Athletes at the School of Engineering and Management

Testimonial of Alan Komel, professional volleyball player and graduate of the School of Engineering and Management

My name’s Alan Komel and I’m a professional volleyball player. I’ve been practising this sport for many, about seventeen, years and I’ve won the Slovenia Cup and the Slovene national championships numerous times. I was also a member of the Slovene national voleyball team for about ten years. Now I’ve been playing abroad for seven years, I’m currently playing in Israel. Here, I’ve won the national championships with my team for the third time, and the end of the season, the month of May namely, will hopefully bring us the fourth title of a champion.

I had to adjust the course of my sports career to the needs of my family and to the study requirements, which was quite demanding. However, I must say that the School of Engineering and Manegement offered me a great deal of help during my study period. When I moved abroad I fell a bit behind with my studies, but with the help of the professors I managed to graduate.

The main problem that I encountered during my studies was my inability to attend lectures and practical sessions and I wouldn’t have managed to catch up if the the professors hadn’t shown so much understanding. They held extra sessions for me, they provided me with the study materials via e-mail and organised consultations outside office hours for me. Whenever I e-mailed my professors, they were always available, even at unusual times of day. I must also say that as a student I always felt very good, as I wasn’t treated merely as number, but rather as a person. And this individual approach, which is not used that often by other universities, gave me the courage and the will to, in spite of my falling behind with the studies, graduate. With the help of my thesis mentor, the lecturer Tomica Dumančič, I was preparing my diploma thesis mainly abroad and the School allowed me to defend my thesis in altered circumstances. I’m really happy that I managed to complete my studies, but must admit that without the School’s help things could have turned the other way.

Translated by: Veronika Piccinini, May 2015

Road cycling and studies successfully combined by 1st-year student of the 1st-level programme Engineering and Management, Urška Kalan

I am a bicycle racer and a member of the professional national team in road bicycle racing, a multiple-time winner of national championships in road bicycle racing and in individual time trial. I have set high priorities in my life and sport plays an important role in my life, so after completing secondary grammar school I faced the dilema whether to go to university or continue with my professional sports career in cycle sport. Our School helped me a great deal to take the right decision – although I often cannot attend my classes, I have been able to manage both my studies and my sports career. We are a small university, so we know each other and we are like a family. I would personally recommend studying at this university, especially to athletes, who, like bicycle racers, often depend on climate conditions. And these conditions are excellent here, even in winter. As I said, most of the problems that I face are related to my absence from the lectures, but since virtual classrooms on the Moodle platform were introduced, I have been able to download all my study materials when I am away and catch up with my studies in that way. Our professors are really understanding and highly motivated for their work, so they are always ready to offer extra help in explaining the study matter and they are prompt in answering our emails. So I always enjoy coming to lectures, despite my busy schedule, as all university staff have such a positive attitude and are always ready to offer help.

Translated by: Veronika Piccinini, May 2015