Slovenia is a young country with a rich scientific tradition and a modern research and development system. The vibrant scientific community, which comprises public universities (University of Ljubljana, University of Maribor, University of Primorska, public research institutes and a few private ones as well as strong R&D units in the business sector, is on the cutting edge of knowledge and technological development. With the country’s population size estimated at around 2 million, Slovenian science amasses more the 11 thousand researchers, who produce 1.346 international scientific co-publications per 100,000 people. Slovenians have always valued language skills and education, which is clearly visible in the number of new doctoral graduates per 100,000, which currently stands at 355. Needless to say that science and research is embedded within the Slovenian culture.

The Slovenian government has ambitious goals and supports a high level of human resources and research infrastructures, with intensive international collaboration to improve the economic growth and quality of our life. A variety of scientific disciplines offer many opportunities for advancing research careers in Slovenia. From the point of view of the excellence of science, Slovenian researchers are most successful in the ERC panels of condensed matter physics and of products and processes engineering, the MSCA panels of engineering, physics, life sciences and chemistry, mainly in the following institutions that are covering a wide spectrum of subjects.

University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest higher education and scientific research institution in Slovenia. University with its rich tradition was founded in 1919. It has approximately 41,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and employs approximately 6,000 higher education teachers, researchers, assistants and administrative staff in 23 faculties and three arts academies. The University of Ljubljana is renowned for its quality social and natural sciences and technical study programmes, structured in accordance with the Bologna Declaration. Our projects keep pace with the latest developments in the areas of arts, sciences and technology at home and abroad.  Among others, it coordinates national activities in some ESFRI projects, especially in the fields of biomedicine (ELIXIR, EATRIS, Euro-BioImaging) and social sciences (ESS and CESSDA).

It is the leading Slovenian scientific research institute, covering a broad spectrum of basic and applied research. The main areas are production and control technologies, communication and computer technologies, knowledge technologies, biotechnologies, new materials, environmental technologies, nanotechnologies, and nuclear engineering. The Institute is involved in the activities of some leading word centres of physics, such as CERN in Geneva (CH), FAIR in Darmstadt (DE) and Belle 2 in Tsakuba (JPN).

The Institute is a research institution focusing on both basic and applied research in the following areas: materials research, life sciences, biotechnology, chemical engineering, structural and theoretical chemistry, analytical chemistry and environmental protection. The Institute offers high-level research equipment, such as a Carl Zeiss Supra 35 VP Electronic Microscope with EDX analysis, a high-resolution diffractometer and 800 MHz NMR spectrometer (as part of CERIC activities)

With about 171 employees, National Institute of Biology (NIB) is the largest independent Public Research Institution for Life Sciences in Slovenia. The Institute was established by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in 1960. The basic activity of the Institute has been and continues to be basic, developmental and applicative research in the fields of biotechnology, biophysics, biomedicine and system biology. The numerous activities taking place at the NIB are related to the environment, agriculture, food and, more recently and increasingly so, to human health.

With its nineteen member institutions, the university is turning into a central development institution attracting talented students from all over the world and providing a development context where excellence is at home at all levels. The mission of the University of Maribor is based on honesty, curiosity, creativity, freedom of spirit, cooperation and knowledge transfer in the field of science, art and education. Concerned with mankind and sustainable development, the University of Maribor expands knowledge, raises awareness, and promotes humanistic values as well as the culture of dialogue, quality of life and global justice.

The University of Primorska is successfully implementing its two core activities: research and education. In all of its functioning it is closely collaborating with the creators and users of knowledge locally and globally. The knowledge for the environment that the university is directly offering to companies, public institutes and other organizations is a quality upgrade of basic research and a precondition to effective use of intellectual potential of society and spacer in which it operates. Through its scientific research, educational and artistic activities and its commitment to the local and wider society, UP is building and consolidating its position as a respected and excellent university in the global academic arena.

The Geological Survey of Slovenia provides information about the geological setting and natural resources of Slovenia and participates in the development of knowledge about past and present processes taking place in the Earth’s crust. The survey collects, stores, and disseminates data about the geology of Slovenia and through international cooperation with its partners abroad extends its activities over the Slovenian borders.

The Slovenian Forestry Institute is a public research institute of national importance, which conducts basic and applied research on forests and forest landscapes, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, hunting, forest management, and other uses of the resources and services forests provide. The scientific knowledge from these fields helps further the research on forest biodiversity and its management in relation to climate change. As part of its research programme and related studies, the Institute also provides forestry and environmental services in the public interest.

Origins of Institute for Hydraulic Research date back to 1937, when the Water-structure laboratory (Vodogradbeni laboratorij) was established at University of Ljubljana. This laboratory started on its own in 1954, and was succeeded by Water-management institute (Vodnogospodarski inštitut) in 1978. Its water-structures laboratory became Institute for Hydraulic Research in 1995.

The Institute for Economic Research (IER) is an autonomous research organisation with a long tradition in the field of macroeconomic and microeconomic analysis. In the beginning of the 1990s, the European integration process and the growing awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship gave rise to research and consulting activities in the fields of international competitiveness, strategic planning, organizational and financial restructuring of enterprises, feasibility studies etc.

It is the leading Slovenian scientific research institute, covering a broad spectrum of basic and applied research. The main areas are production and control technologies, communication and computer technologies, knowledge technologies, biotechnologies, new materials, environmental technologies, nanotechnologies, and nuclear engineering. The Institute is involved in the activities of some leading word centres of physics, such as CERN in Geneva (CH), FAIR in Darmstadt (DE) and Belle 2 in Tsakuba (JPN).

The Institute of Metals and Technology (IMT) was established in 1948 to provide support for the steel industry and became a public research institute in 1997. Its mission is to create new knowledge in the fields of metallurgy, metallic materials, nanoscience and nanotechnology, vacuum optoelectronics, metrology, engineering materials, environmental protection; transfer of knowledge to industry and training of young researchers. The general aim is to improve the quality of life and enable sustainable development. The Institute primarily works in the field of research of metallic materials with an emphasis on research related to steel and aluminium alloys.

It is the leading Slovenian scientific research institute, covering a broad spectrum of basic and applied research. The main areas are production and control technologies, communication and computer technologies, knowledge technologies, biotechnologies, new materials, environmental technologies, nanotechnologies, and nuclear engineering. The Institute is involved in the activities of some leading word centres of physics, such as CERN in Geneva (CH), FAIR in Darmstadt (DE) and Belle 2 in Tsakuba (JPN).

The Institute of Contemporary History is a research institution with a sixty-year tradition of uninterrupted research and publishing in the field of contemporary history. That may not be all that much for humanity in general, but it is nevertheless a lot for several generations of researchers, archivists, and librarians, who have taken part in the collective achievements of the Institute not only with their knowledge, but also with their passion for research, curiosity about the past, ability to develop historiography as a science, and the wish to communicate their findings to the professional and general public in Slovenia as well as abroad.

The Institute is a research institution focusing on both basic and applied research in the following areas: materials research, life sciences, biotechnology, chemical engineering, structural and theoretical chemistry, analytical chemistry and environmental protection. The Institute offers high-level research equipment, such as a Carl Zeiss Supra 35 VP Electronic Microscope with EDX analysis, a high-resolution diffractometer and 800 MHz NMR spectrometer (as part of CERIC activities).

The Agricultural Institute of Slovenia is the leading research institute in the field of agriculture in Slovenia. It comprehensively deals with the issues of modern agriculture and is expanding its activities into the fields of environmental protection and ecology. It employs 222 workers, of which more than 80 are researchers. The Agricultural Institute of Slovenia is a public non-profit research institute that performs fundamental, applied and development research and specialist tasks in agriculture, publishes the results of scientific research work as well as professional and supervision work, performs tasks based on authorisations and accreditations and checks the quality of agricultural products and products used in agriculture.

With about 171 employees, the National Institute of Biology (NIB) is the largest independent Public Research Institution for Life Sciences in Slovenia. The Institute was established by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in 1960. The basic activity of the Institute has been and continues to be basic, developmental and applicative research in the fields of biotechnology, biophysics, biomedicine and system biology. The numerous activities taking place at the NIB are related to the environment, agriculture, food and, more recently and increasingly so, to human health. An important milestone in the history of the Institute was the establishment of the Marine Biological Station Piran (MBSP) on the Adriatic coast in Piran in 1969 and its recent upgrading into a modern research facility in 2006.

The mission of the Educational Research Institute is to develop educational sciences and suitable scientific methodologies by encouraging interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary connection, as well as collaboration with other scientific institutions in Slovenia and abroad.Through the dissemination of scientific results, we also contribute to the development of educational practice. The Educational Research Institute implements its mission and vision through scientific research, directed towards specific thematic areas that shall be researched in an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary manner, through contributions provided by different education sciences.

The Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UIRS) is the main national scholarly research institution in the field of spatial, regional and urban planning and related discipline. Founded in 1955 as a research and consultancy agency, UIRS was transformed into a public research organization in 1993, a status which continues to apply to date. The UIRS currently comprises 26 researchers, four administration personnel and one librarian. The strongly interdisciplinary research group is made up of experts with a broad range of academic backgrounds.

ZAG is the leading Slovenian Institute in the field of building and civil engineering. Through high-quality work it successfully promotes the progress-orientated Slovenian applied science and technical expertise on a global scale. The organization is widely recognized both in Slovenia and in other countries by means of its experts, top-class equipment and multi-disciplinary work, including life cycle analyses of different construction materials. ZAG is involved in the international co-operation in science and technology with institutions from the EU, the USA and other countries. Over the last 10 years ZAG has participated in more than 50 projects funded by the EU (4th – 7th FP). Its research and testing sector is divided up into four departments: materials, building physics, structures, and geotechnics and infrastructure, it also has its own department for metrology.

The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) was established as an independent public research institution in 1981. It provided an institutional structure for a number of institutes that had already existed for several decades, organized as research departments of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ZRC SAZU researchers conduct outstanding research that spans from linguistics to philosophy and archaeology to biology. Their findings are of tremendous importance for a better understanding of cultural, social, and natural phenomena in Slovenia and the world. Apart from publishing their results in academic publications, research groups also engage in data collection, documentation, and presentation to audiences beyond the academic sphere. Over the last four decades, ZRC SAZU has become one of the driving forces of citizen engagement in science. It offers a forum for discussions of socially relevant issues and holds a series of public events.

The Institute of Social Studies developed from the Institute of Humanities and Social Studies of the Mediterranean, i.e. the first institute of the Scientific Research Center of Koper founded in 2001. The Institute of Social Studies is an interdisciplinary institute of social sciences (sociology, communication sciences, cultural sciences, anthropology, social geography), engaged in the research of ethnic and intercultural studies, migration, minority issues, places of contact, phenomena of daily life and family life, human rights, marginal groups and other topics. In the field of research, the objectives of the Institute are to become a reference institute for research on migration and integration issues, with particular attention to vulnerable social groups (migrant children, migrant women, unaccompanied migrant minors, etc..), pose a critical reflection of current social events and an in-depth analysis of issues relating to multicultural areas and multicultural coexistence.