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Was Australia Wetter Than Slovenia?
The world-renowned tall limestone pinnacles in the Pinnacle Desert, located in Australia’s Nambung National Park, are approximately 100,000 years old. At that time, Australia was even wetter than Slovenia. This surprising finding was discovered by scientists using an innovative method, including Prof. Dr. Andrej Šmuc and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleš Šoster from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, and Dr. Matej Lipar and Dr. Mateja Ferk from the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU).
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Slovenian primary school students without mandatory computer science in the digital age
Slovenian primary school students achieve below-average results in creative thinking compared to their peers from other countries. Although their achievements in mathematics and science are above average, a noticeable gap exists in reading literacy. Girls perform as well as boys in mathematics, slightly better in science, and significantly better in reading.
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Lecture by Nobel prize laureate Prof. Dr Anton Zeilinger at the UL Faculty of mathematics and physics
The Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Dr Anton Zeilinger visited the Quantum Optics and Quantum Foundations Laboratory at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana (UL FMF), where he delivered a lecture entitled Quantum Entanglement, Fundamentals and Experiments.
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A completely new concept for harnessing waste heat and solar energy
Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, led by Assistant Professor Dr. Primož Poredoš, in collaboration with researchers from the ITEWA Innovation Team at Shanghai University, have developed a new concept for utilizing ultra-low temperature (waste) heat by simultaneously introducing solar energy and low-temperature heat into the system. They are the first in the world to present an entirely new concept for producing distilled water from saline, untreated water using thermally driven membrane distillation (MD).
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Biotechnical Faculty UL Secures up to 2.5 Million in European Funding for the ERA Chair - Foodomics Project
The Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana (UL BF) has successfully obtained 2.5 million euros through the Horizon Europe research and innovation program for the ERA Chair project titled "Chair of Metabolomics in Food and Nutrition (Foodomics)." This project will establish a new interdisciplinary Center for Metabolomics.
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In Slovenia, the majority of employees from third countries have vocational or secondary education
In Bulgaria and Slovenia, 80% of companies employed workers from third countries, while in Croatia and Slovakia, two-thirds of companies did so, and in Hungary only one-third. The most educated foreign workers were employed by companies in Bulgaria and Hungary, where over 40% of foreign workers held a university degree. On the other hand, three-quarters of foreign employees in Croatian companies had only primary or vocational education, while in Slovenia and Slovakia, this figure was around 60%.
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SLOfit research team receives a 2024 European Innovative Teaching Award
In September the SLOfit research team at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Sport received a 2024 European Innovative Teaching Award, together with the University of Tartu, the University of Vilnius and Vytautas Magnus University, for their Enjoyable MVPA Erasmus+ project.
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Start of the UNI.MINDS science and innovation festival
The fifth UNI.MINDS Festival is taking place as part of Science Month. Its aim is to promote innovation and partnership between academia and business in Slovenia and the wider region. During the festival, which takes place from 14 to 22 October, faculties and enterprises will open their doors to the public, present their groundbreaking innovations, and outline the opportunities that exist for bringing universities and business together. The festival will conclude with the presentation of the Rector’s Award for Best Innovation at the University of Ljubljana by Rector Gregor Majdič.
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Questioning the standardized cavitation erosion test
Mechanical engineers often rely on standardized procedures when testing materials. Since the standardized cavitation erosion test ASTM G32 has repeatedly been shown to be inaccurate in the past, researchers at the Laboratory for Water and Turbine Machines (LVTS) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, have closely examined it and uncovered its shortcomings.
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Ethical Artificial Intelligence for Access to Justice
In the past decade, and especially with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, online dispute resolution (ODR) systems have grown rapidly, particularly in resolving consumer disputes arising from the e-commerce sector. These systems offer a cost-effective, faster, and convenient alternative to traditional court proceedings. However, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into ODR has raised significant ethical concerns, particularly around accessibility, accountability, and fairness.
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Improving the Quality of Life in Arid Areas with a System for Generating Electricity and Fresh Water
In parts of the world where water is increasingly scarce, it is crucial to establish effective and sustainable systems for energy and water supply. The interdisciplinary project PV-W2WFresh is changing the way we think about solar energy and water scarcity, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 and 7) by promoting clean energy and water availability in rural and underserved regions. This cutting-edge research combines concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology with an innovative evaporation desalination process, creating a system that not only generates electricity but also provides a continuous source of clean drinking water.
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New methods for removing algae from drinking water
How to remove algae from drinking water? Since traditional methods, such as coagulation and sedimentation, are usually ineffective, Prof. Dr. Matevž Dular from the Laboratory for Water and Turbine Machines (LVTS) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, together with colleagues from Yangzhou University, sought a solution in the use of ultrasound and advanced carbon-based materials.
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How to Reduce Drop-out Rates in Music Schools?
What factors contribute to music school drop-out, and which impact it most significantly? What creates an optimal supportive environment for a child to persist in music school? Researchers from the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Music: Dr. Ana Kavčič Pucihar, Dr. Katarina Habe, Dr. Branka Rotar Pance, and from the University of Maribor, Faculty of Education, Dr. Maruša Laure, addressed these topics in their paper "The key reasons for dropout in Slovenian music schools - a qualitative study," published in the Frontiers in Psychology (2024).
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Wild animals are a good indicator of environmental pollution
Wild animals are a good indicator of environmental pollution that affects the entire ecosystem. Therefore, the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and the Biotechnical Faculty, has decided to conduct a study to examine the amount of toxicants in the tissues of certain animal species in Slovenia.
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UNI.MINDS Festival 2024 is here!
Join us at this year's UNI.MINDS, Slovenia's largest festival for building innovation community, which will take place from 14-22 October 2024.
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Comprehensive Overview of Plasma Electrolytic Polishing
Additive technologies are increasingly used for the production of metal components as they allow for efficient shape customization in a short time and with reduced material consumption. However, the lower surface quality of printed parts limits their direct industrial use. The growing demand for post-processing of metal parts produced by additive technologies highlights the potential of PeP technology as an environmentally friendly and efficient polishing method.
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Developing sustainability communication is the key to a better future
Sustainability communication is becoming increasingly important in addressing pressing environmental and social issues. If done effectively, it can contribute to the faster adoption of sustainable practices and the improvement of public awareness. In doing so, it should not only focus on avoiding greenwashing but also on how to effectively engage stakeholders in complex sustainability challenges.
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Sustainable Use of Soil with E-MOTIKA
Tillage machines are a necessity in agriculture, but they compact the soil and do not allow smaller farmers and growers to till and weed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana, together with project partners on the Accelerated Vegetable Hoeing project - "MOTIKA," addressed this challenge by developing a hoeing machine specifically for smaller farmers and crop growers.
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LIFE Lynx project - preventing the extinction of the lynx in the Dinaric Mountains and the South-Eastern Alps
How to save the Eurasian lynx population in the Dinarides and the South-Eastern Alps from extinction again? This is the challenge that the LIFE Lynx project, in which the Biotechnical Faculty of UL participated as a partner, has successfully tackled. Before the start of the project, there were 20 adult lynx in Slovenia, which were threatened by inbreeding. A total of 14 animals were introduced from the Romanian and Slovakian Carpatian Mountains, 9 of them in Slovenia and 5 in the Croatian Dinaric Mountains. This not only saved the population, but also set an example of good practice for all future attempts to reintroduce lynx or similar large carnivore species in Europe.
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Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Successful in MSCA Doctoral Networks Call
The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, has been successful in the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks call with the project UPCYCLE – Dissemination of Advanced Conversion Routes for Hard-to-Recycle Biogenic Waste. As part of the project, 15 doctoral candidates will be trained, three of whom will be based in Slovenia. The project is coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, with UL FS participating as a partner.
