Prof.dr. FRANCI DEMŠAR

Born in 1960, graduated in physics from University of Ljubljana, received a master’s degree in biophysics from University of Zagreb, obtained a doctorate in physics from University of Ljubljana in 1987. In his professional life he has worked in the areas of research (Research Counsellor), teaching (Professor) and management. As a researcher he has worked for 15 years at the »Jožef Stefan« Institute and some years at the Institute of Radiology of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Faculty of management at the University of Primorska and the InnoRenew institute. He has spent two research years at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign and University of California San Francisco. He has published multiple publications, which have received international and domestic acknowledgment. As a teacher he has spent two years teaching at an elementary school, one year at a secondary school and some additional years in the form of part-time employment at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, International School for Social and Business Studies and University of Primorska. Management work (20 years) has included the position of Secretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Technology, the position of Minister at the Ministry of Defence, the position of Ambassador to the Russian Federation and the Director of Slovenian Research Agency and in last 6 years, Director of Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency. In the scope of his international engagement, he has assumed the responsibilities of Vice President of European Science Foundation and is a member of International Academy of Engineering. Since 2020 he is the former president of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA).