Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Novo mesto

The Faculty of Industrial Engineering Novo mesto was founded with the vision of becoming a recognised and distinctive higher education institution in the field of engineering sciences with a focus on achieving a high quality level of teaching, scientific research and professional work, continuous improvement of the educational and academic structure of staff and the knowledge of graduates, the development of innovative and internationally comparable study and research programmes, and intensive international cooperation with involvement in the global education and research space. The evaluation shows that the key objectives have not been met and that the institution does not have a clear vision of how to achieve them. In the area of teaching, the Faculty is regressing. Two of the four accredited study programmes are not running at all, while enrolment in the other two is declining. This academic year, only two students are enrolled in the first year of the Master's degree programme. The reasons for this situation are multifaceted, but the institution does not even identify them in the self-evaluation process, let alone analyse them and draw up an action plan for corrective measures. The recent renewal of all four study programmes was carried out on an ad-hoc basis, without a clear vision of what the institution wanted to achieve and without a thorough analysis of the current situation involving all stakeholders. Scientific research within the Faculty is carried out at a very modest level, which does not provide adequate conditions for doctoral studies, nor for studies at master's level. In addition, the study process is carried out almost exclusively at a distance, which is unique in the field of technical sciences, at least among recognised and prominent higher education institutions, in the local and global educational space. Indeed, it is very difficult to imagine studying engineering nowadays without appropriate laboratory exercises on suitable research equipment. The staffing structure of the Faculty has been constantly changing in recent years, with no lecturers employed on a full-time basis. Most of them are only on a contractual basis with the Faculty, and their primary mission is usually carried out at other institutions, while some are already retired. With this staffing structure, the Faculty currently meets the minimum legal conditions for the implementation of all accredited study programmes, only after the accreditation of a university programme was withdrawn in the process of the renewal of the institutional accreditation. However, such a staffing structure cannot guarantee an adequate level of scientific research and the transfer of new knowledge into the study process. Taking into account the material conditions, the available staff potential at the institution and in the environment (experts in companies) and, last but not least, the interest of potential students and the economy, without radical changes that cannot be implemented in a very short period of time, it makes sense to further develop only the high professional education study programme, which, in the given circumstances, is the only one with a long-term perspective. This programme also needs to be radically renewed, and the starting point for this renewal must be a consistent and thorough self-evaluation of the current situation, in which all stakeholders must be involved.