Most people barely notice a flight of stairs at a building entrance, a high curb or an e-scooter left on the sidewalk. For someone using a wheelchair, or for a blind or partially sighted person, however, these can be insurmountable obstacles. Let's take a look at how accessible Slovenia has become and how persons with various types of disabilities can make getting around easier.
The University Medical Centre Ljubljana is launching the first clinical study for the development of a gene therapy that is largely the result of Slovenian expertise and perseverance. Urbagen is a gene replacement therapy intended for the treatment of CTNNB1 syndrome. This trial marks an extraordinary milestone in Slovenia's history: for the first time, a clinical study for a genetic disease will be conducted domestically for a drug that was primarily developed within the country.
Science has taken us further than we could have ever imagined. It extends our lives, enables communication across continents, and uncovers the most remote corners of the universe. If we just look around us, we can quickly see how closely science is connected to our daily lives. When we check the weather forecast on our smartphone, take medication, use the internet or satnav, we rely on the work of researchers who improve our world through curiosity and perseverance.
The Slovenian language is not only a means of communication but a cornerstone of national identity. For centuries, it has withstood various authorities and influences for centuries, but technological progress now poses new challenges. In order for Slovenian to retain its place in the digital future, Slovenian experts from the Centre for Language Resources and Technologies at the University of Ljubljana are building a generative model for the Slovenian language – GaMS, the Slovenian version of large language models, such as ChatGTP or Claude.
Today, families in Slovenia often own up to three cars, but just over a hundred years ago, the automobile was an intruder on Slovenian streets. Once a symbol of prestige, today it is a necessary evil. Horsepower was replaced by the smell of gasoline, dust, and exhaust fumes.
Slovenia is renowned for its exceptional ability to blend cutting-edge knowledge with innovation, creative thinking and a strong commitment to sustainability. That's why is not surprise that this year, Slovenia has special recognition as the Country of Honour at the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair, with the opportunity to present itself at the national pavilion.
"It is important to have a strong umbrella brand Made in Slovenia, based on quality. It would prove that we know how to make good products in Slovenia. A Made in Slovenia brand would also help us break into foreign markets," said Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han at a meeting of Slovenian business ambassadors in Lipica.
Baron Ferdinand Augustin Hallerstein was a Slovenian scientist who spent most of his life as a missionary in China and contributed to the science of astronomy with his innovative solutions.
German company H2Fly, in cooperation with its partners Pipistrel and Air Liquide, is the first company in the world to fly a four-seater aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen and crew at Maribor Airport. As Josef Kallo, the company's first president, said at the time, this milestone marks a pioneering step towards zero-emission aviation.
A civil engineer by profession, lecturer and entrepreneur, he is a world-renowned bridge designer whose designs have been used to build 200 such structures. His most high-profile project at the moment is the Pelješac Bridge, considered one of the greatest modern engineering achievements in Europe in recent years.
After ten months of determined effort and friendly cooperation with the US Embassy in Slovenia, the Herman Potočnik Noordung Center of Space Technologies in Vitanje has put on display one of the most valuable exhibits in Slovenian museum history: a rock from the surface of the Moon and a replica of the spacesuit worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong during his first walk on the Moon.
As of today, Slovenia is one of the fifty countries on earth to have its own satellites in space. Today, the Vega rocket carrying the first two Slovenian satellites took off from the launch site in French Guiana. The Trisat nanosatellite has a mass of only 5 kilograms and is designed to test the robustness of new space electronics, while the Nemo HD microsatellite with a mass of 65 kilograms will be used to interactively observe the Earth. Slovenia became a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2016. The ESA’s fundamental mission is to provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States on space research and technology, and their space applications.
