researchers are ranked on the Elsevier scale of the most frequently cited authors
We are very proud to announce that the names of researchers from UP Famnit and UP IAM are on the list of the most cited scientists and researchers in 2020, published by Elsevier in October this year.
Elsevier, a global information analytics business, has created a publicly accessible database of more than 100,000 top scientists. This year, our researchers also occupy high places on the scales for evaluating research performance and scientific publications, where only 2% of the best scientists are ranked.
There are 165 scientists coming from Slovenia on a sigle year impact scale for most frequently cited authors in 2020, among them also researchers from UP Famnit and UP IAM, prof. dr. Dragan Marušič, prof. dr. Štefan Bojnec, prof. dr. Marko Tkalčič, prof. dr. Andreja Kutnar and prof. dr. Tomislav Levanič.
In addition to the 2020 single year impact scale, prof. dr. Dragan Marušič also occupies a place on the career scale, which includes 147 scientists from Slovenia.
The use of measurements for the contextual impact of publications has become very widespread in recent years, but analysts often face various challenges in obtaining relevant data. Some questions relate to what citations and related metrics fundamentally mean and how they can be (mis)interpreted as a measure of impact or excellence. Many other problems are of a technical nature and reflect lack of standardization and accuracy on various fronts.
For reasones stated above, an extensive database of a sufficiently large number of most-cited scientists across science was created. Scopus data was used to compile a database of the 100,000 most-cited authors across all scientific fields based on their ranking of a composite indicator that considers six citation metrics (total citations; Hirsch h-index; coauthorship-adjusted Schreiber hm-index; number of citations to papers as single author; number of citations to papers as single or first author; and number of citations to papers as single, first, or last author).
Source data and metric description are available here.
Congratulations to all our researchers and we wish you great success on your further research journey!
Wednesday, 10 November 2021 TODAY: Elections to the UP FAMNIT Student Council
Today, on Wednesday, 11 November 2021, the election of members to the UP Famnit Student Council is taking place at UP Famnit.
All students can vote, so you are kindly invited to do your duty and vote for the selected candidates! In the current academic year, they will represent your voice, defend your rights and duties, and organize various events for you.
The voting station is located at the main entrance to the faculty and will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
You need an identity document and a certificate of enrollment (digital also applies) OR a student card. A reminder, election candidates have a voting right as well.
Candidates in the elections are:
Mathematics and Mathematics in Economics and Finance
- Nevena Stojnić, 2. year Mathematics,
- Ajla Šehović, 3. year Mathematics,
- Tina Žežlin, 3. year Mathematics in Economics and Finance.
Conservation Biology, Bioinformatics and Mediterranean Agriculture
- Marko Budimir, 1. year Bioinformatics,
- Tilen Gimpelj, 2. year Bioinformatics,
- Mihail Filipovski, 2. year Bioinformatics,
- Mojca Pungerčar, 2. year Conservation Biology,
- Kristina Čuk, 3. year Mediterranean Agriculture.
Computer Science
- Gjore Janevski, 1. year Computer Science,
- Elsa Morina, 1. year Computer Science,
- Hristijan Chupetreski, 1. year Computer Science,
- Pavle Mihailovski, 2. year Computer Science,
- Milan Milivojčević, 3. year Computer Science.
Biopsychology
- Gabriela Laznik Zalaznik, 1. year Biopsychology,
- Teodora Kitanovska, 3. year Biopsychology.
Postgraduate (MSc or PhD) students
- Matija Zagoranski, 1. letnik Biopsychology (MSc),
- Lucia Nikolić, 1. year Nature Conservation (MSc),
- Karim Pribac, 2. year Nature Conservation (MSc),
- Amar Bapić, 3. year Mathematical Sciences (PhD).
Wednesday, 10 November 2021 Postdoctoral position at the University of Primorska - mentor, Assoc. Prof. Russ Woodroofe, PhD
The Departments of Mathematics of the Andrej Marusic Institute (IAM) and the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska are seeking a postdoctoral researcher within the project "Groups, Posets, and Complexes".
The project under which the position is funded will study problems at the intersection of topology, algebra, and combinatorics. The main themes of the project involve posets and simplicial complexes arising in and from group theory.
The successful candidate will be part of the Departments of Mathematics at UP IAM and UP FAMNIT and will work under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Russ Woodroofe, PhD.
Terms and conditions:
- The position is for two years, with the possibility of renewal for a third year (depending on performance and budget availability).
- Applicants should possess a PhD in mathematics, with relevant experience in simplicial topology, combinatorics, and/or group theory.
- The position will require teaching (in English or Slovene) of roughly two courses per year.
- The compensation is set according to the academic title by Slovenian law governing higher education, and is expected to be about 1550 EUR / month after tax.
Deadline and Application process:
Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis beginning Jan 15th.
The starting date is flexible, but preferably not later than October 2022.
To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Russ Woodroofe (russ.woodroofe@famnit.upr.si) with the subject line "UP Postdoc 2022" in the Subject field:
- Curriculum Vitae,
- Publication List,
- Research Statement,
- Names and e-mail addresses of at least three persons who can be contacted for reference (and who have agreed to be contacted).
Informal inquiries may be directed to Russ Woodroofe (russ.woodroofe@famnit.upr.si).
Tuesday, 9 November 2021 Another success for the HCI-IS conference
Human-computer interaction in information society is a conference organized by the Slovenian HCI community. The purpose of the conference is to gather researchers, practitioners and students in the field and offer the opportunity to exchange experiences and research results, as well as to establish contacts for future cooperation.
This year's HCI-IS conference, which was the sixth in a row, can once again be attributed to great success.
After last year's implementation, which took place online due to measures for curbing the spread of the epidemics, this year we were very happy to host as many as 27 conference participants.
This year's event also hosted two invited lectures given by Prof. Gregor Geršak, PhD (UNI LJ, Faculty of Electrical Engineering) and Assoc. Prof. Peter Knees, PhD (TU Wien).
Peter Knees is Associate Professor at the Vienna University of Technology, Faculty of Informatics. He is an active member of the Music Information Retrieval research community, reaching out to the related fields of multimedia and text information retrieval, recommender systems, and the digital arts. His research activities center on music search engines and interfaces as well as music recommender systems, and more recently, on smart(er) tools for music creation. He co-authored the book “Music Similarity and Retrieval: An Introduction” and is a contributor of the Digital Humanism initiative.
Gregor Geršak received the Ph.D. degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. His research interests include the theory of measurements, precision measurement of magnetic flux density, and pressure and thermometry. His focus is on metrology of biomedical instrumentation with emphasis on devices for non-invasive blood pressure measurement and psychophysiological measurements.
We are looking forward to the next HCI-IS conference, which, given the extremely rapid changes in the world of digitalization, will certainly bring a lot of novelties once again.
Thursday, 4 November 2021 Presentation of the topic of the doctoral dissertation - Andrés David Santamaría-Galvis
We invite you to the presentation of the topic of the doctoral dissertation "On partitionability and shellability of relative simplicial complexes" of the student Andrés David Santamaría-Galvis, enrolled in the doctoral study programme Mathematical Sciences.
The presentation will take place on Wednesday, 10 November 2021 at 17.30.
Zoom:
https://upr-si.zoom.us/j/89203230566?pwd=MWQwemJHR2JGanZoZTBvcnhiTytwdz09
Meeting ID: 892 0323 0566
Passcode: 054177
Wednesday, 3 November 2021 COVID-19 AND FLU VACCINATION FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF
|
Due to the aggravation of the epidemics situation, we will have to cancel Friday’s event. Any gathering of people on the stands, even outside, can be risky, so we must approach the matter responsibly and carry out the event in a more favorable epidemiological conditions. |
Students and staff are invited to get a Covid-19 or/and flu vaccine on Friday, 12 November 2021, from 2 PM to 6 PM in the premises of the former brewery Emonec in Koper (Vanganelska cesta 20).
The vaccination is organized by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).
Tuesday, 2 November 2021 Congratulations to the first graduate on the Master's study programme Psychology
This October, in addition to new beginnings and full corridors, was also marked by quite a few defenses of our students' final works. Among them was also Samanta Hervol, who on October 25, 2021 became the first graduate in the Master's study programme Psychology.
Under the guidance of her mentor Assoc. prof. Vita Poštuvan, PhD and co-mentor Assist. Tina Podlogar, PhD, the student presented her final work titled »Mental Health literacy, stigma and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Slovenian adolescents«.
The main question of her research was how the variables from the thesis' title are correlated and which variables are statistically significant predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Results showed, that mental healt literacy is positively correlated to attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and negatively corellated to public stigma and self-stigma.
On the next day, October 26, 2021, two more students, Tjaša Ogrizek in Urša Skvarča, sucessfully defended their thesis in the Master's study programme Psychology.
Congratulations and good luck on the future research journey!
