International Conference of 8th Festival
KO UČIM, GRADIM “TO TEACH IS TO BUILD”
An Empathic Mind for Understanding the World
This year’s theme of the conference is School – our safe, creative space.
International guest speakers will give their presentations online via Zoom. 🌐💻
📅 14th–15th November 2025
Biotechnical centre Naklo – Secondary school
Main goals
About the conference
The conference brings together teachers, mentors, and experts who believe that knowledge builds the future. In previous years, we have discussed active learning methods, project work, mentoring and competitions, sustainability challenges, the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and the importance of awareness and cooperation. This year’s conference continues to focus on the exchange of good practices, connecting schools with business and research, and developing the skills of the future.
Pomembne informacije / Important information
| SLO | ENG | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Program mednarodne konference | International Conference Programme | ||
| Vabilo za slušatelje | Invitation letter | ||
| Navodila za pisanje prispevka | Guidelines for formatting the paper | ||
| E-zbornik | E-collection of papers |
Plenary speakers
Borut Vrščaj, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof.
Borut Vrščaj is a soil scientist, senior research advisor, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Protection (FVO).
He studied agronomy at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana and, in 1984, began his professional career at the Department of Soil and Environmental Science. Until 2005, he was actively involved in soil mapping and research in the fields of soil geoinformatics and environmental protection. During this period, he established the Soil Information System of Slovenia and, as an assistant, taught soil science. He earned his PhD at the University of Turin with a dissertation on soil quality. As a Cochran Fellow (USA–USDA), he underwent professional training at the Natural Resources Conservation Service in 2000, and in 2023/2024 conducted research as a visiting scientist at the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra.
As a researcher and head of the Department of Agricultural Ecology and Natural Resources at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, he studied the quality, condition, and sustainable use of agricultural soils from 2005 to 2024. He led or participated in 42 national and 23 EU projects. As an FAO expert, he contributed to the establishment of the Soil Information System of North Macedonia. He has been an active member of EU research project review panels, the management boards of the FAO European and Alpine Soil Partnerships, and served as the president of the Soil Science Society of Slovenia. In parallel, he lectured for many years on soil science, ecopedology, soil use and conservation at the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, and on soil use and conservation at the Faculty of Environmental Protection.
After his retirement, he continues to teach environmental geochemistry of the environment and soil and environment, and conducts research on ecosystem services, soil classification, and soil education methods within the Horizon Europe project CURIOSOIL. He is also actively involved in the FAO Atlas of Mediterranean Soils project and serves as a court expert in the field of Ecology and Environmental Impact Assessment.
His COBISS bibliography includes 758 entries (48 scientific/professional articles and 44 chapters in scientific and professional monographs). His major works include The Soils of Slovenia, Properties, Diversity and Ecosystem Services of Soils, and Soil Classification of Slovenia 2025.
Petra Starbek, Ph.D., Ph.D.
After completing her secondary education at Gimnazija Bežigrad in Ljubljana in 1996, Petra Starbek enrolled in the Biology programme at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. She graduated in 2002 and began working as a biology teacher at the Secondary School for Pharmacy, Cosmetics, and Healthcare in Ljubljana. After passing her professional examination, she pursued doctoral studies in Biology and earned her PhD in 2011. Throughout her career, she has taught at various secondary schools as well as at two primary schools. In 2016, while continuing to work, she decided to study Physiotherapy at Alma Mater Europaea in Maribor, where she graduated in 2019. That same autumn, she enrolled in a doctoral programme in Physiotherapy and successfully defended her second doctoral thesis on 7th July 2025. She is currently employed at Biotechnical Centre in Naklo, where she teaches biology in the gymnasium programme and serves as the head of gymnasium.
Evgen Benedik, Ph.D., Assist. Prof.
Evgen Benedik is a clinical dietitian at the University Medical Center Ljubljana and an associate professor in the field of nutrition at the Faculty of Biotechnology at the University of Ljubljana. He was born in 1986 in Kranj. Between 2005 and 2010, he studied food science and nutrition at the Faculty of Biotechnology at the University of Ljubljana, where he continued his doctoral studies in bioscience, specializing in nutrition, between 2010 and 2015.
From 2010 to 2015, he was employed as a young researcher at the Clinical Department of Pediatrics at the University Medical Center Ljubljana, and then as a clinical dietitian at the same department, where he still works today. Between 2015 and 2018, he was an assistant professor in the field of nutrition at the Faculty of Biotechnology, and since 2018 he has been employed there as an associate professor.
He has been elected associate professor in the field of nutrition for the period 2018–2028. At the Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Ljubljana, he teaches three undergraduate courses, one master’s course, and one doctoral course. He also teaches at the University of Maribor, where he teaches two courses at the first and second levels, and at the University of Primorska, where he teaches one course at both levels. To date, he has supervised eleven bachelor’s and eight master’s theses.
His research work focuses on studying the impact of nutrition in the first 8,000 days of life on longevity and the occurrence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. He has participated in five research projects and is currently leading two clinical studies.
To date, he has published 42 scientific and professional articles and presented his work at numerous scientific and professional conferences, 118 times in total. His complete bibliography is available here.
In 2016, he founded the Institute for Nutritional Programming, and a year later he became a member of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). Together with master’s students in nutrition, he organizes the Simčič Symposium every year, recordings of which are available on YouTube.
Lea Colner
Lea Colner is a primary school teacher with more than fifteen years of experience in innovative teaching, both in Slovenia and abroad. She graduated from the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana, where she received the Prešeren Award for her undergraduate thesis on the Storyline approach. In 2011, her professional journey took her to Sweden, where she first worked as a preschool teacher before quickly making the move into teaching and leadership roles. For five years, she served as the principal of an international bilingual school north of Stockholm. The school was ranked among the 100 most inspiring schools in the world for its teaching on sustainable development and systematic integration of the 2030 Agenda into teaching and school operations. Lea concluded her career in Sweden with a nomination for the title of Best Principal in Sweden and as the recipient of the prestigious Leader of the Year award in the category of sustainable development. She is also the author of the book The Storyline Pedagogical Approach, a lecturer, mentor, and advocate of modern teaching methods. Through workshops, lectures, and international training sessions, she shares her extensive experience with educators and teachers, focusing on her main interest: how to provide children with a deep, emotionally safe, and creative learning experience.
Miha Andrič
Miha Andrič is an internationally recognised lecturer and educational trainer specialising in the development of critical and creative thinking, communication, and modern pedagogical approaches. Over the past fifteen years, he has conducted more than 1,000 workshops and lectures for teachers and young people in over thirty countries across five continents. More than 3,000 Slovenian teachers have participated in his educational programmes. He is the founder and programme director of the Educational Centre Argument, a member of the Council of the International Philosophy Olympiad, and a member of the IPPF Council in New York. In the past, he has led several international academies focused on the development of communication and critical thinking. He focuses on the question of how teaching can be adapted to the modern behavioural and thinking patterns of young people. He places particular emphasis on the development of critical and creative thinking, emotional intelligence, and effective communication as the foundation of contemporary education.
Sotos Voskarides, PhD
Affiliate Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Informatics. He is also President of the Association of Cypriot Cartoonists “GEL.A.”. (he signs his cartoons as ”BOSS”).
He holds a PhD in Telemedicine from Brunel University in London, a Master’s degree in Leadership and Educational Management from the University of Limassol, a BSc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering and Electronics from Westminster University in London and a Diploma in Technical Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the Higher Institute of Technology of Cyprus. In schools of all levels, in Cyprus and abroad, it presents various topics of the curriculum using Alternative Teaching and Learning Methods, with Cartoons, games, fairy tales, music, short theatrical plays etc. He teaches love for life, nature and studies Telemedicine, Wireless Telecommunications, Robotics, Tele-agriculture, Renewable Energy Sources, Maritime Traffic Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Greek Language, History, Mathematics, Mythology, Acquaintance of children and adults with Caricature, Leadership and Educational Management, More Positive Verbal Communication, Alternative Teaching and Learning Methods, Music Therapy plus more.