Associate membership agreement between the University of Ljubljana and the Institute of Oncology

The inclusion of the Institute of Oncology among the associate member institutions of the University of Ljubljana will help raise the quality of academic work at the University of Ljubljana, strengthen top-level research at both institutions and further improve the transfer of knowledge and innovations to patients. The two institutions will enhance and strengthen their existing cooperation, above all in the areas of research and educational activities in medicine, dental medicine, nursing, pharmacy and other fields taught at the University of Ljubljana; the transfer of knowledge into clinical practice; and the publication of specialised and scholarly literature.

According to Professor Dr Gregor Majdič, the signing of this associate membership agreement between the University of Ljubljana and the Institute of Oncology represents a significant enhancement and formalisation of what is already a good relationship and, at the same time, stands as part of broader efforts to regulate the status of research-driven medicine. “Research-driven medicine has been neglected in recent years, but without it there is no good healthcare. If we neglect the development of medicine, Slovenia will start to lag behind other developed countries in terms of top-level healthcare, to the detriment of patients.”

He added that in Slovenia, which also has limited research and educational capacities owing to its small size, it is all the more important for academic institutions to cooperate rather than compete with each other. “For this reason, in addition to today’s agreement between the University of Ljubljana and the Institute of Oncology, we are already finalising agreements on closer cooperation in the health field with the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana and some regional hospitals, with the aim of establishing a broad network that will enable further development in the medical field for the good of patients. The signing of this associate membership agreement will undoubtedly encourage even closer cooperation between the University of Ljubljana and the Institute of Oncology in both education and research, while perhaps the most important aspect of this cooperation is that it will enable a more rapid transfer of knowledge from laboratories into clinical practice, in this way further improving the already excellent medical care available to cancer patients.”

“The association of the Institute of Oncology with the University of Ljubljana strengthens our existing cooperation and opens up new opportunities for even closer connections in education and research. I believe that by combining the top-level specialised knowledge of our two institutions, we will achieve even better results that will contribute to the advance of medical science and an improvement in care for cancer patients. This is an important step towards enhancing our mission of gaining new knowledge and transferring it into clinical practice. Associate membership of the University of Ljubljana enables a multidisciplinary approach that increases opportunities for scientific progress and the improvement of patient care,” said Zlata Štiblar Kisić, Director of the Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana.

“We are working hard to obtain European accreditation as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre, a process that requires major steps forward in the area of innovations and the transfer of technologies into practice. I firmly believe that this associate member status will be a key part of achieving these aims and that together we will serve our patients even better, in this way contributing to the greater well-being of society,” she added.

 Coordination of the cooperation and activities of the Institute of Oncology as an associate member institution of the University of Ljubljana will be conducted on the behalf of the University of Ljubljana by the UL Faculty of Medicine.