Slovenia - University of Maribor

The University of Maribor (UM) is the second largest Slovenian public university with more than 20.000 students and around 1.000 of academic staff. It is striving for excellence in education and increase of knowledge with the help of applicative and basic research. UM is carrying out study programmes at all levels, undergraduate, postgraduate, and the PhD level. Internationalization plays an important role; UM encourages student and staff mobility and active participation in international associations, networks and projects. The university staff and students are involved in many national and international research and applicative projects, working on basic research and applications for industry and knowledge exchange with the society in general. UM also promotes sustainability in development and lifelong learning.

The Faculty of Education (short info) develops study programmes for teachers at different levels and engages in scientific research in pedagogy and education related areas. International cooperation includes short-term mobility (mainly Erasmus, but also Norway Grant Mechanism and CEEPUS) and long-term collaboration through European projects (European Social Fund, Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships, Credit Mobility, Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education). In the last 5 years, the Faculty of Education has participated in a number of national, international end EU projects, in various fields: innovation of the high education institutions, harmonization of curricula for pre-school teachers, development of the study programmes for young foreign language learners, ICT education development, establishment of the centre for open innovations etc.

The University of Maribor Faculty of Education is situated in Maribor that has a pleasant location at the crossroads of an important European path leading from the west to the east and to the south of Europe (geographical position). It is located only 11 km from the Austrian border. It is surrounded by the green forests of Pohorje, a sunny wine-growing region and the Drava River that runs through the city (aerial footage of Maribor). Maribor has rich historic and cultural roots, reaching back to the Middle Ages. The top culinary selection and several festivals continue to bring joy to the city. We have a rich wine tradition, the oldest vine in the world (old vine), which is found in the city centre, as well as the wine roads in the surroundings.

Contacts:

- prof. dr. Alenka Lipovec (alenka.lipovec@um.si), Vice-Dean for Science, Research, International Cooperation and Development

- Jelena Krivograd (jelena.krivograd@um.si), Head of the Science Institute.