Challenges of the University of Maribor in the Areas of European Integration, Micro-Credentials, Digitalisation and the Green Transition

Zdravko Kačič has been serving as the Rector of the University of Maribor since 2018. Between 2011 and 2015, he held the position of Vice-Rector for Financial Affairs at the University of Maribor. He is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (FERI UM), where he teaches several courses within Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications study programs. His research focuses on the scientific field of Telecommunications.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: zdravko.kacic@um.si

Domen Mongus, Full Professor at the University of Maribor, is the Head of the GeMMA Laboratory at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (FERI UM) and a recognized expert in geospatial analytics and artificial intelligence. He has received numerous national and international awards for his scientific research work and is also well known for his extensive collaboration with industry.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: domen.mongus@um.si

Izidor Golob has been the Head of the Computer Centre at the University of Maribor since 2009. Prior to that, he served as the Director of the Secretariat of the Council for Higher Education (now NAKVIS), and he began his professional career in 1997 as an assistant and researcher at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Maribor (FERI UM). For several years, he was the President of the ARNES Expert Council. In his professional field, he holds CISA, CISM, and ITIL F certificates.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: izidor.golob@um.s

Boštjan Vlaovič is employed at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Maribor. In 2018, he received an award for his pedagogical work. Since 2019, he has served as Vice-Dean for Education at the same Faculty. In 2021, he was appointed a member of the Education Board of the European university alliance Athena. Since 2022, he has led the projects Agile Development of Education and Micro-Credentials and Development of Flexible Learning Approaches with Micro-Credentials for the Digital and Green Transition of Education to Society 5.0. In 2025, he was listed as an expert by the National Contact Point for the Slovenian and European Qualifications Framework. Since 2025, he has been the President of the Management Board of IZUM – Institute of Information Science in Maribor. For over ten years, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Slovenian Electronic Communications Society. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and an Honorary Member of the Slovenian Electrotechnical Society.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: bostjan.vlaovic@um.si

Sebastijan Frumen, Professor of Slovene, is the Head of the Department for Education and Study at the University of Maribor that is monitoring and assuring the quality of study programs in accordance with ESG standards. A special focus is placed on creating an inclusive educational environment that will contribute to improving the quality of education and enable students to develop their diverse potential in a comprehensive and balanced way. The department also addresses the needs of society in acquiring knowledge necessary for sustainable development, both during studies and through lifelong learning, including the implementation of micro-credentials. As a doctoral student in the field of higher education didactics, his research focuses on introducing flexible learning pathways and future learning environments in higher education.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: sebastijan.frumen@um.si

Anita Ješovnik, M.Sc. in Economics and Business, has been employed at the University of Maribor since 2008. Between 2010 and 2022, she was the Head of the Study and Student Affairs Office at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Maribor.  For her professional work, she received a recognition award from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UM. Since December 2022, she has been the Head of the Centre for Lifelong Learning within the Department for Education and Study at the University of Maribor. She is actively involved in the development of the lifelong learning and micro-credential ecosystem at the University of Maribor and, in cooperation with Boštjan Vlaovič, leads activities within the Recovery and Resilience Plan project titled Agile Development of Education and Micro-Credentials.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: anita.jesovnik@um.si