NAKVIS Director at the University of Maribor Science and Art Festival

The Director of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Dr Franci Demšar, attended the FestUM 2026 festival: Quality. Significance. Responsibility., which took place on 10 and 11 June 2026 in a hybrid format, at the Rectorate of the University of Maribor and online. This year’s festival was dedicated to the question of how to evaluate scientific research and artistic work in a way that takes into account quality, significance and openness, while fostering a responsible academic environment.

Dr Demšar took part in the round table “Qualitative Evaluation and Open Science”, which brought together representatives of national and international institutions in the fields of research, higher education and research policy. The discussion focused on qualitative evaluation, open science, institutional changes and future directions in research evaluation in Slovenia and the wider European area.

As part of the programme, the Director of the Agency also participated in a panel discussion of representatives of national agencies and the higher education and research sectors, entitled “Future Plans in the Field of Qualitative Evaluation in Slovenia”. The discussion addressed future directions in qualitative evaluation, the role of individual institutions and opportunities for the further development of approaches to evaluating scientific research and artistic work in Slovenia.