Letter of intent signed with the Municipality of Piran and UL for the establishment of the Krog Centre

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A Letter of Intent for the implementation of the initiative to establish the Krog Interdisciplinary National Research and Development Centre for Sustainability was signed in Piran on Monday, 7 October 2024. It was signed in the Tintoretto Hall of the Municipal Palace by the Mayor of the Municipality of Piran, Andrej Korenika, the Vice-Rector of the University of Ljubljana, Prof. Dr. Maja Klun, and the Rector of the University of UP, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar.

With the initiative to renovate the dilapidated buildings of the former monastery and to place appropriate facilities on the property owned by the Municipality of Piran, UL and UP responded to the efforts of the local community to attract activities that will contribute to a more balanced development of the now very touristic municipality. The initiative to set up an interdisciplinary national centre is based on the fact that the RS needs to develop its own sustainable approaches, which can only be effective and transferable into practice when they combine the knowledge of different disciplines. An interdisciplinary approach avoids conflicting views from different disciplines when tackling the same challenges. The Municipality of Piran has expressed its willingness to participate in the development of interdisciplinary content, based on the fact that the social, natural and cultural assets of its territory are under-exploited and on the recognition that it faces a number of challenges in the field of sustainability, the solution of which would benefit the development of science and the economic and social development of the Municipality of Piran and the wider region.

"We want to become a local community where a significant part of our prosperity is based on knowledge and not almost exclusively on hospitality. We want to attract young, educated people who will find career challenges and make a home here. We support the establishment of the R&D Centre for Sustainability because we know that our future will be sustainable, or it will not be," said Mayor Korenika when signing the Letter of Intent.

When signing the Letter of Intent, the Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, said, "The municipality of Piran provides the University of Primorska with good conditions for scientific research presence - not only with the Faculty of Tourism Studies, Turistica, which integrates its activities into the local environment, but also with the units of the Centre of Sciences, especially the Aquarium of Piran. I am pleased that the municipality recognises the opportunity to be present also in the area of the Circle, which once also bore the name of Villafranca, i.e. free village, thus symbolically emphasising the freedom and independence of science, which can find its own quiet corner here, both for researchers and for visitors who want to gain a deeper insight into the interesting features of the environment."     

At the signing ceremony, representatives of the management of the faculties operating in the municipality of Piran, doc. dr. Petra Zabukovec Baruca (Vice-Dean of UP FTŠ - Turistica) and Prof. Dr. Peter Vidmar (Dean of UL FPP), explained the objectives and plans for the future research and development centre, including the planned activities and expected results.

Interdisciplinary National Research and Development Centre for Sustainability KROG

The area of the Circle comprises the buildings of a former Benedictine monastery with a central courtyard and surrounding farmland, situated on a site above Sečovlje and the valley of the Dragonja River, overlooking the Sečovlje salt pans. The buildings are derelict and in need of comprehensive renovation, which, depending on the intended use, could be carried out with European funding. Within the framework of the joint intention to establish the KROG Interdisciplinary National Research and Development Centre for Sustainability, UL and UP will cooperate with the Municipality of Piran and will seek applications for projects and European funds in order to renovate the buildings at the KROG, where the two universities would establish a science and science hub. The aim is to create a centre that will be a hub of knowledge and a hatchery of new ideas in the field of sustainability and digitisation and the transfer of knowledge into practice. We will work with representatives from science, business, local communities and civil society to develop different forms of work, such as joint workshops, summer schools, project offices, knowledge transfer events and more. We would also like to provide a space for start-ups in the field of sustainability strategies.