5. 10. 2023
Prof. Dr. Amalija Žakelj receives the RS Award for outstanding achievements in the field of higher education
On Wednesday, 4 October 2023, on the eve of Teachers' Day, the RS Prizes in Education, the highest national awards in the field of education, were awarded. Among the winners is Prof. Dr. Amalija Žakelj, a higher education teacher and researcher in the field of didactics of mathematics and Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs at UP PEF, who received the Prize of the Republic of Slovenia for Outstanding Achievements in Higher Education.
The recipients were presented with their awards by the Minister of Education, Dr. Darjo Felda, who said, "Teaching staff are key agents of knowledge transfer in society, but they also play an important role in developing the life skills and attitudes needed to develop and support children and adolescents. They are not only transmitters of knowledge, but above all guides and facilitators of children."
In the justification of the award and in the presentation of the prize winner it was also stated that "Prof. Dr. Amalija Žakelj gained her first teaching experience by teaching mathematics at secondary school, then she joined the Slovenian Institute of Education, where she worked with a wide range of stakeholders in the field of education, including higher education institutions. Her main area of work is related to the development of didactics in mathematics. She has worked on a number of important areas, such as overcoming learners' difficulties in mathematics, learning and teaching geometry with and without the use of modern information and communication technologies, and, more recently, on the visualisation of mathematical concepts and creativity in mathematics.
The prizewinner's scientific and professional work is an important contribution to the development of didactics in mathematics and has great practical value. Another important contribution of the laureate to the promotion of didactics of mathematics as a scientific discipline and also to the promotion and wider visibility of UP PEF was the chairing of a mini-symposium at the European Congress of Mathematics. Through her research and development work, Dr. Žakelj has made a significant contribution to the quality of education, both through her work in various groups and bodies at national level, her participation in projects and research, as well as through her work with students and teachers at the faculty."
We would like to congratulate the winner and wish her every success!
