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Wednesday, 31 January 2024 INFO DAYS 2024

You are invited to join us at Info events, where the professors and students will present an insight into life on the Faculty and the benefits of the programmes. 

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16 February - 17 February 2024 | from 9.00 am | 

More information about Info day > Here

The information about enrolment > Here

Materials for schools:

Tuesday, 30 January 2024 HICUB Lab at the 8th HCI SI Conference

The 8th edition of the HCI Slovenia Conference took place on Friday, January 26, 2023 at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Informatics.

       

HCI SI is an annual gathering of experts in the field of human-computer interactions (HCI) in Slovenia and nearby regions, organized by Bled SIGCHI. This year's conference edition was co-organized by HICUP Lab (Humans Interacting with Computers at the University of Primorska).

At the conference, members of HICUP Lab presented numerous research papers from various projects conducted by the research group:

  • Nuwan T Attygalle presented the paper Towards Hand Gesture Recognition Prototype Using the IWR6843ISK Radar Sensor and Leap Motion,
  • Matjaž Kljun in Klen Čopič Pucihar presented the paper Manipulating and Augmenting Digital Content Through Physical Counterpart,
  • Karolina Trajkovska presented the paper Name and Face Recall Cognitive Failure: Presenting a Short Literature Review and System Design,
  • Nikola Kovačević presented the paper Retzzles: Do Jigsaw Puzzle Actions on Interactive Display Maps Increase the Retention of Map Information?,
  • Uroš Sergaš presented the paper Cross-country analysis on connection between Financial Lifestyle and Happiness,
  • Jordan Aiko Deja presented the paper Teach Me How to ImproVISe: Co-Designing an Augmented Piano Training System for Improvisation in
  • Marko Tkalčič presented the paper Ranking Footballers with Multilevel Modeling.

You can find more information about the conference and the laboratory at the following link: hicup.famnit.upr.si.

     

     

Monday, 29 January 2024 Authors, including UP FAMNIT researchers, propose new approach for monitoring genetic diversity in Europe to help species adapt to climate change

Genetic diversity is crucial if species are to adapt to climate change. An international study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution that includes researchers from the University of Primorska (FAMNIT) shows that current efforts to monitor genetic diversity in Europe are incomplete and insufficient. The study, proposing a novel approach, aims to identify and pinpoint important geographical areas on which to focus.

Distinguished from its fellow creatures by small differences in its hereditary material, every living thing on our planet faces challenges when the environment becomes unfavourable to populations of species, such as plants and animals. This genetic variability becomes crucial for enabling adaptation to new conditions, preventing extinction, or migration to other habitats.

In simple terms, gene diversity emerges as one of the keys to species survival. In 2022, the International Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) emphasized the increased need to protect genetic diversity found in wild species, a fundamental component of biological diversity that had been generally neglected before.

Already, global warming is exerting significant pressure on numerous species in Europe, especially those with populations at the climatic limits of their range. The survival of these species is contingent on their ability to withstand increased heat or drought, as well as the introduction of new species into their environment. In these critical borderline situations, the urgency to measure genetic diversity becomes paramount, allowing for an assessment of the species' ability to persist in the face of changing environmental conditions.

Through a comprehensive analysis of all genetic monitoring programs in Europe, the study has identified specific geographic areas that require increased monitoring efforts.


Geographic distribution of effort to monitor population genetic diversity (GME), for purposes of conservation or management, among COST full-member countries
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02260-0

»Without better European monitoring of genetic diversity, we risk losing important genetic variants,« says Prof. Dr. Peter Pearman, lead author of the study.

Enhanced monitoring efforts would facilitate the identification of areas favorable to genetic variants, allowing for their protection. This is crucial in maintaining the genetic diversity essential for the long-term survival of species. Additionally, some of these threatened species play vital roles in providing valuable services to humans, including crop pollination, pest control, water purification, and climate regulation.

The full study, co-authored by Prof. Dr. Elena Bužan, also a member of the European Reference Consortium Genome Atlas (ERGA), and Laura Iacolina, visiting researcher, both from the Department of Biodiversity at UP FAMNIT, can be found here. A summary of the findings is available here.

   

Friday, 26 January 2024 UP FAMNIT AT 15. INFORMATIVA 2024

UP was again present at Informativa, Slovenia's largest education and careers fair. At Ljubljana's "Gospodarsko razstavišče" exhibition centre, as last year, it brought the openness of the Mediterranean environment and approach to students, who could not only find information about studies, but also extracurricular activities or content related to student life. This time, the different areas offered by the UP members were also highlighted with signs.

On both Friday and Saturday, the "Little Secrets of Great Students" workshops were also offered - with a talk and practical examples, answering questions, students received excellent tools for their studies, regardless of their choice of faculty or field of study.

Students will also be able to find out more information about their studies at the official information days on 16 and 17 February,  where they will be able to arrive by special bus on Friday.

More information on other information events is also available on the webpage. 

Wednesday, 24 January 2024 CAPTURING THE DIGITAL FUTURE WITH SRC-EDIH

A press conference was held today at the Pretoria Palace in Koper, where speakers presented the services and personal experiences offered by the European Digital Innovation Hub SRC-EDIH project to companies and public institutions for the purpose of digitising their own work. The companies and public institutions involved in the project will receive an assessment of their existing digital developments, as well as the skills and services to use digital technologies to improve their business and production processes, products or services in the future.

Today, digital transformation is a necessary part of doing business successfully and achieving competitiveness, both in business and in the public sector. The transformation of business to digital environments requires the introduction of new technologies, changes in business processes, as well as in the culture and mindset of employees within organisations.

To support businesses and the public sector in making the change towards digital performance, the European Union has established the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) network, which includes 151 hubs in 31 EU countries, and the SRC-EDIH is one of two in Slovenia. The University of Primorska's Centre for Knowledge Development and Transfer, with its researchers from the Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, is one of the main project partners in Slovenia. The coordinator of the SRC-EDIH project in Slovenia is the Development Centre Novo mesto.

Over the next two years, SRC-EDIH will support over 100 organisations and more than 1000 employees in acquiring digital skills and competences in Slovenia. All organisations and institutions involved in the project will have access to technical and professional knowledge, over 100 different training courses and access to 11 test environments to test advanced digital technologies before investing in them. Funding advice services and access to the innovation ecosystem are also available. All project services are 80-100% subsidised.

SRC-EDIH in Slovenia consists of a consortium of 16 partner organisations and their experts, who will use their knowledge and experience in various digital technologies to promote the digital transformation of organisations in Slovenia in the coming years. The consortium is made up of the following regional development agencies, colleges and universities, municipalities, chambers of commerce and industry, and various interest groups:

  • Novo mesto Development Centre
  • Novo mesto Municipality
  • Faculty of Industrial Engineering Novo mesto
  • Faculty of Information Studies Novo mesto
  • Municipality of Ajdovščina
  • University of Primorska
  • Chamber of Commerce of Dolenjska and Bela krajina
  • Faculty of Applied Social Studies in Nova Gorica
  • Development and Information Centre Bela krajina
  • Koofr, d. o. o.
  • CadCam Lab, d. o. o. o.
  • University of Nova Gorica
  • Mikrografija, d. o. o.
  • Development Agency ROD Ajdovščina
  • Association of Employers of Slovenia
  • Association of Regional Development Agencies GIZ

The work of the Hub is supported by both the European Commission and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, which co-finance the SRC-EDIH project.

The Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, in her opening address highlighted the importance of the SRC-EDIH project for the University of Primorska and its integration into the broader social environment in the municipality, region and country.

"The SRC-EDIH project is one of the most important strategic projects for the University of Primorska in the current development period. The Republic of Slovenia has set itself the goal of being among the ten best performing EU countries as measured by the European Innovation Index. Although there has been improvement in recent years, we are still among the moderate innovators. In order to successfully realise this national strategic objective, it is important to implement measures to raise the value of individual indicators in the European Innovation Index. Among them, many address digitisation and the use of information technologies in society. We are convinced that the Republic of Slovenia, also with the help of the SRC-EDIH project, will significantly improve the above-mentioned European Innovation Index The SRC-EDIH project thus represents one of the key projects for the University of Primorska, through which the University carries out its social mission in the local and wider environment," emphasised the Rector of the University of Primorska.

Franci Bratkovič, Director of the Novo mesto Development Centre, stressed the necessity of digitisation of organisations for their future success and competitiveness. "It is rational and necessary to use the opportunities of the Hub, as it offers comprehensive support in learning about and implementing digital technologies. The first step of the digital transformation process with SRC-EDIH is to conduct a digital maturity assessment of your organisation, based on which the next steps of your digital transformation will be determined. These steps are usually the acquisition of digital competences, the testing of technologies and their subsequent integration, and the search for financial resources and partners to carry out the integration. All these steps can be carried out with the support of our Hub. Close cooperation and support from the European Commission and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are key drivers for our success and the realisation of Slovenia's digital transformation vision. While the project ends in September 2025, we expect that, based on the good results and the needs in society, the cooperation will continue beyond the end of the project," he explained. 

"As a rule of thumb, if you don't know where you are, you don't know where you are going. That we want and need to move towards ever more digitalisation is clear. And that digital transformation is going in the right direction and in the right way is a good thing, including the fact that we are comparing ourselves with others. All these are the guiding principles of the Municipality of Koper in the digital transformation of its operations," said Andrej Erzetič.

Marko Krnec, CEO of K2PACK, which is already actively involved in the SRC-EDIH project, summarised his experience of the project so far in the following assessment

"We decided to participate in the project because we have just completed our first investment in digital tools in 2023, which was co-funded by the P4D call. We wanted to see where we are strong and where we still need to work. We also wanted to see how our digital maturity compares to other companies in Slovenia and Europe. Our previous participation in the project has also helped us significantly in our change of internal work organisation, when we gave digital development an extra work boost and recruited a new person for the purpose of this work in the company," says the CEO of K2PACK.

Tuesday, 23 January 2024 Invitation to the defense of the Master’s Thesis - Urška Pobega (Nature Conservation, 2nd cycle)

On Friday, 26 January 2024, at 15:30 in the classroom Livade-FAMNIT 3, Urška Pobega, a student of the master's study program Nature Conservation, 2nd cycle, will present her Master's Thesis entitled Genetic variability and body masses of introduced European mouflon populations in Slovenia.

You are all kindly invited!

Thursday, 18 January 2024 D010001 ASSISTANT - ASSISTANT ON THE PROJECT TRANSPLANT

UP Member: UP FAMNIT

    

The employment relationship will be concluded full-time for 40 hours per week (100%), for a fixed period of 12 months, with a three-month trial period, with the possibility of extending the employment contract. The expected start date of work is April 1, 2024.

Conditions for performing work:  

  • a Master's degree in the field of Biology and Ecology (second Bologna level) or

  • higher education university education (previous) or specialization after higher education (previous),

  • active knowledge of a world language (English).

Additional functional skills required:

  • computer skills,

  • knowledge of basic computer tools (Microsoft Office, basics of GIS (basics of geographic information systems), basics of statistical data processing),

  • organization skills,

  • ability to work in a team,

  • independence,

General description of works and tasks:

  • cooperation in the implementation of domestic and international research projects, programs and tasks,

  • making statistical, chronological and bibliographic reviews and aids for own and wider use,

  • writing contributions in the field of research and professional work for publication, reports on publications and consultations for publication,

  • participation in scientific-research and professional consultations and meetings,

  • cooperation in the work of professional bodies and in joint projects and tasks,

  • performing other duties as directed by superiors.

Detailed description of tasks:

  • assistance in the organization and implementation of communication activities on the project,

  • establishing and maintaining contacts with project colleagues,

  • cooperation in publishing the results of research and professional work.

Other required conditions:

  • election to the corresponding scientific title (assistant) or fulfillment of the conditions for election to the said title at the University of Primorska,

  • category B driving test and own car,

  • preference is given to candidates with fieldwork experience and an interest in botanical subjects.

About the project:

The project TransPlant - Integral cross-border conservation of Natura 2000 plant species is aimed at the preparation of conservation guidelines and measures for three Natura 2000 plant species: Cerastium dinaricum, Arabis scopoliana and Klasea lycopifolia. These species thrive in the cross-border area between Slovenia and Croatia, and for their long-term preservation there is a need to provide common conservation strategies based on active in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures, knowledge of the distribution of the species and understanding of the impact of climate change in the future. In doing so, we will focus on knowledge of biology, population genetics and the reproductive biology of populations. We will develop the strategy in cooperation with stakeholders, i.e. users of the space and the wider public. The project, which will be led by the Natural History Museum of Rijeka, was prepared in cooperation with eight partners from Slovenia (Škocjanske Jame Regional Park, University of Primorska, Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation, Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts)  and Croatia (Natural History Museum Reka - leading partner, Istrska County, Matulji Municipality, Risnjak National Park).

Candidates can send written offers with a CV and proof of meeting the conditions to the e-mail address: vanessa.pobega@famnit.upr.si 

Application deadline: 31 January 2024  

Thursday, 18 January 2024 Erasmus+ Study Exchange: Application Procedure and First Steps

Regarding the new open call for Erasmus+ study exchanges in the academic year 2024/2025, we invite all students interested in participating in a study exchange to join us for a presentation on the application procedure and the initial steps toward the successful realization of your exchange.

As part of the meeting, we will gladly answer all questions and explain any uncertainties.

The meeting will take place via Zoom in two terms, namely:

  • on 23 January 2024, and
  • on 30 January 2024.

The meeting will be held at 1:00 PM in Slovenian, followed by a session in English at 2:00 PM.

 Both meetings will be accessible via the following  > Zoom link.

This is your chance to get answers to all your questions about Erasmus mobility!

         

Thursday, 18 January 2024 Final conference of COST Action ConservePlants

As part of the COST action CA18201 - An integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century (ConservePlants), a final conference will be held on February 12 and 13, 2024, in the Livade 1.0 building in Izola.

In addition to the review of the most important achievements of the project, a presentation of the series of science picture books »Stories about endangered plants« will be held on the afternoon of February 12. The collection was created as part of the project and the authors of all four books will be present at the event.

The exact program of the conference is available here.

The main objective of the ConservePlants campaign is to improve plant conservation in Europe by establishing a network of scientists and other stakeholders dealing with various aspects of plant conservation, from plant taxonomy, ecology, conservation genetics, conservation physiology and reproductive biology to protected area managers. It is also important not to forget social scientists, who are crucial when dealing with the general public.

The project manager is dr. Živa Fišer from the Department of Biodiversity at UP FAMNIT.

The official ConservePlants website can be accessed here.

Monday, 8 January 2024 European Commission highlights InnoRenew CoE as an example of best practice for intersectoral mobility

The European Commission published the report »Incentives and Skills: Focus on Research Talent. Mutual Learning Exercise on Knowledge Valorisation – Focus on Skills, Intersectoral Cooperation and Incentive Systems«, which is focused on how to cultivate research talents, essential for effectively harnessing knowledge.

The research institute InnoRenew CoE is presented in the section dedicated to the best practices, as it fosters a dynamic collaboration environment that promotes intersectoral mobility. One of the main topics in the report addresses also the importance of providing incentives to researchers and their teams through funding opportunities, career progression, and visibility, which are essential for advancing knowledge valorisation efforts.

Read the whole report here.

Friday, 5 January 2024 The full video of 3rd Famnits' Biological Evening is now available

The third lecture of the Famnits' Biological Evenings titled “To be stressed or not to be stressed – Antioxidants for plants and humans," was given by Anna Gasperl,  Institute of Biology, University of Graz. 

             

Antioxidants help us stay healthy and prevent damage. This may sound familiar to you. In advertisements for improving the immune system, such statements are often used. Antioxidants are chemical compounds with the power to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals can grab an electron from other molecules, which may help in cellular communication or, if they exceed a certain limit of tolerance, lead to damaged DNA, leaking cells, and other serious problems. The human body can produce some antioxidants, such as glutathione, and others need to be taken up by food. In the first part of this lecture the lecturer explained how plant antioxidants work in plants and humans. In the second part, Anna Gasperl explained how antioxidants can be detected in plant cells and how relocating antioxidants between cell compartments helps plants deal with unfavorable conditions.

About lecturer: Anna Gasperl is a plant physiologist and external lecturer at the Institute of Biology, University of Graz. She has been a university assistant in the Stress- and Cellbiology of Plants group (2018-2021). She graduated from the University of Graz in 2006 in Biodiversity and Ecology, obtained her Master’s degree in Botany in 2009, including field work in South Africa (Stellenbosch University) and completed her doctoral studies in adaptation of perennial ryegrass‘ sugar metabolism to cold and hormonal treatments in 2017, with research stays in France (University of Caen). She worked in science education for the Botanical Garden Graz, Natural History Museum Graz, Frutura Fruit and Vegetable Academy. Maria Müller and Anna Gasperl study plant stress tolerance to changes in light or water supply and pathogens (Zucchini yellow mosaic virus) and how plants physiologically adapt to unfavorable conditions. These adaptations include information exchange (signaling) and relocation of antioxidants between cell compartments.