Univerza v Ljubljani

University of Ljubljana

Ljubljana - Slovenia

www.uni-lj.si

Country and City

History
Slovenia has been part of a number of empires during its history.  These include the Holy Roman Empire and the Austria-Hungarian Empire.  Following World War II, Slovenia became one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with Ljubljana as its capital.  In 1991 following the 1990 referendum the people of Slovenia voted for independence and sovereignty. Slovenia became part of the EU in 2004.

Geography
The scenery in Slovenia is beautiful over most of the country and is spectacular in the Alpine and lakes areas.

The Slovenian countryside ranges from the Alps to the Pannonian plain to the Mediterranean and is the third most forested country in Europe after Finland and Sweden.  The climate varies from Sub-Mediterranean on the coast to Alpine in the mountains and continental in the plateaus and valleys in the east of the country. 

Slovenia is bordered by the Adriatic Sea, Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria, has a population of over 2 million and covers an area of 20,273 square klms. Ljubljana is both its largest city and capital with a population of 276,000 and combines the compactness of a small city with the facilities of a metropolis.

City
Ljubljana’s location is roughly in the centre of Slovenia and so has warm summers and cold winters (+21C in July to -2C in January).  The official language is Slovenian but many people speak English and everyone is very friendly.

Ljubljana is not only a beautiful city but also an easy city to get around, walking is easy and pleasant and there is a good public transport system.  The city is surrounded by forests with wonderful views of the city and the surrounding countryside from the castle set high in the middle of the city and reached by a funicular railway.    Ljubljana has one of the best-preserved Baroque quarters in Central Europe, which combines happily with the Art Nouveau buildings, and those designed by Ljubljana’s famous architect Joze Plecnik.

During the spring and summer there are concerts (both popular and classic), Festivals and theatre and ballet performances.

A great place for meeting and socialising are the lively and very pleasant cafés and bars along the Ljubljanica River. There are also many good and inexpensive restaurants in many areas of the city. Ljubljana seems to be a city of students, which is not surprising, as the University has one of the largest student populations in the world. There is a happy and lively feel to the city as a whole.

University

The University of Ljubljana was established in 1919 and has over 63,000 students, 56,000 undergraduates and 7,000 postgraduates in 22 faculties, which include Architecture, Arts, Biotechnical Chemistry, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, Economics, Education, Electrical Engineering, Law, Maritime Studies and Transport, Maths and Physics, Medicine, Natural Science, Pharmacy, Public Administration, Social Sciences, Social Work, Sport Theology, Veterinary, 1 college _the University College of Health Care and 3 academies (Music; Theatre, Radio, Film and Television and Fine Arts).

The University has an excellent reputation both for teaching and for research across a wide spectrum of areas including arts, science and technology.  The majority of the faculties are either in, or close to, the centre of the city but there are also some very modern buildings (including Economics and Social Sciences) that are a short (10 to 15 minutes) bus ride from the centre of the city.

Weekend trips to different parts of Slovenia are organised for students during the year and international students are encouraged to take advantage of these.  There are also things like sporting competitions and there is a tradition for Slovenian students to do cooking on special evenings for international students.  On Erasmus Day all foreign students are encouraged to take part to showcase their home culture, food etc.

Accommodation and Food

The Central University Office helps with finding accommodation for foreign students.

Student accommodation is available in dormitories from €150 per month.  
Some of the accommodation is in the very new and modern building which houses the Faculty of Social Sciences. The building’s top 3 floors are student dormitory accommodation, which is open to all students, not just Social Science students.  The accommodation is apartment- type with kitchen, living area, bathroom and bedrooms which 3 to 5 students share.  The whole building is wireless connected.
 
Private accommodation, such as a studio, centrally located in the city would be €300 - €400 per month which is expensive.

20 - 22 coupons for food per month are available for students which cover the working week and are usually used at the rate of one per day. These coupons are accepted at a number of restaurants in the city.  Students do have to buy the coupons but the cost is 40% less than the real cost of meals – each coupon is €2.50 and this would, for instance, cover the cost of lunch.    

International Office
The International Office and the Student Association work closely together but the Student Association is independent.  Exchange students will be helped in finding private accommodation by the Central Office and assisted by student volunteers who will also help in any negotiations that might be necessary.  International students are also entitled to a subsidized transport card.

All international students must register with the local authority within a few days after arrival.  Help with this will be offered during the Orientation programs.

Orientation

Each Faculty organises its own Orientation and brief outlines of the Orientation for each of the Faculties visited is included under that Faculty.
 
Courses Taught in English
Almost all the Faculties at the University can organise programs to be taught in English on an individual basis. This is very common for Erasmus students and works well. Each student will have an academic member of staff as a mentor.

The Faculty of Economics, (www.ef.unilj.si/english/iis) which has a student population of 10,000 (in 2007 there were 100 exchange students) has a strong international focus and this is reflected in the Orientation Program.

All international students are assigned a volunteer tutor prior to the international student’s departure from home.  Domestic Slovenian students can become volunteer tutors and all attend a special workshop on how to be a good tutor and mentor to foreign students.  If requested, incoming students can be met at the airport and taken to accommodation. During Orientation all legal aspects of life in Ljubljana, registration etc are covered.  Also discounted bus tickets and student ID cards will be issued during this period. The Student Association is responsible for distributing the Student Cards for international students.

Orientation is over 2 days and covers Slovenian history and culture as well as the internal structure of the Faculty, its courses and computer labs.  Walking tours are also organised which combines the historical with more party aspects of the city!  There is a welcoming party held in the Disco and this traditionally has been an excellent way of meeting local students.  At the end of the semester, a large farewell party is held.

Courses Taught in English
The Faculty of Economics offers 30 courses taught in English and their website has all the details including the course descriptions.
http://www.ef.uni-lj.si/en/courses/

The Faculty of Economics holds a Summer School (6 ECTS) every year in July.  It costs €850 for 3 weeks which covers tuition, accommodation, food and excursions.  The Summer School topics cover such areas as “Take the best from East and West”, business ethics, etc. 

There is also a Student Conference every February but this is not for current students.  Those wishing to apply must submit case notes for a project and if this is accepted, fares to Ljubljana will be covered.

The contact people for exchange students for the Faculty of Economics are Darja Saksida, Coordinator for Incoming Students, International Relations Office and Danijela  Voljc, Head of the International Relations Office.

Faculty of Education
There is a reception program in which all students are involved.  There are many social events organised both during the Orientation and afterward during the semester – lunch, concerts, excursions (almost every weekend).  The Faculty’s domestic and international students have traditionally been very well integrated with a very lively social program organised by the Student Organisation who contact students via web and email to keep everyone informed of the social activities.

The courses in Education are practical and use interactive learning.  The Faculty has a mentor system that is organised by each Department where the Head assigns a teacher or assistant for each student.

For those interested in Primary Teaching Grades 1 – 9 on the Ljubljana website there is an overview of Teacher Education (in English) which may be of interest to either prospective students or to AEN university staff
http://www.see-educoop.net/portal/tesee.htm
Click on “Project Products” for the link.

Courses Taught in English
There are 25 courses offered in English. Exchange students have to choose among the selected courses (which are detailed on the website listed below) where communication in English language is enabled (individual consultations with students for theoretical part of the course, exercises and seminars are given in English in one of the seminar groups if possible).
http://javor.pef.uni-lj.si/mednarodna/programs.htm

The contact person for exchange students in Education is Igor Repac. Secretary General of the Centre for Educational Policy Studies.
 
Faculty of Social Sciences
Orientation for the Faculty of Social Sciences is a one-day program and includes an introduction to the Faculty’s programs, the library, internet use, web-office and an introduction to Slovenia.

The Faculty of Social Sciences is one of the largest with over 6,000 students and covers areas of study such as Political Science, International Relations, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Communication Science, Human Resource Management, Journalism/Media.  Most exchange students come initially to study for one semester but almost all stayed for two semesters.  There are 200 international students in the Faculty.

The many social activities are both Faculty and University based and include sightseeing around Slovenia, skiing, other sporting and cultural activities.