Dear members of the academic community, associates and students!

The passing year 2023 was declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace as well as the International Year of Millets. Regarding the dialogue guaranteeing peace, clearly, more effort will be needed than ever.

Another important aspect for the international community is the provision of food for the growing global population. The changing weather conditions require targeting crops that can survive in extreme conditions. Millet is also experiencing a renaissance in our country as a resistant grain that prevents hunger and provides important nutrients for health, development and the well-being of people.

This year, Slovenia was marked by extreme weather conditions which also showed exceptional solidarity and compassion from everyone who has helped those affected by the floods in any way they could. Many employees and students of the University of Maribor have proven themselves and that is something we can rightly be proud of.

The University of Maribor has even more reasons to look back at the work in the past year with pride and gratitude. With the successful completion of the RIUM project in the field of natural sciences, medicine, and engineering, we are further improving the conditions for providing “education arising from research work and focused on the student”. We are also intensively preparing the documentation required for the implementation of the INNOVUM platform projects within which we will also implement the RIUM 2 project. As part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), faculties have prepared 47 learning units for credit-evaluated extracurricular activities in the academic year 2023/2024. New possibilities in research are indicated upon successful implementation of the new research legislation. Furthermore, I would like to highlight numerous awards and recognitions awarded to our university teachers, researchers, employees, and students for their work. Our successes and efforts are also recognised in the local environment, as we are involved in all development projects in the region.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their dedicated and responsible work for the good and benefit of our university’s development.

Believing that in times of need, the most important thing is to be close to a fellow human being who would like and wants to help, makes us realize that all people in the world are interconnected and that we cannot survive if everyone thinks only of themselves. It is therefore important to be concerned about others, if we would like to have love, compassion, and peace among ourselves. And the world becomes a better place to live in when we show compassion and help those who are suffering.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024!

Prof. dr. Zdravko Kačič, Rector of the University of Maribor