Monday, 21 July 2025 PUŠ call - students investigated modern methods for mitigating the damage caused by wild boars to agricultural land

As part of this year’s PUŠ call (Problem-Based Learning for Students in the Work Environment),students investigated modern methods for mitigating the damage caused by wild boars to agricultural land. The PUŠ public call for the Work Environment from 2024 to 2027 was published by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and is co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus.

The purpose of this call is to engage students in project-based activities that help them acquire both general and profession-specific competencies, facilitating their transition to the labour market. This initiative aims to strengthen collaboration, networking, and the transfer of knowledge between the higher education system and the working environment.

Our students participated actively in all phases of the project, ranging from fieldwork and laboratory analyses to developing bioinformatics software pipelines. At Eurofins Environment Testing and Research, the company involved in the project, students conducted various analyses, gained practical work experience, and had hands-on practice in an accredited laboratory. Regular group meetings were held where students discussed their ongoing work and potential challenges. The findings were also presented to the broader scientific and research community at the 14th European Vertebrate Management Conference (EVMC).

Additionally, students showcased their results publicly at the Faculty of Environmental Protection in Velenje and the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Information Technologies.

To highlight their project activities, the students prepared a short video and created a collage of their work.