2. Rudolfovo Science and Technology Forum shows great opportunities for science and business cooperation
{Rudolfovo, Slovenia's youngest public research institute, celebrated its first year of operation with the 2nd Science and Technology Forum, which focused on digitisation in the economy. This event also marked the start of the Open Week, as {Rudolfovo will host a number of visitors until the end of the week to learn more about its activities and opportunities for cooperation. The main purpose of {Rudolfovo, which has already established itself as the most important scientific centre in Dolenjska, is not only its scientific research work, but also its cooperation with businesses and young people.
The Forum also marked the official opening of the Augmented Reality Laboratory, the Institute's second research laboratory.
{Rudolfovo, as many speakers pointed out, is an important knowledge hub, and in its first year it proved that the need for an institution whose mission is to bring together more closely the actors involved in the development of Slovenia's economically leading region was justified.
As Dr Janez Povh, Director of {Rudolfovo, said, {Rudolfovo has the potential to create a research infrastructure of international importance. "Such an infrastructure is the only real lever for an institution, a region, to gain long-term international relevance in the field of research. If Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, with its 1 000 inhabitants in the south of France, can have ITER, the largest prototype fusion reactor ever, next door, if Julich, Germany, with its 33 000 inhabitants, can have the first exascale supercomputer in Europe, at a cost of €400 million, if Kiruna in Sweden, with 17000 inhabitants, can have a central radar system to observe the Northern Hemisphere, and the Romanian town of Murighiol, with 3000 inhabitants, can host a central European centre for river and marine systems, then Novo mesto, with all its hinterland, can host something similar. "
A year after its establishment, {Rudolfovo employs 27 people, 18 of whom are full-time, he said. According to the staffing plan, the number of both part-time and full-time employees is planned to double by the end of the year, thus increasing the number of projects within which technological know-how is created and transferred.
"You can't learn technology knowledge well from books and online courses. You have to be around technology, you have to try it, play with it, feel it. That's why our strategy is to first get the best equipment on the market for all the areas we want to master. Once we have that equipment, we start using it to create solutions for businesses, and also to do applied and fundamental research. Technology is therefore at the heart of what we do," Povh added.
The work of the {Rudolfovo Institute was highlighted as an example of good practice by the speaker of honour, the President of the National Council, Marko Lotrič. He stressed the importance of efforts for cross-sectoral cooperation, networking between researchers, entrepreneurs and the education system, which contributes to competitiveness and added value. "In this way, the economy will get the right people and young people will get promising jobs, thus preventing the outflow of young talent abroad." He stressed that efforts must continue to be made to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to operate "in their home region", which contributes to the economic prosperity of the region as well as to the much needed decentralisation.
He also referred to the social and societal role of institutions such as the {Rudolfovo public research institute, as "the networking of individuals, the exchange of good practices and experiences, as well as the encouragement that an individual can find in such centres, is the key to progress, to a progressive as well as a contented society".
The Mayor of Novo mesto, Gregor Macedoni, is also pleased with the development of the {Rudolfovo Institute and recalled the broad support for the idea of establishing its own research centre. "The efforts of key municipalities in south-eastern Slovenia to create a common infrastructure and platform for raising competences in the field of technical skills have been long-lasting and are reflected today in many activities, from workshops and circles in primary and secondary schools to what we see today in the Rudolfovo Institute. When a year ago the state supported us and came forward to establish Rudolfovo, we were very pleased, as it represents an important lever for the development of our region in terms of technology and innovation, and I am convinced that this very institute will be an important reason in the future for our region to remain Slovenia's leading export region and a cradle of breakthrough business stories."
Through the discussions, in which representatives of many successful Slovenian companies and institutions participated, it became clear that one of the greatest opportunities of {Rudolfovo is in cooperation with companies, which see in cooperation with research institutions the opportunity to develop new solutions, especially those that they could not afford on their own in terms of investment and staffing needs. {Rudolfovo is therefore an important bridge between business and science in this area, which will be even more important in the future.
This was also highlighted in his speech by Dr. Jure Gašparič, State Secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. "There is no doubt that a lot has been done at {Rudolfovo in the first year. But I have to be honest and say that we expect a lot from this institute, as well as from all other Slovenian scientific research institutions. We expect excellence in scientific work, integration and addressing key Slovenian and European development challenges. I have no doubt that {Rudolfovo, with the dynamism it has shown in its first year, will be able to meet all these objectives."
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