Mentors

Po končanem magisteriju industrijskega oblikovanja na ALUO je ugotovil, da je marsikateri problem s katerim se danes srečujemo, večji od samega področja oblikovanja. Efektivne rešitve potrebujejo širši pogled in zares delujejo le z dosledno izvedbo, zato kot oblikovalec deluje tudi v podjetništvu in managementu. Proces oblikovanja izdelka je pomemben, ampak prav tako je pomemben tudi process oblikovanja tudi samega podjetja ali ekipe, ki ta izdelek podpira. Zadnje desetletje deluje kot freelancer, kot vodja projektov je delal v Hong Kongu in Dubaju v okviru podjetja Alphacrypt, ter v Ljubljani vodil svojo pop-up ulično restavracijo JEDU Wurst & Dogs. Trenutno dela kot industrijski in grafični oblikovalec pri EQUA in Goat Story.

Rok Govednik graduated in cultural studies, focusing on the theory of film and photography. He currently works as an expert associate for film, animated film and photography at the School of Arts, University of Nova Gorica. He is also a habilitated professor of media studies and lectures on the art of film and media at colleges, high and elementary schools, and also works for the National Education Institute Slovenia as a film mentor for school teachers and professors. Govednik is the founder of VIZO, Institute for Advancement of Visual Culture, where he has been designing and running projects for children and young adults since 2013. He has completed more than 460 projects, including a film festival, summer camps, international projects (EU, Norwegian mechanism) and exhibitions. He works with many organisations in Slovenia and has extensive experience with the Animated Film Festival Animateka, where he served as PR and project manager, as well as Festival of Slovenian Film and LIFFe. His experience extends to distribution, audience development, crisis management, internationalisation and, most importantly, management of organisations, human resources and cultural projects. In 2013 he took part in the Entrepreneurially into the World of Business programme, organised by the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region.

Jani Kozina graduated and completed his doctoral degree in geography at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. He built his research skills at the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2006, between 2007 and 2009 at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, and in 2014 and 2015 at the School of Management at Cardiff Metropolitan University. In 2009 he joined the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at SRC SASA as a young researcher and has been working there as a research fellow since 2013. Assistant professor in geography since 2016, he became lead lecturer in cultural geography at the Postgraduate School SRC SASA in 2020. He is the leader and associate in numerous research and applied projects dealing with cultural and creative programmes and their spatial and wider socio-economic implications. Recently he has been preoccupied with social innovation and social responsibility. Jani is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including Europa Nostra, 2015, Social and Economic Innovator, European Commission - DG MARE, 2019).

Together with Jasmina Ferček and Katja Burger Kovič, Tjaša Bavcon runs Oloop, a successful and active group of artists and designers who have made a name for themselves in different fields of visual creativity: from product design, interior installations and textile art to participatory art and design. She runs training programmes, lectures and workshops, integrating design into socially engaged projects. For years, Oloop group have been showcasing their products and projects in Slovenian design exhibitions at home and abroad, gaining international exposure as well as winning prestigious awards and recognitions. Their work addresses social issues such as health, ecology, sustainability and the purpose of life in general.

Soon to defend her master’s thesis in smart city management Simona Roškar works as a trainer to promote creativity, social responsibility and sustainable development. She is an international licensed trainer of I.D.E.A.S. (a five-stage model for creatively confronting challenges) and Art of Innovation (a model for organisational creativity) as well as a certified ECQA sustainability manager. Simona helps individuals, teams, companies and organisations acknowledge that creativity is a work process with its own laws. Employing different creative tools allows creators and their teams to generate more creative and penetrating ideas on products, services or business models; ideas informed with sustainability concepts, eco-design and circular economy.

Jernej Špende is in charge of developing advanced digital solutions that connect technological and human resources of the agencies within the Pristop Group. His work at Pristop and Renderspace agencies has been marked by breakthrough projects and numerous awards at the most prominent advertising and communication festivals, such as Digital Communication Awards, European Excellence Awards, Effie, SOF, SEMPL, Midas Balcannes, Gold Quill and others. His work as digital strategist in Grey Ljubljana won him and his colleagues at the agency two Cannes Lions. Active also in other roles within the industry, Jernej has served as a member of the Slovenian Advertising Festival’s competition programme council and a jury member of SAF, the Young Lions and SoMoBorac.

Lenka Puh is a socially responsible entrepreneur and innovator whose main priority is humanisation of work, and work as a human need and right. In 1989 she founded Jazon d.o.o., a company providing organisations with products and services, since 2005 also a disability company. With a mission to optimise work processes and reduce costs, Lenka, a consultant certified by the German Quality Office standard in the field of ergonomics, offers consulting also on workplace health with an emphasis on inclusive employment. She is the author of standards on the flow of patient records and project manager in the field of the labour market and employment of vulnerable groups, always mindful of sustainable development. Throughout her career, she has been designing innovative projects that integrate reuse and create jobs for people with disabilities. Jazon is the promotor of circular economy in Slovenia and a pioneer in the new definition of human relations, aspiring to create green jobs. In 2014, Lenka Puh became honorary member of the Association of Slovenian Innovators.

Director, founder and owner of ART DESIGN d.o.o., Ljubljana, a design agency for visual communications. He works as a consultant in how to set up and launch a new company, visual identity development for established companies, corporate identity, marketing strategy development, cultural management, brand development and launch strategy, company promotion, online and social media presentations, ICT and electronic business.

Together with Tjaša Bavcon and Katja Burger, Jasmina Ferček runs Oloop, a group of artists and designers who have made a name for themselves in different fields of visual creativity: from product design and interior installations to textile art. She runs training programmes, lectures and workshops, integrating design into socially engaged projects. For years, Oloop group have been showcasing their products and projects in Slovenian design exhibitions at home and abroad, gaining international exposure as well as winning prestigious awards and recognitions (Alpine, BIO, Red Dot and others). Their work addresses social issues such as health, ecology, sustainability and the purpose of life in general.

Visual communication designer who started the design studio VBG (Visual Brain Gravity) 13 years ago. He was nominated the “young creative of the year” and received more than 80 Slovenian and international awards (Volvo Design Award, SOF, Brumen, Golden Drum, European Design Award, ADCE, …). Seven-time jury member at the Slovenian Advertising Festival and Golden Drum he was selected by Art Directors Club of Europe (ADC*E) as one of ten promising creatives in Europe. He employs his extensive multidisciplinary skills in creating and mentoring brands and visual identities for domestic and foreign clients. His work has led him to discover the importance of working on his own projects, so he has created a few brands (CreativeMornings) from which he draws knowledge and to which he dedicates more and more of his time.

A designer (Academy of Fine Arts and Design) and artist (ZEK Crew) who has worked as a brand and user experience developer for different companies (Sinhro, Pop-up Home…). Once an art director with GoOpti transportation company he was also one of the founders of the Creative Centre Poligon. Today, he is the CEO and co-founder of the strategic design studio Ljudje. In his projects he focuses on identifying and presenting their added value. A believer in better society he finds that we still have a lot to learn.

Industrial and product designer, one of the founders and director of Rompom Institute, who introduced pop-up shops to Slovenia, along with muslauf bikes, co-working and Kickstarter, and has been known to amuse us in the Creative Zone Šiška. His favourite project was designing the Library under the Treetops. His work is about finding balance between the progressive and traditional while working for the public good. From time to time, when he’s at or off work, he likes to take his welding machine and make something nice for a better future, alone or in the company of others.

Combines strategic vision with business skills and artistic talent. She works with IDEO company, the leader in strategic thinking, innovation and design thinking (from an idea to the business model, startup and product development methods). Her forte is putting theory into practice, and she has more than 45 awards from all over the world to show for it. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Graphis, Lurzer's Archive, Creative Advertising, The World's Best Campaigns, and ADweek, among others. Jury member/speaker: New York Festivals Advertising, Cresta Awards, SOF, Golden Drum.

Author of eight books. Graduate of Harvard Business School. Consultant in more than 1000 communication projects in 22 countries since 1986, including Google, McDonalds, CocaCola, Nokia, Luka Koper and others. Founder of SPEM, recipient of UN award in Chicago and International Public Relations Association Frontline 21 Award in Tokio. Božidar is a certified military and sports parachutist. In 2012 and 2013 he was listed by the media as one of the 100 most influential Slovenians (Reporter). He lectures at London School of Public Relations.

Piera Ravnikar has been actively involved in contemporary art for the last 15 years. She is proud to have been part of Kino Šiška’s pioneer team as an artistic programme manager for nearly ten years. Piera currently runs RAVNIKAR GALLERY SPACE and takes part in projects like MENT Ljubljana, LIMITED EDIT111ONS, Independent Platform NYC and SKALINADA AIR. She holds an MA in history from the University of London and EU Diploma in cultural project management from Association Marcel Hicter, Brussels.

Interactive theatre experiences, urban art interventions, multimedia events in public space, socially engaged projects. Graduate of the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. Head of LJUD (www.ljud.si) arts collective for eight years. Art director of urban cycling festival KOLObocija, since 2016 head of the international collective of artists the Third Hand Group, who perform at the most prominent international street art festivals. Mentor and lecturer on public speaking, interactive art and street theatre.

Matjaž graduated in communication and media studies from the University of Maribor. He is a young communication professional in the second decade of his career. Today he works at Agency 101, mainly in marketing communication, having previously worked as a creative director and strategist in Slovenia’s biggest advertising agencies (Futura DDB, Publicis One and others), designing communication solutions for key Slovenian and international brands (Coca-Cola, Heineken, Mastercard, Volkswagen, Radenska, FIBA, among others). He also takes part in communication projects for the public good and projects involving communication in tourism and sports.

A graduate of industrial design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ana started to work in service design already as a student. After her first appearance at Ljubljana Service Jam she joined the organising team and together they founded the Servis 8 institute in 2014. She gained experience in service design at Gorenje Design Studio as well as through projects and workshops organised by Servis 8. She continues to build her knowledge in psychology and facilitation, exploring playful approaches to co-creation and learning. She has prepared and conducted more than 40 design thinking and service design workshops, both for the private and public sectors. Her biggest ambition is for her projects to have a positive impact on the environment.

Creative director with more than 14 years’ professional experience and a degree in communication and media studies. He is in charge of marketing communication campaigns for some of the largest Slovenian and regional clients, and the recipient of more than 100 national and international awards from advertising festivals. He says that being a creative means always being on the lookout for new ideas, and since he has made his hobby his work, he calls himself a workahobbic. A skater and co-owner of the brand Embisi Skateboarding he is also a member of the Maribor rap collective Tekochee Kru who finds creative inspiration in urban cultures, while his martial arts background of 20 years provides for order and discipline. Tine frequently shares his knowledge at different faculties, advertising festivals, workshops and events such as TEDx, Creative Mornings, Pecha Kucha and similar.

Experience in PR and project management in EU and international organisations. He works as a consultant for Slovenia at United Nations Information Service Vienna and is member of the executive committee of the United Nations Association of Slovenia, and member of the executive committee of the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO. He is also an associate with the social enterprise Minicity, responsible for finding investors in social innovations. A member of the project office of the Competence Centre for Design Management 2.0 (KCDM 2.0): design management and public relations since 2017, he has also served as mentor at the European Social Innovation Competition, which is run by the EU Commission, since July 2018.