Dean’s speech
Dear visitor,
Welcome to the website of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Primorska. I hope you enjoy it and find the information you are looking for.
One decade after its foundation, the Faculty of Health Sciences has become a nationally and internationally recognizable educational and research member of the University of Primorska. It is a quality centre for developing and transferring knowledge in the field of health.
The Faculty’s main mission is the undergraduate and postgraduate education in the field of nursing, nutritional counselling – dietetics, applied kinesiology and physiotherapy, and the pure and applied scientific research and development work in the field of health assurance and maintenance.
The undergraduate study programmes of Nursing, Nutritional Counselling – Dietetics, Applied Kinesiology and Physitherapy focus mainly on their applied dimension which is transferred directly from the academic sphere to the social environment. The students’ practical placement in the working environment plays an important role here, on the one hand offering them valuable experience necessary to practise their future profession, and on the other hand representing an important connection between the Faculty and the local environment. The students of the postgraduate study programmes deal with the subject matter in depth, upgrading it with independent professional and research work.
The employees of the Faculty of Health Sciences want the students to visit and stay in touch with the Faculty also after the completion of their studies, because lifelong learning is crucial in the professions for which we train them. During recent years, the Faculty has been developing and upgrading its lifelong learning programmes with contemporary subject matter, which is interesting and attractive also for the wider professional and lay public.
The Faculty of Health Sciences is thus a space where theoretical knowledge is immediately reflected in the practical environment, so it is not a coincidence that its motto is “We add knowledge to life!”
I invite you to visit us and see for yourself.
Add knowledge to life!
Dean
Prof. Nejc Šarabon, PhD
Mission
We educate responsibly and with constant care for quality – in the fields of dietetics, physiotherapy, kinesiology and nursing.
As a connected community of colleagues of various professions with a commitment to research and development excellence, we create new knowledge. We apply it to education, lifelong learning, various services and new collaborations, thus responding to contemporary societal challenges in the field of health.
We add KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE, and are connected to the domestic and international environments with a Mediterranean heartiness.
Values
- QUALITY
Quality is something we live and breathe. We are well organized, so we evaluate, plan, implement and monitor. Because we care, we are responsible and reliable in the work we do. In this way, we justify the trust of stakeholders who know that, in spite of everything, our work will be done well and on time. We recognize opportunities for improvement and act on them, which keeps us on the path of continuous development and progress.
- KNOWLEDGE
We believe that knowledge is a key value for the balanced development of society. We are dedicated and committed to creating new knowledge and are constantly educating ourselves. We pass on our rich experience and the latest scientific and professional findings to younger generations and all the interested individuals.
- DEVELOPMENT
By responding to contemporary challenges in the areas of study and research, we take care of the personal and professional growth of employees and students. We support our mission by constantly developing new study programs and engaging in research projects.
- GOOD RELATIONSHIP AND COOPERATION
Open and respectful communication is our guide, and good interpersonal relationships and a creative work environment are its best result. Every team member counts. That is why we honour different types of knowledge and skills, experiences, approaches, talents and personal qualities in teamwork. With an attitude of respect and tolerance, we encourage employees and students to realize their potential, and establish many partnerships in the domestic and international environments, in the spirit of cooperation and interconnectedness.
- TARGET ORIENTATION AND COMMITMENT
On the basis of the identified needs and opportunities, we set clear goals and find effective ways to achieve them. We are dedicated and committed to staying on track, and proudly show and share our achievements.
- RESPONSIVENESS
We are constantly adapting to the changing requirements of the environment and student needs, and are ceaselessly improving the study process. Flexibility is our virtue in the field of research, too: we recognize opportunities and needs of society, and respond to them with stand-alone and partnership project applications.
- SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
By recognizing and considering the needs and interests of the local and wider social environment, we organize and actively participate in various projects for the promotion of health care. Through scientific research findings, we provide and co-create guidelines for better health of the individual and society as a whole. We are an environmentally conscious team, so we take care of waste separation and seek to operate through electronic means to the greatest extent possible. In order to help advance the career development of promising students, we have established a scholarship fund.
Vision of the Faculty of Health Sciences 2024
We are a connected, trustworthy team of satisfied, motivated and dedicated employees. With the help of the established system for the transfer of knowledge, experience and good practices, we ensure high professionalism and quality of our work. We implement all of the 11 accredited study programs at maximum enrolment capacity. We have increased the proportion of students who make our study programs their first enrolment choice. We have our own health research program. We have increased revenues from scientific research and the number of professional and scientific publications. We are strongly involved and recognizable in the international and local environments.
HISTORY
History
The beginnings of the development of higher education in the Slovenian Littoral area go back to the sixties when the High School of Maritime Studies of Piran was established, and to the seventies, when fundamentals for other higher education institutions and colleges were set in Koper.
With the economic growth of Primorska region the need for its own University became even more evident, thus on 30th March 1993 a letter of intent envisioning the establishment of the University Study Centre was signed by the mayors of the Littoral communities, the president of the Littoral Assembly, and the representatives of the regional economy. On November 20, 1995 an additional letter of intent was signed, assuring the conditions for the development of higher education in the communities of Koper, Izola, and Piran. On the basis of these initiatives the Littoral communities established and financed the University Study Centre of Koper, whose aim was to facilitate the development of higher education in the region.
In 1997 the project for the establishment of the College of Health Care Izola started on the initiative of the Council of the University Study Centre of Koper. It took almost four years to finish the project. During this period all the requirements for the functioning of the college were fulfilled, i.e. a strong support received by professional and public institutions; adequate teaching and research faculty secured, educational bases established, premises and equipment provided and (last but not least) financial resources granted.
The Council for Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia confirmed that the requirements for the establishment and operation of an independent higher education institution were met, thus the University Study Centre Council passed the Act about the establishment of the College of Health Care Izola on its 22nd March 2002 meeting. After the Council for Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia gave its consent to the introduction of the study programme Nursing Care (on 5th July 2002) the provisional senate of the CHCI invited candidates to enrol in the first year course.
In the academic year 2002/03 the first generation of sixty students from all over Slovenia was admitted. The study process was carried out in the rented premises of the Secondary Nursing School in Izola. There were 17 contractual lecturers employed at the College. It was the financial support of the Littoral communities that secured the execution of the study programme as at the time the college was still without licence.
The College of Health Care Izola is one of the seven founding members of the University of Primorska, which was established in April 2003. We started our second academic year (2003/2004) with the concession and our first permanently employed teaching faculty.
When Slovenia entered the European Union we aligned the study programme Nursing Care with Community rules on regulated professions.
In 2004/05 we started with the updated, undergraduate 3-year study programme of Nursing Care, which offers the graduates – nurses and health care workers – adequate knowledge and skills for an independent performing of their profession without preliminary probation. In 2005/06 the first part-time students enrolled. In 2007/08 we will admit 30 students to first year of the new study programme Nutritional Counselling – Dietetics.
Today the Faculty of Health Sciences (former College of Health Care Izola ) teaching faculty and staff guiding principles lay in the fact that students are not numbers, they are personalities, to be lead along the path of their education and qualification towards the diploma, with which they will become independent professionals. By doing so we hope – as all teachers do – to be surpassed some day.
