Prof. Dr Matej Černe from UL EF named Mentor of the Year 2024

Upon receiving the award, Prof. Dr Černe stated that the recognition affirms the relationship he strives to build with young researchers: “For me, mentoring is not just academic guidance, but a co-creative partnership based on trust, encouragement and shared enthusiasm for research. I am grateful to my doctoral students for the trust they have placed in me, and to my colleagues at the Faculty for the supportive environment.”

Finalist awards were also presented to Prof. Dr Janez Žibert (UL Faculty of Health Sciences), Assistant Prof. Dr Lea Rems (UL Faculty of Electrical Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Rok Gašperšič (UL Faculty of Medicine), and Assistant Prof. Dr Jerneja Ambrožič Avguštin (UL Biotechnical Faculty).

We extend our congratulations to Prof. Dr Černe, as well as the other nominated mentors and the finalist award recipients.

The Mentor of the Year Award aims to promote quality mentorship and good mentoring practices, and to give credit to individual outstanding mentors. The Young Academy of Slovenia society, which presents the awards annually with the support of the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, is working to establish this recognition as a permanent fixture in the Slovenian research landscape.

The selection committee was composed of:

• Dr Jure Mravlje, Chairman (natural sciences, biotechnics)
• Dr Alja Čontala, Member (natural sciences, engineering)
• Dr Rok Novak, Member (natural sciences, engineering)
• Tanja Paneva, Member (social sciences)
• Barbara Švagan, Member (social sciences, humanities)

The following evaluators participated in the first round: Dr Amela Kujović (natural sciences, biomedicine), Ena Begić (biomedicine), Zala Brajnik Kovačič (natural sciences, biotechnics), Barbara Zagorc (social sciences, humanities), and Dr Marko Drobnjak (social sciences, humanities).

This year, the Young Academy received 94 entries for Mentor of the Year 2025, with 83 in Slovenian and 11 in English. A total of 75 different mentors were nominated, with two of them receiving five nominations each. The University of Ljubljana has the highest number of nominated mentors (68%), followed by the University of Maribor (13%). The full list of nominated mentors is available here.