DRUŠTVO VTIS
0
MEMBERS
0
COUNTRIES
0
LOCAL COMMITTEE BOARDS
WHO ARE WE
Drustvo VTIS is a non-profit, volunteer-based association of Slovenians educated abroad. We are a world-wide community of experts, pioneers and researchers committed to promoting the circulation of Slovenian knowledge.
OUR MISSION
We are on a mission to connect and empower Slovenians to make a positive impact at home and abroad. We inspire more innovative communities by sharing ideas, experience, and culture.
Endorsement
Partnership
Partnering with VTIS provides advanced and forward-looking organizations with unique opportunities to connect with our community, which combines perspectives and experiences from over 50 countries around the world.
-
Partnering with VTIS provides advanced and forward-looking organizations with unique opportunities to connect with our community, which combines perspectives and experiences from over 50 countries around the world.
• Access to the largest network of Slovenians with international background and experience;
• Share job opportunities with our community 24/7;
• Flexible partnership packages to align with your goals and needs;
• Career days, present at our events.
-
• A company that values knowledge and experience from abroad.
• An organization that advocates for similar goals as the VTIS Association.
Programme
Our main goal is to connect Slovenians and friends with their peers living, studying or working abroad. While being deeply connected with the local industry, educational institutions and governmental bodies, our organization is serving as one of the nation's key enablers of innovation, knowledge-sharing and international collaboration.
Connecting ambassadors of global knowledge in Slovenia and abroad
-
We constantly strive to continuously nurture, weave and strengthen our personal connections through our events and meet-ups at home and abroad.
-
The Slack platform allows us to quickly exchange suggestions and ideas, open discussions and find solutions, and connect to Slovenians around the world.
-
The VTIS Mentoring Programme is organised for members of the VTIS Association who are looking for guidance on the path to their goals and can be helped by a mentor.
Enabling cooperation between Slovenians in Slovenia and abroad in the field of science, economy, commerce and culture
-
Partnering with VTIS provides progressive and forward-looking organizations with unique opportunities to connect with our community, which brings together perspectives and experiences from more than 50 countries around the world.
-
We organize recognizable and well-attended events, where our members present their knowledge in Slovenia and abroad.
-
Supporting and organizing events for informing students about study and moving abroad and helping them with first hand experiences and advices.
-
The aim of our Job fair days is to connect leading Slovenian companies with job opportunities for Slovenes educated abroad, our members, who are interested in returning to their home country.
Raising awareness among the key stakeholders on impediments to circulation of knowledge
-
Proposals and commentaries on the topics of best practices in science, various industries and education.
-
Our working groups within the association deal with various topics, from internationalization, economics to legislation. We strive to provide comments and suggestions through research and in-depth analysis on the basis of experience, and form documents and positions on this basis. Read about it here.
-
On the VTIS blog we publish weekly articles and content on current topics. We present the knowledge of our members, we also represent companies, and share practical advice to our members and the wider Slovenian public (interviews, news, research, advice etc.). You can also listen to the VTIS Innovator podcast where we host interesting members and their stories. Have a look!
Management
Members of the management board
PRESIDENT
Bojana Selinšek ↓
Bojana lives in London, Great Britain and is as a Senior Product Manager responsible for leading the multi-disciplinary team to develop an exciting UK National-Scale Multimodal Cancer Research platform for easy machine learning analysis of patient imaging data combined with clinical & genomic data. She strives to enable a greater understanding of cancer and better predictive models for improved cancer diagnosis, therapeutics, drug development, smarter clinical trials and eventually ensure the best return on data for patients and their outcomes. In her free time, she an active volunteer in VTIS association since 2028. She helped VTIS with organising events in her local committee in the UK and was chair of the VTIS healthcare community & Slovenke po svetu. Then she joined the management board and was responsible for the strategy in building a strong and connected community of volunteers. Since 2024 she is the president of the association and remains passionate about connecting Slovenia and the World.
TREASURER
Tilen Višnjevec ↓
Tilen Višnjevec completed a master's degree in economics at the University of Ljubljana and a master's degree in finance at Bi Norwegian Business School. Since 2017, he has been working as a consultant and manager in the field of corporate finance for large companies in the hotel sector and telecommunications. It focuses primarily on the efficient use of capital resources. He is motivated by complex problems that most people would not deal with and it is his joy and pride to join VTIS, an organization dedicated to spreading knowledge and helping others. It aims to help young students understand the wide range of options available to them and encourage them to take advantage of only those.
SECRETARY
Žan Dapčevič ↓
Žan Dapčević graduated in economics and international business from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and is currently studying for an Executive MBA at the Said Business School of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Academia, a college for short-term higher education in Maribor, Slovenia. In addition to leading the Academia, he is also a member of the board of directors of the Association of Slovenian Higher Vocational Schools - HVC Association. In 2021, Forbes ranked Žan among the 30 under 30 individuals in Europe who are changing the world with impact-based startups.
Neža Ribarič ↓
Dr. Neža Ribarič, specializing in experimental particle physics, explores the fundamental building blocks of nature and their interactions. Having pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Ljubljana, she earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at Lancaster University in Great Britain. Presently working as a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University (USA), she’s continuing to grow her expertise while contributing to the quest for new physics within the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Recognizing the significance of networking in advancing scientific endeavors and communicating them to the wider audience, she is devoted to fostering connections. As a member of the management board and organizer of VTIS Symposium, she wishes to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and strengthen ties among Slovenians globally. Furthermore, she commits herself to guiding young individuals by providing information about opportunities abroad, ensuring smooth transitions for those embarking on international ventures, and assisting those who wish to return to Slovenia.
Anita Šenk ↓
Anita Šenk, PhD in Biomedical Sciences lives in Bern, Switzerland. She has over a decade of experience in research and development across academic and pharmaceutical sectors. Following the successful completion of her master's studies in Ljubljana, Anita embarked on her professional journey in the pharmaceutical industry, gaining valuable experience in both Slovenia and Switzerland. Afterwards, she decided to transition her career path into academia. At the Medical Faculty in Bern, Switzerland, she pursued her doctoral studies in Biomedical Sciences and engaged in postdoctoral research investigated different mechanisms of blood vessel formation during the tissue regeneration. Additionally, she actively contributed to the education system, serving as a teaching assistant and co-examiner at the Medical faculty. Recently, she returned to the pharmaceutical sector and is now employed as a QC Project Manager at an innovative biotech company, ten23 health. In her free time, Anita enjoys reading, dancing, hiking, and actively participating in the VTIS society. She enjoys participating in thought-provoking conversations on current issues. Excited about challenges and new opportunities, she is looking forward to expanding her network and building upon her management skills. Hvala in Lp
Jure Vrhunc ↓
Jure Vrhunc lives in the United Kingdom and is an experienced professional in strategic consulting and the development of innovative, technically advanced products. With an MBA from London Business School and a master's degree in intelligent systems from the University of Ljubljana, he progressed from a leading autonomous vehicle engineer role to one of a key business transformation strategist at the automotive company Jaguar Land Rover. His multidisciplinary approach combines managerial economics, organizational behaviour, and finance with experience in developing new technologies and forming international partnerships. Jure is active in various volunteer activities and has rich intercultural experiences. He speaks several languages, is proficient in many IT tools, and is a data analytics specialist. An avid researcher, Jure’s passion for science and nature is reflected in his efforts to co-shape a sustainable future.
Rok Strniša ↓
After high school in Slovenia, Rok Strniša went to study computer science and artificial intelligence in England, where he received his phD at the University of Cambridge. After his studies, he first worked on more efficient use of hardware in a research and development company, then on algorithmic trading in a private venture capital fund, and finally on the creation of virtual worlds for the entertainment industry and the military, where he worked as a technical manager and strategic consultant. He recently founded his own company, which develops new products in the field of artificial intelligence.
Office
HEAD OF OFFICE
Manca Kunaver ↓
Manca has a law degree and a future Master's degree in Economics. She has a strong connection to foreign countries through her studies in Ljubljana and several years of experience in a multinational Swiss company where she worked as Head of General Services. She is also a passionate tennis player. As an extremely dynamic person she is always looking for new challenges and projects, but above all that she enjoys working in positive and ambitious teams. She has found those in VTIS, of which she has been a part for more than 4 years. She is inspired by individuals with exceptional motivation, will and energy to help people and care for the future of Slovenia. As the office manager she is the first voice of VTIS, answering emails and messages, ensuring the smooth functioning of volunteers, the association's administration and optimisation of processes, technical support, relations with partners and engaging content on social media. She takes care of the announcements and coordination of the events and activities of the association.
OFFICE
Nika Ivančič Rožanc ↓
Nika has a master's degree in Strategic Marketing Communication (FDV Ljubljana). During her studies, she completed an Erasmus exchange abroad, which brought her a unique breadth of horizons and an excellent experience. She has two sides - organizational and creative. She currently fills the latter in her spare time, which she has devoted to hobbies (singing, folklore) since she was a child. The organizational aspect comes to the fore in the VTIS association, where as an office professional she takes care of all kinds of communication, organization of volunteers and event organization. In VTIS, she found an extraordinary community of diverse people, which suits her inquisitive nature very well, as well as a social vision that she admires.
Membership
Full membership is open to Slovenian citizens that have obtained a degree or were involved in a research programme outside of Slovenia. Membership is also open to ‘associate’ members who believe in our mission and would like to be part of our association.
Meet our members
