Today, ZAG was visited by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. Dr. Igor Papič. He was received by the Director, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleš Žnidarič and Dr. Urška Kropf.

The director presented ZAG and the areas of our research and professional engagement. The minister asked a lot of questions and was interested in the details. He praised our cooperation with the economy and the transfer of knowledge. The director pointed out some of our problems: low salaries in salary group J, difficulties in obtaining work permits for foreigners, relatively low values of stable financing compared to other JRZs and an increase in total costs due to the new building in Logatec.

The Minister said that the Ministry was aware of these problems, that they were in the middle of negotiations on the wage reform and that they were working on new rules for the allocation of funds for founder liabilities. He pointed out that the resources for stable financing will increase significantly in the coming years. The government intends to further increase the percentage of GDP spent on R&D and to boost investment in research infrastructure in the revised RDI Act. We can look forward to even more autonomy with the management of funds, as they intend to replace funds and calls for investment in research infrastructure with increased stable funding.

In the last part of the one-hour meeting, the minister was happy to see the microtomograph, the halo construction and the 3D robotic arm, and had a brief conversation with some employees of ZAG.

The meeting took place in a pleasant atmosphere and active exchange of information.
Thank you to everyone who helped to prepare and organise the visit!