University of Nova Gorica (UNG) is a relatively young and dynamic research university in the Republic of Slovenia, located in the picturesque Vipava valley, a well-known Slovenian wine growing region. In the last three decades, the institution evolved from a single Faculty of Environmental Sciences into a full-grown university with six faculties and an academy, and ten research laboratories and centers with accredited study programs by the national accreditation agency (member of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education). “Our main goals are further to increase of the scientific excellence of our research groups, increase of our student numbers, and improved quality and attractiveness of our carefully selected study programs” explained Prof. Dr. Bostjan Golob, the Rector. “On more general grounds, we believe that by joining human resources and infrastructure potential of the Slovenian higher education and research institutions we may offer an extremely beneficial environment to scholars and students from around the world” he added.
The University already has established contacts and several fruitful collaborations with Israeli research institutions. “Our Laboratory for Environmental and Life Sciences fosters collaboration with two of the major scientific institutions in Israel: the Weizmann Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Moreover, the Weizmann Institute is an associated partner in a large 10 million EUR project called ‘SMASH’, which is co-founded by the European Commission and coordinated by our university” said the Rector. In addition, the University’s Wine Research Centre started a collaboration with Ben-Gurion University of Negev, later extended to the research areas of UNG’s Materials Research Laboratory. “Considering the existing fruitful collaboration, it is of no surprise that we are seeking further opportunities for our strategic goal to become one of the most excellent research institutions in the area, taking into account our university’s limited size” assured Prof. Dr Golob.
“We are certain that further collaboration with Israeli partners is a way to achieve this. We also believe that with the expertise of the University of Nova Gorica in specific fields, and its integration into the European research and higher education networks, we can offer Israeli institutions a valuable collaboration that will benefit the students and result in improved scientific output” he concluded.
For details of study programs and research activities visit: ung.si/en/