The University of Maribor organised the now traditional Festival of Science and Arts of the University of Maribor – FestUM between 10 and 11 June 2026, once again held in a hybrid format. The fourth edition of the festival was dedicated to one of the key questions of the contemporary academic landscape – how to evaluate scientific research and artistic work in a way that takes into account quality, significance, and openness.

The main programme of the first day was dedicated to the domestic academic community, student creativity, and strengthening the connection between the university and its environment. Within the framework of the Student Challenges of the University of Maribor – ŠI:UM, participants first listened to students who presented their innovative solutions to research and socially relevant challenges arising from the local environment. The presentations were evaluated by an expert panel, which selected as the best project team the students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, who presented the project entitled Support for Families of Persons with Cerebral Palsy. Second place was awarded to students from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for the project Indicators of Balance, Accessibility, and the Rent-to-Buy Ratio in the Slovenian Housing Market, while third place went to a student team from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering for the project Development of an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) for Smart Intralogistics (ROMAR).

The programme then continued with a presentation of the six programme cores of the University of Maribor, within which researchers collaborate and thereby strengthen the University’s role as a space for creativity, innovation, and social responsibility. The discussion was moderated by Prof. dr. Dean Korošak (PhD), Vice-Rector for Science and Research of the University of Maribor.

The main programme of the first day concluded with the FestUMteka segment, featuring a screening of the student film V tvojih čevljih (In Your Shoes), created by students of the Master’s programme in Media Communications as part of the course Practicum: Media Production at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Before the screening, the audience also had the opportunity to listen to a short interview with the film’s director, Lucija Rozman.

As part of the second day of the festival, the 4th national event of the SPOZNAJ project (Support in Introducing Open Science Principles in Slovenia), in which the University of Maribor participates as a consortium partner, took place. The event was dedicated to reflecting on the evaluation of scientific research in the context of open science. Examples of international practices were presented by Ms Lindsay Dowling (Technological University Dublin), Mr Herman Strøm (University of South-Eastern Norway) and Ms Núria Benítez Monforte (CERCA Institution). They then joined dr. Franci Demšar (PhD) (Director of NAKVIS), dr. Klemen Miklavič (PhD) (Assistant Director of ARIS), Prof. dr. Dean Korošak (PhD) (Vice-Rector for Science and Research at the University of Maribor and representative of the Rectors’ Conference of the Republic of Slovenia), and dr. Andrej Pančur (PhD) (President of KOsRIS) in a round-table discussion entitled “Qualitative Assessment and Open Science”, moderated by Ms Maja Peharc, SPOZNAJ Project Officer (MIZM).

The programme also addressed the topic of Plans for the Future of Qualitative Evaluation in Slovenia, discussed by Prof. dr. Dean Korošak (PhD) (Vice-Rector for science and Research, University of Maribor), Prof. dr. Gregor Majdič (PhD) (Rector of the University of Ljubljana), Ms Tjaša Dobnik (Director of ARIS), dr. Franci Demšar (PhD) (Director of NAKVIS), and Assist. Prof. dr. Anže Županič (PhD) (Director of the National Institute of Biology).

Following the round-table and panel discussion, dr. Irena Eiselt (Assistant Director of the National and University Library) delivered a lecture presenting the transition to sustainable scholarly publishing methods, enabling more open, transparent and sustainable scientific publishing aligned also with good practices in the European Research Area. The closing segment of the second day, and of this year’s FestUM, was the presentation of the results of the national SPOZNAJ project by Mr Tilen Mandelj, Acting Director of the Central Technical Library.

On both festival days, visitors could also take part in accompanying activities. They had the chance to begin the day with a morning yoga session, and view the exhibition UMetnost: Connected in Creativity of the Faculty of Education, University of Maribor in the atrium of the Rectorate, also available as a virtual tour. In front of the Rectorate, an exhibition of the SPOZNAJ project was on display, presenting open science in Slovenia to the general public in an accessible way. On Wednesday afternoon, visitors were also able to attend an Open Air concert by the Music Pedagogy programme of the Faculty of Education, under the mentorship of Associate Professor Tadeja Vulc.  

We look forward to meeting again next year!