25. slavnostna podelitev diplom in in priznanj 2023/25th Graduation Ceremony of the Faculty of Management of the University of Primorska

The 25th Graduation Ceremony occurred today, April 13, 2023, at the UP Faculty of Management. Once again, it was held in the pleasant premises of our faculty, where the graduates were able to receive their diplomas in a fitting manner, and the accompanying persons were able to enjoy this important moment for their loved ones. The diplomas of the graduates and the awards to this year's recipients were presented by the Dean of the Faculty of Management of the University of Primorska, Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat, and the Vice-Rector for Economics and Finance of the University of Primorska, Prof. Rok Strašek also addressed the audience.

A graduation ceremony is an important event for graduates, celebrating their efforts and achievements in education. Preparing for this occasion involves a lot of work, effort, and sacrifice, and graduates can be proud of their success.

Between January 1st and December 31, 2022, 122 students graduated, including 83 Bachelor's and 34 Master's students and 5 PhDs.

This year, we also handed out awards to the best, most successful and most deserving students, graduates, higher education teachers, researchers, and collaborators of the Faculty.

The award for the best final thesis went to Tadej Gomač, a graduate of the Professional Bachelor in Management, for his final thesis entitled »Poznavanje neobank v Sloveniji«. The award was also granted to his mentor, Assoc. Prof. Suzana Laporšek.

The award for the best bachelor thesis went to Anise Lea Dolar, from the Academic Bachelor in Management, for her diploma thesis entitled  »Promocija zdravja v izbrani organizaciji«. The award was also granted to the mentor, Prof. Mirko Markič.

The award for the best Master's thesis went to Matic Pečnik, a graduate of the second cycle Master's degree programme in Law for Management, for his Master's thesis entitled »Stečajni postopki podjetij: pregled po gospodarskih panogah«. The award was also granted to the mentor Assoc. Prof. Matjaž Nahtigal.

The award for the best doctoral dissertation went to Tanja Planinc, a graduate of the third-level doctoral study programme in Management, for her doctoral thesis entitled »Model spremljanja učinkovitosti in uspešnosti malih in srednje velikih podjetij v prehrambnem gostinstvu«. The award was also granted to the mentor Prof. Doris Gomezelj Omerzel.

The following students were awarded for their academic achievements:

• Meliha Handanagić - the highest average grade in the Professional Bachelor programme Management;
• Anastasia Dziuba - the highest average grade in the Academic Bachelor in Management;
• Ivan Ivanov - the highest average grade in the Academic Bachelor in Management;
• Nikita Rendulić - highest average grade in the Master's degree programme in Economics and Finance.

The award in the field of extra-study activities went to the President of the Student Council, Alen Mujkić.

The award for teachers and collaborators for achievements in the field of education was presented to Assoc. Prof. Armand Faganel.

Associate Prof. Armand Faganel is a teacher of higher education with many years of experience. His extensive professional experience enables him to continuously intertwine practice and science. He is extremely dedicated to his teaching work, as evidenced by his excellent scores in student surveys. As a mentor, he is also extremely popular with students. He has supervised 35 master's theses and 441 bachelor's theses. He also regularly incorporates the skills he has acquired as a quality auditor in higher education into his work. In this respect, he is active both in Slovenia and internationally. He also complements his teaching work with numerous guest lectures at foreign universities. In 2022, he also assumed the position of Vice Dean for Quality at the Faculty of Management.

The award for teachers and colleagues in the field of tutoring was presented to pred. Matevž Malej.

Pred. Matevž Malej has been tutoring students in higher education for many years. He has an outstanding commitment to students, which is demonstrated by the number of hours he devotes to his tutoring work. He is always ready to further explain the content of his lectures to students and thus contribute to a better understanding. Students know him as a dedicated teacher who is always accessible to students.

The award for the contribution to quality improvement in the field of organisation was presented to Marisol Pribac.

Marisol Pribac is a long-term colleague in the Student Affairs Office. For many years she has been taking care of foreign students, both those who come to our Faculty as full-time students and those who come to us on exchange. She is conscientious and meticulous in her work. She is very familiar with all the information systems we use to monitor foreign students, even to the extent of offering her assistance to other UP staff members. She is fully committed to the students coming from abroad and is able to advise them in areas not directly related to their studies. Students and colleagues know that they can always rely on her.

The Employee Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of the Faculty was awarded to Assoc. Prof. Suzana Laporšek.

Assoc. Prof. Suzana Laporšek has shown through her work and activities carried out in the framework of her work at the Faculty that she has made an outstanding contribution to the development of the Faculty's activities. She is active as Head of the Department of Finance, trains young researchers, applies for research projects, coordinates tutors, is the engine of the MIC scientific conference, and is Programme Director of the Economics and Finance study programme. She takes every task with the utmost seriousness and responsibility and fulfils it in an excellent manner. She enhances the reputation of the Faculty through her activities in the Slovenian and international academic arena.

The award for teachers and colleagues for achievements in research was awarded to Assist. Prof. Andreja Pegan.

In 2022, researcher Assist. prof. Andreja Pegan demonstrated the highest quality of scientific production. The researcher has published two articles in journals that are ranked in important positions within their scientific disciplines. The journal Public Management Review is ranked 7th out of 177 SSCI journals in the field of public administration, and the Journal of European Integration (Revue d'intégration européenne) is ranked 56th out of 597 SSCI journals in political science.

The award for teachers and external collaborators of the UP Faculty of Management was presented to Prof. Borut Bratina.

Prof. Borut Bratina is a Doctor of Laws and Full Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Maribor. He is the Head of the Chair of Economic Law and the Head of the Institute of Economic Law at the Faculty of Economics and Business. He is the author and co-author of several scientific and professional monographs, and has published professional and scientific articles in leading Slovenian legal and business journals and renowned international journals. He is an active member of the Association of Members of Supervisory Boards, where he is a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Examination Board for the Association's certification. In 2022, he accepted an invitation to take over the delivery of some courses at the Law Department of UPFM, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of delivery in the field of legal sciences at our Faculty.

The award for the teachers and staff members who received the highest scores in the student survey was awarded to Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat.

In the academic year 2021/2022, students gave the highest rating to Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat, who received an average rating of 5.65. In spite of the many responsibilities of the deanship, Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat, who took over the deanship in 2022, still maintained quality contact with the students, which was rewarded with a high rating from the students. The high esteem in which she is held in her teaching work is also demonstrated by the fact that she has been invited to lecture at other UP members in 2022/2023. Assoc. Prof. Tatjana Horvat is habilitated in the field of accounting and auditing, which is considered a challenging field for students, and therefore such an evaluation by students carries particular weight.

You can see some of the highlights in the gallery above. More photos will be available soon.