Friday, 21 March 2025 22nd UP Solemn Academy
The University of Primorska celebrates its anniversary every year in the week around March 17, as it was entered in the court register on March 17, 2003. Thus, the UP Week is held every year, and within the framework of this week there is always a Solemn Academy, at which the UP recognizes all those who havecontributed to the reputation, development and success of the University through their work or activities.
The participants were first addressed by the Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, who emphasized that:
"The University of Primorska is becoming an increasingly international, intercultural and multilingual community. As a result, at the beginning of 2025, the University of Primorska adopted the Strategy for the Use of the Slovene Language at the University of Primorska for the period 2025-2030, which will further strengthen the development of Slovene as a scientific and professional language, as well as the offer of Slovene as a foreign language courses for all students and employees and their family members. In pursuing these objectives, as well as in fulfilling its commitments to the Italian national community, the resources that the University will be able to obtain in accordance with the provisions on the nationally important tasks set out in the new draft Law on Higher Education, which we hope will be adopted as soon as possible, will certainly be of great help. We will continue to steer our march upwards, UP is already in our name, as we like to remind ourselves, and climb towards the stars that we hope will continue to favour us."
Lana Erjavec, President of the UP Student Council, addressed a special greeting to the students:"
"At this point, I would like to sincerely thank all students who invest their free time and energy into our community. Your contribution is of immeasurable importance, as it is your commitment that drives progress and well-being, ensuring opportunities for long-term development. Without students, a university cannot function. However, the contribution of university staff is equally crucial. They are the ones who provide the foundation and stability and serve as role models. We are grateful to have strong support from both academic and professional staff at the University of Primorska. They recognize our concerns and dilemmas, listen to us, offer guidance, and steer us in the right direction. Over the past year, students have encountered several changes, the most exciting of which was the launch of 24-hour operations at the UP University Library and the introduction of laptop lending services. We trust that student needs will continue to be considered and that together, we will continue to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all."
The solemn speech was given by Dr. Diego de Leo - Head of the Slovenian Center for Suicide Research at UP IAM, who in 2023 hosted one of the most important events in this field, the Congress of the World Alliance for Suicide Prevention (IASP), and this year also received the Research Excellence Award, as his work in the field of suiciology represents an outstanding contribution to the profession both in Slovenia and worldwide on an international level.
The UP prizes for 2024 were awarded:
Recipients of the UP FAMNIT AND UP IAM awards for 2024
2024 Gold medal of the University of Primorska - Prof. Marko Tkalčič, UP FAMNIT and UP IAM
On the proposal of UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, the 2024 Gold Medal of the University of Primorska is awarded to Prof. Marko Tkalčič for his outstanding contribution to the university’s development and visibility, particularly in pioneering new approaches to the advancement of intelligent systems.
Dr. Marko Tkalčič completed his PhD studies at the University of Ljubljana in 2011 and has worked at UP since 2019. His research in user modelling and recommender systems, including psychological models, is internationally recognised and paves the way for advancements in intelligent systems. He has been actively involved in the organisation and management of prestigious international conferences such as UMAP, RecSys and IUI, raising the profile of these research communities. He has made significant contributions to the advancement of academic publishing as a co-author of two key books for researchers, a practitioner in the field and a member of the editorial board of the Springer journal UMUAI. As coordinator of the Master’s programme in Data Science at UP FAMNIT and Chair of the Quality Assurance Committee for Doctoral Studies, he has contributed to the development and high standards of education at the university. His work is an example of excellence for the wider academic community. Known for his ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity, he is a key advocate for integrating psychological insights into recommender systems.
2024 University of Primorska Scientific Excellence Award - Prof. Diego de Leo, UP FAMNIT and UP IAM
On the proposal of UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, the 2024 UP Scientific Excellence Award is presented to Prof. Diego de Leo for his outstanding research in suicidology, his contribution to the destigmatization of suicide and the development of global guidelines for its prevention.
Prof. Diego De Leo, MD, PhD, DSc, FRANZCP, AO, is a world-renowned expert in suicidal behaviour. He holds a degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Padua, a PhD from Leiden University, and has dedicated his research to suicidality, cultural influences on suicide, older populations, international trends and national prevention programmes. His bibliography comprises more than 900 works, including 500 peer-reviewed articles, published in the most prestigious journals in psychiatry, medicine and psychology. His h-index in the Scopus database reaches a high value of 90. He is a key player in the promotion of World Suicide Prevention Day and co-founder of the International Academy of Suicide Research. He is the Head and co-founder of the Slovenian Centre for Suicide Research (UP IAM), which focuses on suicide research, suicide prevention interventions and bereavement support. He has received numerous honours, including a knighthood from the Queen of England. His research has contributed to the destigmatization of suicide and the development of global guidelines for the prevention of suicidal behaviour, enhancing the visibility of the University of Primorska and increasing public awareness.
2024 Srečko Kosovel Award for University of Primorska Students - Andrej Milisavljević, UP FAMNIT
On the proposal of UP FAMNIT, the 2024 Srečko Kosovel Award for UP Students goes to Andrej Milisavljević for his final project paper In silico analysis of the amino acid composition of binding sites on viral proteins under supervisor Assoc. Prof. Marko Jukić and co-supervisor Assoc. Prof. Jure Pražnikar.
Andrej Milisavljević has graduated from the Bioinformatics Bachelor’s programme at UP FAMNIT. His final project paper focused on analysing the binding sites of viral proteins and comparing them with human proteins to better understand the molecular interactions, protein structure and function – an essential foundation for developing new therapeutic agents. He used both the PDB database and the ProBiS-Dock database, developed at UP, which contains structural protein models and predicted binding regions. Notably, while working on his thesis, he developed, validated and applied his own bioinformatics tools and scripts. His contributions led to the development of an automated and parallelised methodology, allowing for the rapid processing of large protein datasets. His final project paper highlights the gaps in the understanding of binding site structure and proposes improvements in identifying binding sites in novel protein systems with unknown functions. This work paves the way for further research and integration into the broader efforts of the UP laboratory. Exceeding the initial objectives of his final project paper, he is already preparing a scientific paper and continuing his research within his supervisor’s group.
2024 Srečko Kosovel Award for University of Primorska Students - Niki Hrovatin, UP FAMNIT and UP IAM
On the proposal of UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, the 2024 Srečko Kosovel Award for UP Students goes to Dr. Niki Hrovatin for his PhD thesis Enabling decentralized privacy preserving data processing in sensor networks under supervisor Assoc. Prof. Jernej Vičič and co-supervisor Prof. Michael Mrissa.
Dr. Niki Hrovatin has completed his PhD in Computer Science at UP FAMNIT. His dissertation presents five contributions to privacy preserving data processing in distributed networks. The innovations explored and presented together form a secure and efficient foundation for autonomous sensor networks. His PhD thesis is structured as a series of scientific papers, while all the presented methods have been implemented in sensor networks that are regularly used and deployed in Koper, across Slovenia and in other countries. The quality and impact of these five papers quantitatively exceed the minimum requirements for a dissertation. Dr. Hrovatin is the first author of all the papers, with the most prominent one published in an A’’ category journal and three others appearing in SCI-listed journals. In addition to his PhD work, he remains highly active in research, with numerous publications in top international journals. Over the past three years, he has published nine original scientific articles, eight of which in SCI-listed journals. Dr. Niki Hrovatin is now continuing his successful research (and teaching) career at UP FAMNIT, UP IAM and InnoRennew CoE.
2024 University of Primorska Prize for University of Primorska Students - Gabriela Laznik Zalaznik, UP FAMNIT
On the proposal of UP FAMNIT, the 2024 UP Prize for UP Students is awarded to Gabriela Laznik Zalaznik for her dedication and significant contribution to the student community.
Gabriela Laznik Zalaznik, a student in the Psychology programme at UP FAMNIT, has been a member of the UP FAMNIT Student Council since autumn 2021. Serving as its President during the 2023/2024 academic year, she successfully led the organisation of educational and social events, promoted inter-faculty cooperation and represented students at various levels. In the previous academic year, she also took on the role of event manager for the Biopsychology Students Association, which serves students of Biopsychology, Psychology and other UP study programmes. In the current academic year, she is the President of the Association. She has made a significant contribution to raising awareness of biopsychology through her work with the Association and has volunteered for initiatives such as Brain Awareness Week and the Weekend of Holistic Mental Health Care, reflecting her broader social engagement and awareness of the importance of mental health – her professional focus within her chosen field of study. Her involvement in faculty and university committees is always geared towards improving student conditions and building a better community. Her dedication, leadership, organizational skills and clear vision make her an invaluable asset to the university community.
