UP, Fakulteta za management - AGRIGEP: On-site monitoring and mentoring visit

Between Wednesday, February 28, and Friday, March 1, 2024, three female professors from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in Barcelona – Dr. Marta Peña, Dr. Amaia Lusa Garcia, and Dr. Rosó Baltà Salvador – carried out an on-site monitoring and mentoring visit to the University of Primorska (UP) and UP FM within the AGRIGEP Horizons project. The focus of the visit was on monitoring and mentoring regarding institutional changes for gender equality and the Gender Equality Plan.

On the morning of Thursday, February 29, 2024, there was a meeting with the representative of the student council at UP FM and with the core team of the AGRIGEP project at UP FM. The content of the conversation and discussion was about the state of implementation of the Gender Equality Plan.

In the following, Dr. Marta Peña held an open lecture on Gender and Teaching - Integrating the goal of sustainable development on gender equality into teaching – for teachers/professors, researchers, and administrative staff and students at all three levels of study: undergraduate, master's and doctoral students. This was followed by interesting discussions on the presented topic.

Special interest was stimulated by the second lecture in the afternoon, which was held by Dr. Rosó Baltà Salvador on Gender and Research – The gender dimension in projects and funding opportunities in the field of gender, which was intended for researchers, students, and other interested participants. Emphasis was placed on formal and substantive requirements, which are important in the application and implementation of EU Horizon projects in particular, as the implementation of the Gender Equality Plan is one of the criteria for application and implementation of EU Horizon projects.

The day's activities were concluded with a meeting with the rector of UP Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, who emphasized the importance of the visit for UP and its internationalization, as well as UP's project activities within the framework of the Horizon and T4E alliance of universities, of which UP is a member. The afternoon part of the program and the meeting with the rector was also attended by the vice-dean for research and internationalization at UP FM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ana Grdović Gnip.

The last day of the visit, on Friday, March 1, 2024, began with a meeting with the vice dean for quality at UP FM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Armand Faganel. It continued with meetings and training of UP FM team members. Prof. Dr. Amaia Lusa Garcia presented in detail the evolution and practical experiences in the introduction and implementation and achievements of the Gender Equality in Education Plan at the UPC in Barcelona. The afternoon meeting continued with a meeting with the long-time president and current vice-president of the trade unions at UP, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elizabeta Zirnstein, who pointed to the greater possibilities that trade unions and stakeholders, or various direct and intermediary stakeholders, can play in this area. The visit ended with a meeting with the leader of the UP AGRIGEP project team, Prof. Dr. Štefan Bojnec. There was also talk about the summer school within the AGRIGEP project, which will be organized in the second half of June in Barcelona, and the annual conference of the AGRIGEP project in the second half of November 2024, which will be organized at UP FM in Koper.