Research activity
The scientific research activities at the FEP are carried out within a research group called the Institute for Ecotechnologies and Sustainable Development. The registered researchers work in various fields of natural sciences (environmental protection; biology; mathematics), biotechnical sciences (forestry; agriculture – agro-ecology and production), technical sciences (production technologies and systems) and humanities (geography). The research group is highly interdisciplinary, which is reflected in the wide and diverse range of scientific research and publishing activities. In the period 2016-2022, the staff of the FEP research group participated in a total of 27 research projects (co-)funded by ARRS, six of which they also led. Research work is also carried out in the form of targeted research projects (CRPs) and projects for end-users (e.g. the Slovenian Infrastructure Directorate, the Slovenian Motorways Company, Triglav National Park, companies, planners, local communities, Local Action Groups – LAGs), with a particular focus on involving students in research work or strengthening their general competences. In carrying out scientific research activities, the EFP seeks to increase its visibility, international outreach and scientific excellence by publishing its scientific achievements in internationally recognised scientific publications, active participation in international scientific congresses/conferences/symposia (in a large number of participations, EFP staff members have also been members of the scientific/programme and/or organising committees of these events) and (co-)organisation of international scientific events (so far, the FEP in Velenje has co-organized five international scientific conferences/symposia).
A strong emphasis is also placed on the translation of research achievements into practice, the integration of research findings into the educational process and the promotion of own research achievements or achievements of Slovenian science to the national and international general public.
The FEP also seeks to achieve greater visibility and recognition in the domestic and international scientific community by participating in (international) consortia, both when applying for scientific research projects in the calls for proposals of the Slovenian Public Agency for Research Activities and in large international research projects (e.g. Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Biodiversa, LIFE, Interreg, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) calls for proposals).
