V sredo, 12. februarja 2025, je ASEF v Prešernovi dvorani Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU) organizirala sprejem in predstavitev novih štipendistk in štipendistov programa ASEF 2025. Na dogodku so se zbrali ugledni gostje, med njimi prof. dr. Igor Papič, minister za visoko šolstvo, znanost in inovacije, prof. dr. Gregor Majdič, rektor Univerze v Ljubljani, in dr. Rok Sekirnik, direktor Inštituta ASEF.

Ob začetku dogodka so gostje prisluhnili nagovorom, v katerih so poudarili pomen podpore mladim raziskovalcem in raziskovalkam ter možnosti, ki jih prinaša sodelovanje med ASEF-om, slovenskimi akademskimi ustanovami in svetovnimi raziskovalnimi institucijami. Minister za visoko šolstvo, znanost in inovacije, prof. dr. Igor Papič, je ob tem poudaril:

“Visokošolsko izobraževanje, znanost in raziskave se lahko razvijajo le skozi mednarodno sodelovanje, zato je prav, da imajo slovenske študentke in študenti priložnost pridobivanja mednarodnih izkušenj. Pri tem ugotovijo, da imajo veliko znanja, da je slovensko visokošolsko izobraževanje visoko kakovostno in mednarodno primerljivo. Tisti, ki se vrnejo nazaj v Slovenijo, so obogateni s to mednarodno izkušnjo, tisti pa, ki se odločijo, da ostanejo v tujini, utrjujejo mednarodni ugled Slovenije. Dokaz tega so mentorice in mentorji v programu ASEF. Gre za Slovenke in Slovence, ki delujejo na uglednih tujih univerzah, uživajo mednarodni ugled, hkrati pa ostajajo tesno povezani s Slovenijo.”

Program dogodka je obsegal tudi predstavitev štipendijskega programa ASEF ‘Raziskovanje v tujini’, katerega cilj je omogočiti mladim raziskovalcem iz Slovenije izkušnje na najboljših svetovnih univerzah in raziskovalnih inštitutih. O tem so spregovorili izr. prof. dr. Andrej Košmrlj, vodja štipendijskih programov ASEF, in asist. Luka Petravić, dr. med., štipendist ASEF 2023, ki je raziskovalni obisk opravljal na Univerzi v Chicagu.

Osrednji dogodek je bila predstavitev novih štipendistov ASEF 2025, ki bodo v prihodnjih mesecih raziskovali na prestižnih raziskovalnih ustanovah po svetu. Letošnji štipendisti prihajajo z različnih področij, vključno z biokemijo, računalništvom, fiziko, kemijskim inženirstvom in slovenistiko. Štipendisti bodo ne le nadgrajevali svoje znanje, ampak tudi prispevali k prepoznavnosti slovenskega raziskovalnega potenciala v svetu.

Štipendisti ASEF 2025 in njihovi mentorji:

• Zara Bunc – mentor: prof. dr. Dimitri Krainc (Univerza Northwestern)
• Marko Fišer – mentorica: prof. dr. Alenka Poplin (Državna univerza Iowa)
• Gal Gantar – mentorica: prof. dr. Dawn Song (Univerza v Kaliforniji, Berkeley)
• Valter Hudovernik & Mark Žnidar – mentor: prof. dr. Jure Leskovec (Univerza Stanford)
• Martin Jazbec – mentorica: dr. Kaja Antlej (Univerza Deakin)
• Tomaž Jurkovič – mentor: prof. dr. Andrej Košmrlj (Univerza Princeton)
• Maša Karčovnik in Teja Pelko – mentor: prof. dr. Boštjan Kobe (Univerza v Queenslandu)
• Tina Košuta – mentor: prof. dr. Gregor Gorjanc (Univerza v Edinburghu)
• Nikiša Plešec in Luka Jože Pušlar – mentor: prof. dr. Jure Zupan (Univerza v Cincinnatiju)
• Hana Podjed in Tara Miler – mentor: prof. dr. Peter Verovšek
• Duška Stopar – mentorica: prof. dr. Janina Golob Deeb
• Polona Zabret – mentor: prof. dr. Matevž Rašković (Tehnološka univerza v Aucklandu)

Dogodek je želel spomniti, kako pomembno je podpirati mlade slovenske raziskovalke in raziskovalce in omogočiti njihov razvoj ter povezovanje z najboljšimi raziskovalnimi institucijami po svetu. ASEF še naprej ostaja akademski most med Slovenijo in svetom, saj spodbuja izjemne mlade talente k prispevku k razvoju znanosti in družbe na globalni ravni.

On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, ASEF organized a reception and presentation of the new ASEF 2025 fellowship holders in the Prešeren Hall of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU). The event was attended by distinguished guests, including Prof. Dr. Igor Papič, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. Dr. Gregor Majdič, Rector of the University of Ljubljana, and Dr. Rok Sekirnik, Director of the ASEF Institute.

At the beginning of the event, guests listened to speeches that emphasized the importance of supporting young researchers and the opportunities brought by cooperation between ASEF, Slovenian academic institutions and global research institutions. The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. Dr. Igor Papič, emphasized:

“Higher education, science and research can only develop through international cooperation, so it is right that Slovenian students have the opportunity to gain international experience. In doing so, they find that they have a lot of knowledge, that Slovenian higher education is of high quality and internationally comparable. Those who return to Slovenia are enriched by this international experience, while those who decide to stay abroad strengthen Slovenia’s international reputation. The mentors in the ASEF program are proof of this. These are Slovenians who work at reputable foreign universities, enjoy an international reputation, while at the same time remain closely connected to Slovenia.”

The event program also included a presentation of the ASEF scholarship program ‘Research Abroad’, which aims to provide young researchers from Slovenia with experience at the world’s best universities and research institutes. This was discussed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andrej Košmrlj, Head of ASEF Fellowship Programs, and Asst. Luka Petravić, Dr. Med., ASEF 2023 Fellow, who was on a research visit to the University of Chicago.

The main event was the presentation of the new ASEF 2025 fellows, who will conduct research at prestigious research institutions around the world in the coming months. This year’s fellows come from various fields, including biochemistry, computer science, physics, chemical engineering and Slovenian studies. The fellows will not only upgrade their knowledge, but also contribute to the recognition of Slovenia’s research potential in the world.

ASEF FELLOWS 2025: ● Zara Bunc ● Marko Fišer ● Gal Gantar ● Valter Hudovernik ● Martin Jazbec ● Tomaž Jurkovič ● Maša Karčovnik ● Tina Košuta ● Tara Miler ● Teja Pelko ● Nikiša Plešec ● Hana Podjed ● Luka Jože Pušlar ● Duška Stopar ● Polona Zabret ● Mark Žnidar

ASEF MENTORS 2025: ● prof. Jure Leskovec (Univerza Stanford) ● prof. Andrej Košmrlj (Univerza Princeton) ● prof. Dimitri Krainc (Univerza Northwestern) ● prof. Jure Zupan (Univerza v Cincinnatiju) ● prof. Dawn Song (Univerza v Kaliforniji, Berkeley) ● prof. Alenka Poplin (Državna univerza Iowa) ● prof. Janina Golob Deeb (Univerza Commonwealth v Virginiji) ● prof. Boštjan Kobe (Univerza v Queenslandu) ● prof. Kaja Antlej (Univerza Deakin) ● prof. Peter Verovšek (Univerza v Groningenu) ● prof. Matevž Rašković (Tehnološka univerza v Aucklandu) ● prof. Gregor Gorjanc (Univerza v Edinburghu)

The event aimed to remind the public of the importance of supporting young Slovenian researchers and enabling their development and networking with the best research institutions around the world. ASEF continues to be an academic bridge between Slovenia and the world, encouraging exceptional young talents to contribute to the development of science and society on a global level.