We congratulate Prof. Dr. Tanja Urbančič on receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Higher Education from the Republic of Slovenia. This recognition honors her unwavering dedication to lifelong learning and pioneering contributions to open education on both national and international levels.
Prof. Urbančič’s career began in artificial intelligence research at the Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) before she founded the Centre for Knowledge Transfer in Information Technologies in 1996. Over the years, she organized more than 70 specialized courses, empowering professionals with advanced tools and methods to tackle real-world challenges.
Her leadership journey continued at the School of Engineering and Management at the University of Nova Gorica with interdisciplinary programs that provided students with a deep understanding of technical, economic, and organizational aspects of business. More than 600 students completed their studies in Industrial Engineering over her two-decade tenure as dean.
In 2018, Prof. Urbančič co-initiated the globally recognized Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW) mentoring program, which she successfully managed for the first three years. This pioneering initiative has aligned open educational resources (OER) with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Starting with just 14 projects,the program has grown into a worldwide movement, engaging over 500 participants from 40 countries across six continents and producing more than 420 OERs that address global challenges. Today, she continues to play a vital role as a valued member of the OE4BW Advisory Board.
Building on her transformative work, in 2020, Prof. Urbančič launched the Master’s program in Leadership in Open Education at the University of Nova Gorica. Developed with global experts, this program equips students with the skills to lead in the evolving field of open education, integrating modern technologies and innovative pedagogies into formal and informal education systems.
Both the OE4BW mentoring program and the Master’s in Leadership in Open Education represent monumental contributions to the realization of UNESCO’s recommendations on OER. Prof. Urbančič’s leadership and dedication have left a lasting mark on global education, inspiring professionals and institutions to drive positive change. Prof. Urbančič’s lifetime achievements in shaping the future of education make this award not only well-deserved but a fitting tribute to her enduring influence. We are deeply proud of her accomplishments and extend our heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Dr. Tanja Urbančič for this recognition.
