The achievement is presented in the editorial to the topical issue of a journal indexed in the SSCI and SCOPUS A1 databases. The issue resulted from coordinating the international EMCOSU project (Emerging Modes of Cooperation between Private Enterprises and Universities). Its influences are shown in the intensification of the research on university–business cooperation and in a greater public and political attention for the development of higher education systems. The special issue included the following titles: ‘Enhancing the Development of Competencies: the role of University-Business Cooperation’, ‘Considering University-Business Cooperation Modes from the Perspective of Enterprises’, ‘The Relevance of Problem-based Learning for Policy Development in University-Business Cooperation’, ‘PhD Students in the Entrepreneurial University – Perceived Support for Academic Entrepreneurship’, ‘Entrepreneurial Skills and Education – Job Matching of Higher Education Graduates’, ‘Building Technology Transfer Capacity in Turkish Universities: a critical analysis’ and ‘What Determines Enterprises’ Perceptions of Future Developments in Higher Education – Strange Bedfellows?’.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33890397
The achievement presents the problem of operationalising how graduate employability is followed, or the influence of this process on modernisation processes of higher education systems. The journal is indexed int the SSCI and SCOPUS A1 databases. The influences are shown in the strategic development of higher education and in a better “professional” orientation of higher education systems. The "employability" paradigm is beginning to be publicly regarded as one of the key developmental paths and "modernisation" principles of higher education institutions. In this context, the article first overviews the existing practices for tracking graduates' early careers in Europe. Next, it identifies and discusses relevant conceptual aspects for designing system(s) for tracking graduates' careers and using the results of graduate studies. This includes understanding and interpreting employability, possible societal tensions surrounding higher education when seeking to support the needs of graduates, employers or initiating new "professional projects", and the development of disciplinary assumptions about career success. Third, based on the results of a national survey among higher education institutions in Slovenia, it explores institutional views related to establishing systems for monitoring graduates' "employability". Understanding higher education institutions' attitudes and capacities towards monitoring the employability of their graduates is important for the success of tracking surveys in terms of their involvement in the collection of data, adapting the research instrument to reflect possible disciplinary particularities and the use of survey results.
COBISS.SI-ID: 36014941
The model in importantly influencing the development of sustainable urbanism as it emphasises those social perspectives of sustainable urban development that have so far been neglected. New sustainable urbanism indicators will enable an easier transfer of sustainable urbanistic practices into various cities. The journal has an impact factor of 5.7 and is indexed in the SCI and SCOPUS A1 databases. Urban researchers have acknowledged that current urban design tools do not sufficiently take into account the complexity of various social factors (integration of the community, local economy, identity of the community, etc.) into the implementation processes of new (sustainable) urban areas. Since the best practices of successful sustainable neighbourhoods are too little known and are not taken into account in urban design tools, because there is no existing comparative analysis of best practices that would provide common guidelines for the implementation of new autonomous sustainable neighbourhoods (ASN), the central objective of the article focuses on creating an interdisciplinary structure for a holistic model of autonomous sustainable neighbourhoods. The aim of the article is to create a framework of strategic urban sustainability goals that derives from "good examples" of sustainable neighbourhoods and that could represent a new mode of interdisciplinary urban planning, emphasizing the importance of the socioeconomic factors in neighbourhood modelling. The article will try to identify a concrete scheme of sustainable elements, which could facilitate the creation of new sustainable districts in cities (with due regard to local specifics). The structural model of autonomous sustainable neighbourhoods could be suitable as a tool for the implementation of strategic urban sustainability goals and might upgrade existing sustainable urban planning tools. The proposed model, which is based on a comparative analysis of the best practices of sustainable neighbourhoods in Europe, is formed and structured by "the four pillars of urban sustainability" (Energy pillar and natural resources, Sustainable Transport, Socio-economic balance, and Sustainable urban design elements). Each of the "pillars" incorporates several "strategic urban sustainability goals".
COBISS.SI-ID: 285042432
Community centres represent important social junctures and community intersections of a neighbourhood. The comparative analysis of community centres is relevant as it offers a comprehensive overview of community activities that can be activated/initiated in such centres. The journal is indexed in the SSCI and SCOPUS A2 databases. This paper analyses an often underestimated and ignored urban design element: the neighbourhood community centre (NCC). The aim is to define, describe and highlight the multidimensional effects that a neighbourhood community centre (NCC) has on a local urban community, and to examine the possible correlation between the level of the NCC's development and the neighbourhood's "social urban sustainability" (social cohesion, local identity, sense of place etc.). The main research effort involves exploring and comparing the implementation and development of NCCs in "exemplary urban systems" - the best and most well-known sustainable neighbourhoods in Europe. The final international comparative analysis of NCCs in European sustainable neighbourhoods offers very specific, valuable propositions that can be transferred to future NCCs, with an adaptation to local urban specifics.
COBISS.SI-ID: 35165021
This scientific article is relevant especially from the methodological perspective as it introduces innovative aspects of studying an urban community with new concrete indicators from the fields of democracy, equality, and respect of heterogeneity. The journal is indexed in the SCOPUS A1 database. The objective of this paper is to analyse and compare in detail the social structure of the two most acclaimed European sustainable neighbourhoods, which have had a completely different implementation approach: bottom-up urban development in Vauban (Freiburg) and top-down urban development in Western Harbour (Malmö). The goal is to uncover the unrevealed urban elements that determine social sustainability. The paper uses an innovative methodological framework - the Fainstein's "Just City" concept, which encompass several social determinants within three main pillars/principles: democracy, equity and diversity. The "Just City" principles and its determinants add a new perspective to social urban manifestation encompassing "social justice" and "local governance" dimensions. These dimensions represent innovative research approaches in exploring urban social sustainability. Through the Just City framework, the social structure of the two representative case studies is dissected to establish the level of urban social sustainability in each urban area. The aim of the paper is to answer to the question: Do the most acclaimed leading sustainable neighbourhoods embody democratic values, assure equality and respect (allow) diversity?
COBISS.SI-ID: 35165533
The article analyses the key features of the spatial distribution of creative industries in Ljubljana and the Ljubljana urban region. Special attention is devoted to analysing factors that influence the concentration of individual branches of creative industries in specific locations. GIS tools were applied to evaluate factors that influence the distribution of creative activities. The achievement’s influences show in the analysis of the concept of central places that used to analyse variations of spatial clustering of creative enterprises. In this aspect, the data point to inconsistencies and enable future policy recommendations in the sector of creative industries in Slovenia an Ljubljana to be adapted. The mapping of creative economies identifies patterns of concentration and reveals some locational disadvantages that have arisen due to the absence of clear development strategies regarding creative economies in Slovenia.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33860701
The achievement is dealing with the topic of occupational professionalisation and was prepared in through the co-editing process with Professor Julia Evetts (University of Nottingham) who is a world-renowned author in the field of professionalisation. The journal is indexed in the SSCI and SCOPUS A2 databases. The influences are shown in the development of the research of occupational professionalisation, labour market and educational system development.The article starts with the question of how the complexity of practical occupational knowledge is linked to and reflected in the vertical grading of an educational programme. The sociology of professional groups theory clearly differentiates between practical tacit knowledge and explicit formal knowledge, which is systemized in educational programmes. It presumes that those occupations whose practical work is more demanding and complex, such as doctors or lawyers, call for university programmes, while the educational programmes of other occupations (e.g. machine operators) appropriately remain at lower educational levels. For testing these confirmatory and exploratory hypotheses, the article uses a Slovenian pilot survey that encompasses 63 occupational groups with very diverse levels of formal education.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32206429
The article deals with the topic of communicating architectural practice (design) and urban planning to unprofessional public (inhabitants, students, teachers). Designed and presented are digital education tools that enable a) a better understanding and recognizing architectural design, and b) encouraging participative communication. These tools have become part of pilot educational programmes in some primary and secondary schools in Slovenia. The main finding is that in curricula of school programs, there is not enough or no education at all on "spatial perspective" and "spatial culture", which includes architectural design. Based on the preliminary analysis, we also find that digital tools are less suitable for the elderly and less digitally susceptible population, therefore it is crucial that this is part of educational content at all levels of formal education.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3187076
Local urban development is not determined by a collection of non-political and essentially technical measures prepared by professionals and civil servants in municipalities, but in fact strongly depends on the political nature of policy decisions and organised local interests. The planning of local urban development is, therefore, significantly influenced by political decisions based on the promises set out by political parties in their programmes. Thus, the direction of local development and the dynamics of urban growth cannot be fully understood without a thorough understanding of the views presented in party programmes. The key influence of this contribution is in mapping the differences in Slovenian parliamentary party preferences related to local urban development across the political spectrum as well as over time (from 1990 to 2014). By implementing computer-assisted content analysis of 96 party programmes and election manifestos conventionally recognised as thematic text analysis, we identified an alarming image of the political landscape of Slovenia concerning topics related to local urban development. The analysis revealed that the majority of parties utilise local urban development concepts on a declarative level, with most dimensions of sustainable urban development being virtually absent. In this aspect, the research data act as a guiding mechanism for the preparation of different legitimation and potentially even legal mechanisms in party programme planning in Slovenia.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33386077
The paper represents introduction to the special issue on "Employability of Higher Education Graduates in Europe" from the perspective of global changes and is based on the international coordination of DEHEMS project. The empirically based articles of the special issue address six main areas related to the transition of graduates from education to the labour market: employment and employability, job (mis)match, development of particular areas of competency, new certificates of higher education, along with the disciplinarity and status of the selfperceived role of academics in supporting graduates careers. This issue provides empirical findings relevant to various stakeholders of higher education systems which are essential for strategic development in the area. The selection of papers proposes an interdisciplinary scientific approach in the areas of bridging (higher) education with the labour market.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32338525