20 YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
- Home
- About the university
- News and announcements
- 20 YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
20 YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
24. 6. 2022
20 YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
The University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Izola College of Public Health was founded on March 22, 2002 and a year later was a founding member of the University of Primorska. At the end of 2011, it was transformed into the Faculty of Health Sciences.
The faculty celebrated the honourable anniversary on June 22, at 4 pm in the Cristoforo Colombo Hall of the Congress Center of the Hotel Slovenia in Portorož.
At the ceremony, which was designed as a walk through its history, many employees and other indispensable colleagues shared their successes and good wishes for the future with the faculty. Among the keynote speakers were the Rector of the University of Primorska, prof. dr. Klavdija Kutnar, first dean of the faculty, Assoc. prof. dr. Nadja Plazar, first vice-chancellor for research, prof. dr. Maja Čemažar, Regional Secretary at SQAA, Ms. Jožica Kramar, President of the Student Council of UP FVZ, Luka Mužina and Dean of UP FVZ, prof. dr. Nejc Šarabon. President of the Chamber - Association, Ms. Monika Ažman, thanked the faculty for 20 years of successful implementation of the study programme Nursing.
The most loyal colleagues with the longest tenure (19 of them have been employed at the faculty for more than 15 years) were honoured with a special jubilee thank you. The success of the faculty is also measured in its graduates. To date, over 2,038 students have graduated from Izola and the satellite unit of the Faculty in the Goriška region, of which 1,758 were graduates at the 1st level, 264 at the 2nd level and 16 at the doctoral level.
Despite the wide selection of programmes in the field of nursing, nutrition counselling - dietetics, applied kinesiology, physiotherapy and physical education, which it conducts today, the faculty does not rest on its laurels. As the dean summed up, "Through our commitment to research and development excellence, we create new knowledge, transfer it to education, lifelong training, services and new collaborations, thus contributing to solving modern social challenges in the field of health." This year the Faculty is enrolling the first generation of students in 2 new 2nd level study programmes: Physiotherapy and Physical Education. It is constantly setting new challenges in the direction of even better quality pedagogical and research work and greater visibility in the domestic and international higher education and research space.
The thoughts with which the official part of the event ended were summed up by the words of the mission and vision of the faculty, which represent the core of its activities: “The Faculty of Health Sciences is a connected community of colleagues from various disciplines. Because we care, we are responsible and reliable in doing our job. We are dedicated and committed to persevere and proudly show and share our achievements. Open and respectful communication is our guide, and good interpersonal relationships and a creative work environment are its best effect. With the Mediterranean heart, connected with the domestic and international environment, WE ADD KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE. "
IMPORTANT MILESTONES OF THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
The foundations for the development of higher education on the Slovenian coast were laid in the 1960s, with the establishment of the Piran Maritime College. In the 1970s, the beginnings of other colleges and universities began in Koper. The need for its own university became even more obvious with the economic development of the region of Primorska, so on March 30 1993 the mayors of coastal municipalities, the president of the coastal assembly and representatives of the Primorska economy signed a letter of intent to establish a higher education center on the Slovenian coast to ensure the conditions for the development of higher education in the municipalities of Izola, Koper and Piran. Based on these initiatives, coastal municipalities established and financed the operation of the Higher Education Center. On March 22 2002, on the basis of a positive opinion on the fulfilment of the conditions for the establishment of an independent higher education institution, the Izola College of Health was established with the acting dean, Assoc. prof. dr. Nadja Plazar. Izola College of Health was also a founding member of the University of Primorska, which will celebrate its twentieth anniversary next year. The college was formally transformed into the Faculty of Health Sciences on November 10, 2011. Behind this is a lot of the dedicated work of all its employees.
In the initial years, the Faculty of Health Sciences developed quickly and successfully and strived to create quality study programmes. In the last 5 years alone, it has acquired as many as 7 new study programs at all 3 levels, 3 research and 1 infrastructure program, 30 national and ARRS projects, 10 international projects and published a total of 450 scientific articles. At the same time, there was constant concern for the provision and improvement of spatial and material conditions. An important step in this direction will be taken in the autumn with the relocation of some study programs to the Livade University Campus building, which was finally rehabilitated after the 2017 fire.
With the beginning of this year's academic year (2021/2022), the faculty managed to provide adequate premises for the operation of the dislocated unit in Vipava and thus opened a new chapter in the development and implementation of its mission. The project is the result of close and successful cooperation between the faculty and the local environment in the Municipality of Vipava, which the employees of the faculty are especially proud of.