News

Between 22 and 23 September 2026, Saarland University (Saarbrücken, Germany) hosted a matchmaking event for researchers in chemistry and related sciences (Matchmaking Event – Chemistry related Sciences within T4EU). The gathering brought together researchers and professors from member universities of the Transform4Europe (T4EU) European University Alliance. The University of Primorska was represented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Pulko and Assist. Prof. Dr. Kaja Kupnik from the UP Faculty of Polymer Technology (UP FTPO).

The UP Faculty of Polymer Technology successfully organized the second international conference, AM Connect – International Conference on Research and Industrial Advances in Additive Manufacturing, in Slovenj Gradec. The event attracted more than 90 participants from 14 countries over two days and showcased the latest developments in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The conference was held within the framework of the ADDCIRCLES project, co-funded by the Interreg Slovenia-Austria Programme.

The innovation "Innovative hot-runner system with needle valve gate and integrated gas injection," developed by O.P.S. Breznik d.o.o. and UP Faculty of Polymer Technology, received the bronze national award from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS).

On 19 August 2026, the Faculty of Polymer Technology of the University of Primorska (UP FTPO) hosted Dr. Lavinia Alberi Auber and Giulia Corazza from the Swiss company VitalizeDx, which develops the Lavinia digital health platform for monitoring athlete health and performance.

Our Faculty is hosting Julia Hartwig, a bachelor’s student from Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz, Austria, for a two-month Erasmus traineeship running from 3 August to 2 October 2026.

The University of Primorska has been awarded the research and innovation action (RIA) project MOSAIC (Materials for Off-site Structured Assembly of Intelligent Composites) as coordinator. The project will be funded under the Horizon Europe programme (call HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-42). On 14 July 2026, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) confirmed that the proposal had successfully passed the evaluation process and had been invited to proceed with the preparation of the grant agreement.

At UP FTPO, we believe that modern engineering education does not take place solely in lecture halls, but primarily through direct contact with industry, research institutions, and real technological challenges. For this reason, we provide our students with numerous professional excursions, laboratory exercises in companies, and insights into modern development and production processes already during their studies.

In May and early June 2026, students from different study years and courses visited several successful Slovenian and international companies and research institutions, where they were able to put classroom theory directly into practice.

At this year’s Awards Ceremony for the Best Innovations of the Koroška Region, organised for the 26th consecutive year by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia – Koroška Regional Chamber, the Faculty of Polymer Technology (UP FTPO), together with its industrial partners, received two gold and one silver award for innovation.

On Wednesday, 22 April 2026, the graduation ceremony and awards of the Faculty of Polymer Technology took place at the Cultural Centre Slovenj Gradec. The event was dedicated to graduates, their families, staff, and partners of the faculty, and once again represented an important milestone for a new generation of experts in the field of polymer materials.

The latest issue of the international biannual journal UserCom (Mettler Toledo, No. 60, May 2025), intended for users of thermal analysis, presents the results of research conducted by our faculty in the field of biobased nanocomposites. The article entitled Toughness modification of PLA-based polymer blends with nanocrystalline cellulose" by Silvestr Bolka, Teja Pešl, Tamara Rozman and Blaž Nardin, presents research in the field of improving the mechanical properties of PLA-based polymer blends with the addition of surface-unmodified nanocrystalline cellulose.

We are pleased to announce that the Special Issue; Towards a Sustainable and Recyclable Future with Wood and Wood-Based Composites under expertise Assist. Prof. Dr. Klementina Pušnik Črešnar and Scientific Assocciate Dr.Olivija Plohl.as the Guests Editors are available.

The special Issue serves as a as a comprehensive platform for the knowledge, research findings, innovative approaches related to Sustainable and Recyclable Future with Wood and Wood-Based Composites.

On Thursday evening, 16 June 2022, after a long time, the FTPO hosted the Polymer Evening on the topic "Drying of technical plastic polymers".

The lecture was led by Ing. Robert Tesar from Vismec Srl. (Italy). Ing. Robert Tesar studied plastics Engineer at the technicalinstitute TGM in Vienna. His work experience includes  production of plastic molding in HB-Plastic and Philips in Austria, technical applications in Arburg in Germany and Engel in Austria and finally sales and technical consultant in Maguire in UK and USA and Piovan, Moretto and Vismec in Italy.

Quite some time has passed since our last Polymer Evening, so we were extremely happy with the response of the participants. More than 40 representatives of various Slovenian companies and representatives of our faculty, received answers to many questions regarding the drying of plastic materials. Different types of plastic materials and drying principles were presented, as well as which drying technologies are available on the market. After the lecture, a rich discussion on the topic was developed among the participants, and at the reception there was an opportunity for networking.

With such events, the FTPO wants to continue to offer current content in the field of polymer technology and to maintain its connection with the economy. The next FTPO polymer evening is already planned for the fall months.

Metal products have a much higher aesthetic value than plastic products, which can be attributed to their optic and haptic properties, as they give the metal products a higher quality appearance.

On Thursday, September 30, 2021, the final conference of the PolyMetal project entitled "Design flexibility of plastics, but look and feel like metals: PolyMetal successful crossboarder cooperation" took place at the Montanuniversität in Leoben.

More info HERE.

More info HERE.

More info HERE.

More info HERE.

In September, a 4-day training took place at our faculty as part of the Polyflip project, where we are developing and testing the Flipped classroom approach for engineering higher education study programs with partners from 3 countries. The project is implemented within the ERASMUS + Strategic Partnerships program, where our faculty is the initiator and leading partner of the project.

More info about the live Polyflip training HERE.

Visit also an official project webpage.