Alumni meeting of the University of Nova Gorica

Prof. Dr. Boštjan Golob, Rector of the University of Nova Gorica, addressed those who were present at the meeting, emphasising the various ways in which the University acts as an open university, and its excellence; as he said, » it is these with which we describe our University«.

»What does being open as a university actually mean? Openness has many faces. We may talk about being open to the students of our University. My view is that it means some kind of interaction among colleagues and among the University's alumni, in the sense of the flow of information. It is nice that you hear something about the University, and it is also nice that we hear something from you, what kind of views you have. Meetings like this one contribute to this, and we aim to continue taking care of them in the future as well«, Prof. Dr. Golob described one of the forms of the University's openness.

»We may also talk about openness towards the economic subjects in the local and wider environment«, professor Golob emphasised in his speech. »In this sense, the University of Nova Gorica is undoubtedly open. One of these faces of openness is shown in these times, as we prepare a catalogue of the equipment and knowledge of the University of Nova Gorica for those who might be interested from the external environment. In the catalogue, we aim to collect the equipment as well as all forms of knowledge which we are capable of offering to the external users«.

»Last but not least, we may also talk about geographical openness. Here we try, within the 2025 European city of culture as well, to strengthen our presence in Nova Gorica, near the border, and across the border, by strengthening our activities in this field«, Prof. Dr. Golob described one more of the forms of openness of the University of Nova Gorica.

In the second part of his speech, Prof. Dr. Golob focused on excellence. »We need to be aware that if we want to be excellent in any field, what is needed is infrastructure. The University has been trying for decades to renew its infrastructure. I have to say that, over the past year, we have made some important steps, in the sense of improving our infrastructure in the municipality of Nova Gorica, municipality of Ajdovščina and municipality of Vipava. There have been some ideas related to this issue, and talks have been going on. But these issues cannot be solved quickly, there are many obstacles which cannot be solved overnight. But I think that the strategic decision of the University to renew its infrastructure, in all the mentioned municipalities, is clearly defined«.

»Then there is the excellence of our higher education teaching. This can be seen in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most important one is that, in essence, you yourselves are a face of our excellence. That is, the alumni of our University, who represent the way in which the University was successful in the time when it was passing over knowledge to you and, of course, you now use this knowledge on your professional paths. And by being successful you, at the same time, show our University's success«.

In his speech, Prof. Dr. Golob also briefly described the long support of the Foundation of the University of Nova Gorica in the development and activities of the University of Nova Gorica: »The Foundation supports the University by providing real estates for the purpose of research as well as by offering accommodation opportunities for our students. We should also mention scholarships and financial support that the Foundation offers to our students. I am pleased to say that the number of the Foundation's donators increases nicely each year. This year, a new gold donator will be added to the existing gold donators«.

In the end, Prof. Dr. Golob, the Rector of the University, talked about two extraordinary achievements of the University over the past two years. »The first relates to the fact that, as coordinators, we have obtained a big European project, with a total amount of financing of some ten million euros. It is a project which will use the possibilities of artificial intelligence in versatile fields of science, from humanities to astrophysics«.

»The other great success is undoubtedly that, by being a member of an international network of universities, to which eight universities from the whole of Europe also belong, we have gained the status of the so called European university. This is a new direction in the development of higher education in Europe. This international association is interesting because it brings together the universities in the border regions«.

The meeting, which hosted about one hundred former students and their mentors, was spent in an informal socialising, with an opportunity to establish contacts and revive the memories of the student years. The music at the meeting was arranged by Samo Hude Trio.

Andreja Leban, Public Relations